AIBU to think my friend is overdoing emergency stockpiling?

With all due respect this isn't a dedicated preppers thread- those are elsewhere on MN and other platforms. Taking on board all you've said, yes, in a world where 6 months with no external resources had become reality, many wouldn't be prepared; because most average households quite literally cannot afford some of the equipment or amenities that would be needed.

Oooh I cant wait to have my own house and start becoming a proper prepper

I can dedicate a whole space to it and have shelves and shit.

Also to add in the prepping community your taught not to shout off about preps blend in with the crowd and don’t make it known you have x amount supply of food or water.

I’m rural so for a hoard of hungry people to end up here wouldn’t happen. Would be completely different if we lived in a town or city. I also wouldn’t underestimate the amount of people I could plough through if my children were in danger. I definitely know which of my neighbours I could take out easily in that situation also.

Does the community that has prepared to that level outnumber the people who haven't? I'm afraid weight of numbers will probably make your prep the food of the fittest non-preppers

Hopefully it'll never get to that. But I think you're deluded if you really believe you could fight off a hoard of desperate people

Prepping is so so much more than food. You need a very good supply of water antibiotics painkillers antiseptic wipes. If food runs out could you hunt? Could you keep your family safe from anyone who is trying to rob you for your food? Has she got a plan if she needs to leave her home? Is she bugging in or out? Does she have a grab bag if she needs to leave urgently. Does she have enough blankets if we have no gas and electricity to keep herself warm? How’s she cooking with no gas or electric? It’s all well and good having a stock of food but everything else needs to be thought about and planned.

Having poo bags and a water butt doesn’t even come close to a prepper.

And there is a large community of us that are prepped for that. You come for my family you will be killed. It will be survival of the fittest if SHTF mega.

We always have a good amount of non perishables stockpiled because we live in a rural area so it's always been the done thing for us.It has stood us in good stead for extreme weather , sickness and cancelled deliveries etc as we are a long way from supermarkets. I haven't got 6 months of everything, we just don't have the space to store it although I was checking my stores prior to shopping this week and I have got a few months of laundry liquid, fabric conditioner , washing up liquid, shampoo , conditioner, shower gel , bleach , cleaning sprays , dettol, and toothpaste in, got some loo roll of course but only about a months worth, need to work on adding to that as it's the first thing to vanish from the wee shops here when any kind of disaster strikes, I guess everyone sh!ts themselves in panic 😆
I've started buying things like tea bags, coffee, sugar ,pasta, rice, noodles and some tins & packets, stock cubes etc . but I mainly buy my stockpile items when they 're on special offers as that helps a lot with the budget
We also have a gas ring and cannisters which we were glad of recently when our cooker broke and we were waiting on a new one to be delivered. It's smart to be prepared when you don't have everything available on your doorstep

They are struggling in Ukraine for almost 5 years now using weaponry dating back to the USSR.

I thought WWIII will be just a quick blast and goodnight Vienna but I'm not so sure now.

Someone said about loo water, I have a 200L butt in the garden, so that can be loo water I suppose.
I have cats and a dog so I have copious amount of cat litter and poo bags, if it comes to it....

Am I a prepper now?🤔

A litre lasts about 6-7 hours.

If electricity goes I'll use my generator which is run by petrol.

I’d love to be prepper but i’m just too disorganised. I think it’s reasonable to have supplies etc for 6 months if you can afford it and have the space, but I wouldn’t be telling anyone about it! My parents have lots of stored canned, dried and pickled goods probably enough for a month or two. We live 400 miles away from them though so sadly my family would have to starve after about half a week.

It doesn't help that no one gags Trump and he's now in Ireland stirring the pot over Irish reunification and the Falklands. A man who starts wars on a whim.

I feel like they need to bring next June's big civil defence exercise forward somewhat.

Thanks for adding the links. There is a reason our threat level is currently set at Severe, for anyone doubting there are things to be concerned about.

I agree, I also do wonder why we don’t have the same capacity. It seems mad, if we don’t.

Thanks @HeckYeah appreciate the links.

Yes. This is one of the articles.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/nato-allies-foil-russian-subsea-cable-sabotage-plot-2026-09-10/

Edit;

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/11/ukraine-war-briefing-nato-foils-russian-undersea-cable-sabotage-drill

https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/russia-undersea-cables-nato-uk-norway-us-b3047868.html

www.dailymail.com/news/article-16122903/amp/Putins-undersea-threat-Britain-UK-woefully-short-ways-stop-cable-attacks-spark-chaos-experts-warn-Moscows-secret-weapon-sabotage-plot-foiled.html

You mean the Russians now have the technical capacity to just unplug, as it were, the West's Internet?
If this is so why the fuckity fuck do we not have the same capacity to unplug them, and why don't we just bloody well do it?
End the war with Ukraine and bring Russia to a standstill with minimum casualties.
I hope someone is planning this and we're not drifting along thinking they won't dare to do it to us because they bloody well will.
Have you got a link for that info, btw?

They said on the news yesterday that they have a new weapon so don’t even need to cut the cables, there won’t even be any evidence.

But no one is planning water to flush the loo or wash dishes.

Many on these threads have indeed talked about water to wash up and flush the loo. Including buying extra wet wipes and even bin bags in the toilet with cat sand.

You can stock what you know you’re eating in advance to have a buffer.

Yes? This is the exact guidance?

I have now purchased a wind up torch/charger

we had one before but i may have thrown it out!

3 tins of baked beans, sardines, bottles of water, uht milk
might buy some tinned pineapple

Surely 10 litres gives you an extra 10 to 12 hours at most of freezer time. If the emergency involves a power cut, it sounds to me as though most of your emergency supplies won’t last (particularly if you keep opening the freezers to get food out).