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THE Prepping thread - a new beginning :)

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  • maryb
    maryb Posts: 4,658
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    I remember weeping when interest rates went up after DH had lost his job. We held on, though as you say. I had a tiny blistery rash all over my hands for months and I completely lost my sense of taste, all pure stress.

    And we didn't even have any cc debt. Our mortgage was very affordable when we took it out on two salaries. But when we lost half our income and had childcare (which we had to keep so that DH could get another job) it was very different.
    It doesn't matter if you are a glass half full or half empty sort of person. Keep it topped up! Cheers!
  • 70 has already happened for He Who Knows and is going to happen to me in January next year and I've more oomph now than I've ever had in my life and so has he. We don't give age a passing thought but we DO just get on and do all the things that need doing as they occur it just takes a little longer than it did when we were 30. This morning we were given 3 trailer loads of oak logs which we unloaded onto the front lawn and He Who Knows got out the axe, the chop saw and the splitters and set to work, I was (still am) on carrying and wheelbarrow/stacking duty and we processed most of the smaller branches. Then he started splitting the cords of bigger wood which are in quarters to be sawn into half when we need them (also when we replace the chop saw which finally blew up today). We run the plots and use the crops and enjoy every minute of it. We walk other folks dogs and have a great life and stay active, it's good to be physically tired at the end of every day and sleep because of it. 70 should hold no fears, it's only 69 + 1 day! xxx.
  • maryb
    maryb Posts: 4,658
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    Sadly, although I am pretty well healed from the crush fracture of my spine last year, it has left me with aches and pains, and with having quite bad osteoporosis chances are I may get frailer than I would like. Mind you, I tripped and fell quite heavily last week with no lasting damage so I'm not exactly falling apart just yet. Eating well and getting exercise is a form of prepping for me
    It doesn't matter if you are a glass half full or half empty sort of person. Keep it topped up! Cheers!
  • mardatha
    mardatha Posts: 15,612 Forumite
    I think, as an older prepper of 67, some things we can't prep for. Like a stroke or broken hip for example. Sometimes things happen to us that are not preppable-forable really, unless by our mindset of getting on with it and coping. Health is one thing that can go to hell fast, right out of the blue. So I'm sort of working on that, trying to make life easier for us and make sure each of us knows how to do everything.
    Currently re-reading All Quiet on the Home Front, a real eye-opener of life in Britain during WW1. How miners bairns starved and actually died of malnutrition, and how every single family was hit in some way by the war - and had to get by without any help at all. Some of it is hard reading - but great examples of self-help and prepper mentality. We don't know how lucky we are.
  • daz378
    daz378 Posts: 1,000
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    bought 3 led candles and some normal candles and a lantern ... but i consider my greatest prepp is not being in debt and not being tempted by the latest technological marvel....back in work monday
  • elona
    elona Posts: 11,806
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    At the moment my prepping seems to be spending money to make the house safe, secure and comfortable. Downstairs is more or less what I wanted, the staircase has been made safe and upstairs is being finished off with built in storage, nice curtains etc and a new wardrobe for the biggest bedroom has been ordered.

    Nothing has been done on credit and everything has been carefully thought out. If youngest and bf end up moving from Liverpool and need somewhere to stay while they find a flat etc then upstairs should be usable and even comfortable.

    I am going to start using up some preps and trying new recipes etc
    I have been able to take advantage of various sales so have not had to spend as much as I feared to get nice, good quality things.

    I want to get back to making my own bread (using a machine) and making sure I cook from scratch again. Have lots of candles, tealights, solar lights as well as a solar radio.

    Next goal has to be looking after my health and losing weight as well as walking a bit more and not getting breathless.
    "This site is addictive!"
    Wooligan 2 squares for smoky - 3 squares for HTA
    Preemie hats - 2.
  • Witless
    Witless Posts: 728
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    edited 19 May 2017 at 7:27PM
    I'm a mere whippersnapper - but am (painfully) aware of getting older.

    I mentioned before that one of my preps is 'future proofing' and am slowly working through the house: last project was the bathroom - larger shower (room for a plastic garden chair if it ever becomes necessary) and anti slip flooring - once the 25 year warranty has expired I'll not be too worried.

    Kitchen is ongoing - the electrician should be out by Monday afternoon: I wanted extra sockets so some are at waist height. There were two reasons for doing it now; cost - materials are getting more expensive (but labour costs coming down - black economy?) and time/age - the kitchen was functional as were the electrics but in 10 or 15 years in my 70s I'm not sure I'd be up to tracking walls with a kango (saving a lot on the costs* but paying for it now - time for a long bath and an early night.


    Apparently the average cost nationally of supply & fit of an additional double socket is £120 (though it's £75 -£100 locally): I've done the first fix -
    tracking/cutting, installed the conduit & plaster boxes and pulled the wires through. With that degree of prep the spark reckons about an hour to connect them so £40ish on the bill for the new consumer unit & inspection. I had a fair bit of kit left over from the last rewire in the 90s (the only difference is that old kit is better quality) but bought a few bits & pieces - change from £50. For the sake of a couple of days work (& a soreish back) a saving of over £600 isn't to be sneezed at. Took me 2 days so far with about 5 or 6 hours left to do - making good plasterwork & sanding down.

