Your ‘emergency supplies/stockpile’.

[ohyouagainclarence]

Has anyone else started stashing a few things away in the event of some kind of ‘national emergency’ and if so, what sort of things are you storing?

I’m certainly not going to turn into a prepper but as I have plenty of storage space, I’ve got two big plastic boxes filled with dried goods (rice/pasta etc) and then some tinned stuff. I’ve also stocked up on batteries, candles and matches and I bought a solar charger. And oh, got two 5 litre bottles of water.

The temptation to go a bit nuts and plan for Armageddon is high! 😂😂 But I’m being sensible and just having enough for the basics to keep us going for about a week. I’m also cycling through the food so it doesn’t get wasted - use a tin of beans and then replace it etc.

I haven’t done this. This will lead to hoarding and make it worse in the event of a national disaster. Supply chain will collapse like it did during Covid.

Don’t be stupid. It’s basic common sense.

We’re supposed to do this on government advice. Most sensible people are doing it but are not telling you. If we do it gradually over time it shouldn’t affect the supply chain. The advice is to have enough food and water for 72 hours.

Similar. I also got a wind up radio with torch, head torches and some camping lanterns.

I need to get some long life milk and maybe some tins of evaporated milk which would be useful in an emergency situation but I can also use them for making kulfi, rice pudding and gypsy tart so won't leave them sitting there for years on end!

My freezer is full of meat but it always is

It's not hoarding, it’s having stuff in in case of emergency which could be anything. It's never wise to live last minute with supplies. That is why there was a loo roll rush as many probably just bought a pack of 2 or 4 each week and were on the last one. It's also often cheaper to buy in bulk.

I’ve always done this with food and water. What I have done this year is also bought a couple of lanterns and a wind up radio and I have made sure I have plenty of batteries. This is because the weather this winter is predicted currently to likely be quite stormy and there could be power cuts. To be honest, I probably should have always made sure I had lanterns but better late than never! I do have candles but hoping not to need these as they aren’t as safe with children around.

We have all the camping, emergency stuff anyway as DH is outward bound type and uses it sometimes. I often buy stuff from Amazon and large packs and multi buys are often cheaper and delivered on Prime so have supplies in anyway

Check the dates on things though! We were just in Costco and I bought a box of 20 oat bars, thinking they'd be useful as an emergency stash. Turns out their best before is in November! We do eat them (alway buy things you'll eat anyway) but not usually at that rate!

Recently the chinese supermarket has been giving us a free tin of sweetcorn at the checkout. Presumably they bought too much sweetcorn and cant get rid of it.
The other week i went in and they gave me two tins. None if us even like sweetcorn. But we are now stockpiling it, I suppose.

i’m not sure the freezer will be much use if the power is out and everything defrosts??

I’m not buying anything

Quite the opposite. It’s the people who ignored the government advice who will be running round like headless chickens, panic buying in the event of an emergency. Those who have been buying an extra couple of tins for months won’t need to.

Except this is government recommendation

I was really sorted in the run up to (just in case) Brexit and (this is going to be a shitstorm) Covid. Had masses of stuff in by the end of February.

Not as organised now. Yesterday I was muttering about how I need to put a kitchen shelf aside for long life products and start doing stock rotation again. I'm slightly winging it on the basis I live in a town centre so have a lot of large stores on the doorstep and I can walk it all if needed.

Freezers no use if we lose power!

This copied from the government list of suggestions:

