I'm a prepper. Ask me anything.

[bellinisurge]

Prompted by me sticking my beak in on a few threads to do with making personal preps for Brexit, I've dug out my tin foil hat to invite you to Ask Me Anything. I'm sure other preppers are more kick ass than I am but I can answer based on what I do.

@motherlondon - my late mum lived an hour's drive away. Sadly she passed away a couple of years ago. I relied on keeping the tank topped up to go over to her twice a week. I knew I was taking a bit of a risk by not having spare to use to go and get her (if she would've even agreed to come ). But I tried to keep my discipline of having a full tank. I was flirting with the idea of storing petrol but decided against it.

Do you have weapons to defend your stash in a zombie apocalypse type scenario?

Working on the basis that running away from people who want to hurt you is a good idea, I have a few strategies for defending my home. However, if they didn't work, I would leave. I know my limits and the limits of my household. I have a few ideas about where we would go.

I'm a rookie prepper.

Do you rotate the food you store? And do you have any good website/blog recommendations for me?

I'm the kind that has a stash of Valium and vodka-if it all gets too much that's our way out! But more seriously I have bleach, jeyes fluid, loo roll, food and a small amount of bottled water. I really want a wind up radio and torch. Do you have those?

Such a silly question, I know, so forgive me.
Do you eat fresh or so called 'normally' on a daily basis or do you tap into your store for your daily means, then replenish your stock? In other words, do you have 25 year old tins of fruit cocktail covered in dust in the cellar?

There is probably a much better way of wording my long-winded question!

@TwoGinScentedTears - I have windup radio.
I would recommend Prepper Pot Pourri on YouTube. Most big scary US gun loving preppers are in awe of her. Middle aged unremarkable looking woman who is fab. She's all about sharing knowledge.
Prepper Princess on YouTube is about doing it on budget and making the best of what you have.
Praxis Prepper is pretty funny and has an interesting "apocalypse " series at the moment. Absurd scenario used to consider interesting ideas.
A small YouTube channel called DawnsTomorrow is interesting too.
Of UK channels they are a bit "camo man" heavy but there are interesting ideas for you to consider.
There's Canadian Prepper which is one of the most popular- again, you need to have a testosterone filter to watch it. Although he takes the piss out of himself and preppers generally with his occasional "all-American prepper" alter ego who occasionally "drops in".
Have a punch of salt handy and focus on what works for you.

Re storing water. I'm in a flat and have the following:
-2 large bottles (20l) of water, which is changed every 6 months

• several bottles of ordinary drinking water (which we use and replace regularly)
• water purification tablets
• 2 life drinking straws

The first two were incredibly useful recently when our water was cut off for 48 hours with no warning (over a bank holiday so shops were shut) but made me realise that I need to sort out the toilet situation...

The 2nd too were bought with a real "SHTF" situation in mind.

@TheVanguardSix - I eat normally and buy normally from the shops. Dh is a great cook and loves trying new recipes. I have a stash of stuff and I also grow veg. Can't remember the last time we bought spuds or lettuce for example. Tomatoes aren't ripe yet but on their way. Same with runner beans. I grow what we like to eat. However, I try and preserve what I grow to use in winter. I have a plan to grow stuff for our Christmas dinner which is coming along nicely- spuds, carrots, parsnips, sprouts (yes, I like them). Just made some red currant jelly for stuff I grew.
No, the turkey will have to come from Sainsburys .

@SnowOnTheSeine - it sounds like you have a good way of looking at it.

There's some Prepper thing about:
3 seconds without hope
3 minutes without air
3 hours without shelter
3 days without water
3 weeks without food.
Those are your limits.

@SnowOnTheSeine - there is, of course, the toilet question, surprised no one has asked about that. Yes, I have plans .

What are yours? I want to buy a camping toilet and cat litter but DH is very

To be honest, in a real SHTF situation we are realistically dead. We live in the centre of a major capital city. We won't be able to get out and we'll be killed by roaming gangs after a few days I'm sure. DH thinks there's no point in prepping for anything large scale.

He did agree that my water was useful though.

I have a windup radio, torch, no Dr in the village books, a very good first aid stock and a fairly decent amount of food.

No way to cook food with no electricity though.

I also need to update our fire prepping bag - just a rucksack with most important things to grab if there's a fire.

@TheVanguardSix - like stuff in the freezer, it's good to rotate your tins. Which is why I always say store what you will actually eat.

What do you think of the idea that in a genuinely catastrophic situation (assuming you live in a populated area) you'd be better off to have a valuable skill to trade than to have supplies that will run out?

@SnowOnTheSeine - I have a camping toilet and chemicals for it. However, I would want to start using it as a composting toilet pretty quickly if it looked like a long term sewage problem. I think my family would freak out slightly less at a camping toilet and chemicals to start off.
As for where I'd put stuff - chemical stuff I would put in bags and I have a nearby spot to store them. If I used a composting toilet set up, I would store the "compost" on a different area I have designated, nearby.
If I was confident the sewer lines were still working, I would use the loo with grew water to flush it e.g. water I had used for boiling veg or washing with.
All not ideal but a bit of a plan.

@DieAntword - having skills rather than stuff is a good idea.

@Randyharrisonfan - prepping actually helps me not be anxious and makes me feel like I have a bit of control . Lot of mad stuff in the world to be anxious about. I prefer to focus on practical stuff. And then get on with my life . Work. Children. Fun. Safe in the knowledge I have a shot at dealing with stuff if it goes a bit pear shaped.

Water purification when shtf confuses me a bit. If you boil it, as you would have to, wouldn't that involve fire, which would make smoke, which would alert the entire neighbourhood to the fact that Bellinisurge has firewood, maybe clean water and food etc? Of course you might have gas/electricity for the hob but no mains water, in which case my question wouldn't apply.

The visibility of smoke is a concern because I'm currently in a rental house with all the fireplaces blocked off, so in a grid-down situation, outdoor cookery would be the only kind possible.

How did you get into this? Did something trigger ur

@Agustarella - there are alternatives to making fire for cooking and water purification. I have some life straws for example. I can eat cold from a tin rather than not eat if things got serious as you suggest. I've actually experienced martial law in another country so , while it is scary, it's not unknown to me.

@RachelfromFriends - a culmination. I had a terrible maternity experience and was shocked at how hard it was to get practical help from healthcare people that I thought could rely on. It got me thinking about self reliance. I have been snowed in. My Mum had to buy in water because her supply was contaminated. And all the Brexit nonsense has just reinforced my ongoing back up plans to cope without "normal service ".

@SnowOnTheSeine - we have a cat so extra cat litter isn't something I need to press for. Excellent idea to have it. Just a bag is better than nothing.

Do you have dogs?

@Sarahjconnor - we really are a bit more vulnerable to set backs in food distribution and power than people think. Being snowed in with a young baby a few years ago really opened my eyes.
I love going to the city. I travel overseas. But I have in the back of my mind a plan B , C etc if it doesn't go as planned or REALLY doesn't go as planned.

ps: like the user name!