    I still have some kit left but think I won't bother upgrading my stock: it mightn't quite be time to hang up the gloves but I'm certainly considering deep cleaning & greasing the kango - I don't think I'll be doing much more of that type of slog.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 12,492
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    mar, I lent my book to my neighbour, who is 10 years older than me, the youngest of 11 from a farm in lincolnshire. He is loving it, says it brings back so many memories but at the same time is hard reading as in emotional. I will never get rid of that book. I am 69 and will also be 70 in january 2018 and I feel energetic and well but have learnt to pace myself better and to relax in the afternoons for a while, ok to have a short nap. I am still quite strong but only because I cycle and lift things, making sure not to twist or to kneel on hard floors, however my strength is going compared to 20 years ago, hence the pilates ring out on my sofa and the elastic at the bottom of the stairs, just a few stretches helps no end

    Getting old is going into the unknown, who knows what illnesses and events will strike, it only takes one episode to have that fall which breaks an important bone.

    Witless it is good to keep on top of improvements and maintenance, I had to give away the heavy tools but kept the lightweight ones, adding to the saws etc. I have a good selection of tools, including electric tools like sanders, drill, a safe saw etc. Yours is a good age to get all these jobs done. I have kept on top of maintenance, did a reachable lime render repair two years ago, excavated behind and repaired and future proofed a long wooden retaining wall, gave high wooden supports and balcony railings a good two coats of thick coloured oil based preservative. I can`t see me doing that job again, it meant me moving and tying a long ladder to the railings, was safe but took me two weeks full on. However, I did it properly and would now ask someone to come in and just give it a coat when needed. Prepping is also about having enough knowledge to be able to employ a tradesman, so that they know that we will not be ripped off because we know what we are doing.
  • moneyistooshorttomention
    moneyistooshorttomention Posts: 17,940 Forumite
    edited 20 May 2017 at 6:05AM
    Kittie - after what you said about pilates rings - I duly looked them up and one is en route to me as we speak. How do you use yours? (ie how often etc). Am now doing finishing touches as regards getting the work done on my house - so the idea is to put in a fitness routine of daily yoga and daily go for a walk and/or aerobic type exercise session now that I'll soon be able to focus more on My Life iyswim.

    I'm not a cyclist - but I'm also wondering whether I should buy myself an exercise bike. Do you have any recommendations on that?

    I'm conscious of needing to get the strength in both arms and legs back to normal and that prepping for me consists basically of "getting back to normal - and then staying that way".

    I read a lot of comments by people along the lines of them saying "when I get weaker/frailer/etc/etc" and that isn't an option I'm prepared to contemplate for me. Each to their own - but I wouldnt consider life worth living if I couldnt go out for a whole day doing what I please (including going for a reasonable length walk). I always feel sorry for people who have any level of being housebound and I'm very conscious that it's not feasible to live in a more rural location like this (even though I'm in a town) with a body that would only allow for going to "indoor events". It would be possible in my home city - because there are so many indoor event things going on. Here - it would be much more difficult - as there are many fewer "indoor events" and I cant go to some of them (as they're in another language - well I tried one and felt very out of it because of not understanding it). So my body has to remain up to the "go out for whole day and having reasonable length walk" standard basically. Not to mention fit enough to lug a heavy suitcase around every time I go back for home visits - which I shall be doing more often (now that money isnt quite such a problem as it was).
  • GreyQueen
    GreyQueen Posts: 13,008
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    :) Morning all.

    One thing that I have definately observed with every person I know as they age is that decline in physical strength, mobility and overall health isn't ever a smoothly descending curve.

    Vitality goes down in sharp drops, with an injury or an illness being the trigger for a sudden decline in overall health and functionality. Oftentimes, the re-set is at a much lower level.

    This is why it's an excellent idea to do future-proofing, decluttering and even downsizing before you 'have to' as, by the time that situation comes around, you may not be in a position to do the work unaided or even at all.

    Over 20 years ago, my parents had a one-room extension built on their small terraced house. This was to create some badly-needed space and one corner of it was taken out to be a shower-room/ WC. The room was planned so that it could easily take a double-bed with the idea that if my paternal grandparents wanted or needed to live with us, they could.

    That situation didn't occur and both of them have passed now, but the design means that my mother, who has Parkinson's, doesn't have to face a future of moving away from her home of nearly 50 years should she become unable to manage the stairs. All we young 'uns would have to do is to move the furniture. The shower stall is 3 ft square which means it can easily take the tall plastic stool if a sit-down shower experience is necessary.

    And, of course, the family have had the benefit of the extra space and the extra bathroom in the meantime. If retained, the £15k it cost (funded from savings) wouldn't have appreciated much due to lousy savings rates in the interim, and certainly would not have bought now what it bought then.

    I am not a property owner - unless one stretches the point to include the allotment's shed and cold frame :p - so my future proofing mainly involve being decluttered and remaining in a ground-floor flat with very close access to GP (200m) and many shops, libraries and other facilities within a 5 minute stroll. I most certainly won't be aiming to move out into the countryside, even when I am no longer in the workforce - current pension age 67 and retreating fast.
    Every increased possession loads us with a new weariness.
    John Ruskin
    Veni, vidi, eradici
    (I came, I saw, I kondo'd)
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