Battery or wind-up torch – torches are safer than candles.
Portable power bank for charging your mobile phone.
Battery or wind-up radio to get updates during a power cut – a car radio can be used, however in severe weather it might be safer to stay inside.
Spare batteries for torches and radio and a backup battery for any medical equipment you rely on.
A first aid kit (or some first aid items) including items such as waterproof plasters, bandages, a thermometer, antiseptic, eyewash solution, sterile dressings and gloves, medical tape for dressings, and tweezers.
Hand sanitiser and wet wipes for hygiene purposes when the water is off.
Bottled water – there is no standard figure for this as emergencies can vary in duration and people use different amounts. A minimum of 2.5-3 litres of drinking water per person per day is recommended by the World Health Organisation for survival. 10 litres per person per day will make you more comfortable by also providing for basic cooking and hygiene needs. Additional water might be needed to make up baby formula, for medical devices and for pets.
Non-perishable food that doesn’t need cooking, such as ready-to-eat tinned meat, fruit or vegetables (and a tin opener). As with water, how much you need will vary based on your own circumstances. Don’t forget food for pets.
Baby supplies such as nappies and baby formula – ready made or ‘ready-to-feed’ formula is best as you may not be able to boil water or sterilise bottles

How we would kick ourselves if we had a house full of crap but no fresh drinking water 🙈

Ive bought extra over the past 6 months. We live in a rural area and would be a bit cut off in an emergency.
Canned milk, the usual dry stuff and cans.
Bought a small gas hob with cannisters should the gas supply stop and loads of batteries for torches.
We have a multi fuel stove and a lot of availability of wood.
Water fir drinking a few 5l bottles, and if water was required in quantity we are on a river. Sterile tablets and boiling would do for washing etc.
I feel OK for a few months but because I have a bit of cash over at the end of the month, stocked up well as my neighbours don't have enough money to stockpile so they know we can help out.

Been donating tinned meat to the food bank for ages as well.

It's not going to cause shortages if you buy while the market is still well-supplied: the buyers will just think 'X is popular right now so I'll order more' and it'll be available so they'll get it. That's different from stocks being low/item being in high demand but no further supplies coming in and people are trying to bulk buy it.

But what is the emergency? It's long been official advice to have 3 days of food & water in the house (I can manage the former but not the latter) but I think that's been more weather-related. Civil unrest, even war - 3 days' supplies not going to help much really. And if theres no gas or electricity to heat water/ to cook, or to keep your fridge freezer on - again, no good.

I could get a camping stove & gas, I suppose. Maybe I will. I do pick up some small cans of M&S minced beef when I'm there. I can see me stocking up on carbs more than protein so I need to remind myself to get that. Spaghetti bol would comfort me in an emergency.

I’ve probably got enough canned/ dried/ long life food for a week now, plus I have cleared my freezer and have started adding to a freezer drawer of veg, fruit, and meat. I spend about £10 per week. I’m pretty much at the limit of food items really because otherwise things will be hard to keep in date. The next thing is a power bank and a torch. I also need to actually store it somewhere because currently it’s all in a big bag in my cupboard but I think I need to get hard plastic crates with lids.

I said to H I don’t want to be a prepper so what do you think? Cool headed H

He thinks we should have some water stored and tins.

So will get some stuff over the next month and hope we don’t need it. Will put it all in a big plastic box in shed. And keep an eye on water dates.

I have wine, dog food, chocolates and some Pantone left over from last year.

Also some sweet corn tins and curry paste.

I do have my medication and random antibiotics because my MIL
bought some over the counter when she was in Poland and generously shared those with us.

DH has beetroot from his allotment.

I think that’s not too bad.

I prepare for the most credible risks. Storms. Snow. Power cuts. I thought that was just sensible. And it means that if we have any of those things I’m not left floundering. We can still cook and boil water (outdoor bbq, camping kit), make tea (uht milk) and have decent food. The loos can still be flushed (water butts). And we can still hear the news (wind up radio). We have head torches and lamps if the electricity is cut off. We do have a camping water filter for water; I don’t tend to store that.

We have power cuts a couple of times a year because we're in a rural area, so we already have most of what the govt advises. We now have three new power banks, because during the power cut last winter we discover the two we had were too old and wouldn't charge properly.

We have torches and batteries anyway because when we go out after dark we need them, there is no street lighting. We have some battery powered lights, a gas hob which works without electricity, and a log burner. We always have plenty of dried and tinned foods, and food in the freezer. (And loo roll!)

That's all fine for a short lasting issue like a weather related power cut, but it's pretty impossible to prep longer term and I wouldn't bother to try.