Prepping: the new world...

DigForVictory

It is moving towards the time of year when I have to consider what shall I give people for Christmas & I idly pondered a delivery of bottled water. (Apparently there's been a run on the stuff.) Imagining their little faces as a hefty crate is deposited & their expressions when they open it to find contains water… Some relatives are ferociously Environmentally aware & so glass bottles were mandatory. (Also that hopeful clink…)
However at about £25 a household I thought perhaps I'm not that willing to take a chance on the Will & see regretfully that even if I stoop to plastic that's £3 per delivery from Tesco & another fiver on the water, so I shall leave them unprepared & contemplate alternate mischief.

C_J

You could give them little packets of dehydrated water, DfV. Complete with “just add water” instructions to rehydrate.

DigForVictory

Now there's a thought, An assortment of hangover remedies, either as a gift hamper or delivered…
I'm deeply uncertain of how to pack eggs, tabasco sauce is £2.50 at Tesco, (£1.50 from Iceland this week) and a carton of tomato juice isn't that helpful when faced with slightly more scientific choices like rehydration mixes. There's IrnBru (the old recipe, if possible) and Lucozade but apparently absolutely no painkillers as the over-the-counter trifecta (aspirin paracetamol & ibuprofen) all have do-not! caveats for different pre-existing conditions.
To arrange a strategically timed delivery of cabbage soup probably requires inside knowledge. To send a professional carer for an hour might be an even more generous act of kindness but again, budgetary constraints & carers are thin on the ground…
A pack of Scrubzz is a bit pointed but for anyone genuinely too unwell to contemplate a bath or shower, they're wonderful. (Yes you do pay a bit for the name but the name has value as They Work, cheap imitations are less reliable.)

Doveling

We have a "store cupboard" meal once a week for stock rotation purposes.

Jack Munro's book Tin Can Cook is good for different ideas. Quite a few of the recipes are on BBC Food so you don't need to buy the book.

HTH those with limited imagination like me!

DigForVictory

I brain dumped an answer to 'why we prep' before covid. (Wonderful what you find when preparing to shift from one machine to another!)

It's partly a savings plan
partly in case we get snowed in
partly in case we fall out of work/get suddenly badly sick
partly so we do not have to shop every day
partly to wring the full value out of every penny on promotions
partly as shopping with a car is a treat - lugging all the dry goods would be great cardio but hell on the skeleton
partly as we've Costco membership so some buying in bulk does work out as financially economic
partly so we can afford to be generous with food donations - we have an abundance to be generous from
partly as we have the storage capability
partly as I observed my parents build & maintain a store cupboard, as they learned from their parents
partly as I like to make jams etc as I learned from my folks & they wait in storage
partly as when the norovirus hits, knowing we have 48 loo rolls in store is a relief
and partly for peace of mind.

boultdj

Having been snowed in for 6 weeks in the past it was a good job I kept a pantry, meals might be on repeat a lot but both of us and the cat were feed and she was a handy furry hot water bottle.

suzeesu2000

@Doveling that’s a very good idea, may I pinch it please?

Doveling

suzeesu - of course 😊. Think I pinched the idea from JackieO a long time ago.

We've invested in the small Jackery and I'm going to try running the slo-cooker from it for all meals this weekend.

Tins will be involved!

DigForVictory

Wincing slightly at the cost of Scrubzz wipes, I asked a home bargains staff member if they did body wipes for after surgery etc (rather than make-up-removal or nappy-time) & she smiled yes they did but nothing on the shelves as Christmas had arrived & so the 'festival' stuff ("ordinarily, we sell a Lot") wasn't available. Something to remember if the Rapture (or whatever end of the world you subscribe to) will kindly wait til the Christmas stuff is off the shelves…
There remains the traditional flannel & soap but if heating & hot water are scarce commodities, let alone health flexibility balance & knowledge, I think a pack of wipes might be potentially handy.
My colleague, who had the unexpected treat of being stuck in a lift for several hours with (initially) relative strangers, has chuckled at my suggestion of distributing portable disposable urinal bags at the next meeting of the old comrades association (sat in the staff cafe, proper chairs, windows, an assortment of beverages & the option to get up & leave whenever they choose.) Having had one son properly hydrated but with the inevitable consequences along the drive back, I was tempted, but he'd have gone through half a dozen such bags easily & the disposal is not obvious.

Cosmos1234

Here's the latest from the BBC on why we should all be prepping! It also mentions why power cuts can affect water supplies and more.

Plus that emergency services have moved on to 4G and 5G communications which are "resilient and reliable" but it means they won't work if the power goes off!

What happens if all the lights go out? This is the plan for a 'Black Sky' event