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.

Fgs you're still here just to make fun.

Same here

I think lots of people don't realise that much of our electricity (about 40% of it) is made using gas.

I use mine two or three times and add some liquid fertiliser. Then I re-compost it on the compost heap with green waste.

A big bag of potatoes is cheap now..

I'm sorry to hear this has happened to you, we obviously don't know the circumstances of why you lost your job and why the government is at fault. But your earlier comment re Reform? Forget them helping you if they were ever in government and you were long term sick or unemployed through no fault of your own. They literally won't.

Shed loads of toilet roll. If I'm going to have to shit in the woods at least I can have 3ply to wipe my arse

so spoilt !

This ‘non-perishable ready to eat food that doesn’t need cooking’ - could you let me know what you have? The thought of eating cold beans or canned meat makes me gag 🤢

I think you’d find yourself being significantly less fussy if you were starving.

If you had no means of even boiling water/heating food at all

cereal bars/flapjacks/protein bars
protein drinks
crackers
jam
honey
biscuits
nuts
raisins/dried fruit
crisps
tuna
corned beef
tinned chicken/ham
tinned fruit
rice pudding
chocolate
long life milk
cereal
cous cous (will soften eventually with cold water)
ready cooked packs of rice/quinoa
fruit - apples for example will last a long time if stored properly
vitamin tablets

Many people will be able to heat things though either using a BBQ or a camping stove or a wood burner, even if the power was off for a while.

Sorry to hear about koalas job loss that is utterly crap. Family member was also in that field and lost his job too. Awful.

I don't stockpile.
Anything surplus goes to the local food bank.

It would be more responsible to do both, to give to food banks and also to keep a couple of days food and water in your own house. Then, if there's disruption, you won't be needing help from anyone yourself, and local food bank stocks or council emergency supplies can go only to those who have no alternative.

Those of us who had done this did not need to buy loo roll during covid. The supermarket had restocked months before COVID started. We were staying home and only needed a few top up shops.

DH bought a shedload of John West tuna pasta meals from B&M, I said are they for the apocalypse, but no he does eat them when he goes out. Stuff like that keeps for ages and is quite filling.

We are rural and power cuts are already a feature in our lives.
So I would like to remind people of that old trick of freezing a small cup of water and placing a coin on top, then keeping it the freezer.
in this way, whether the coin remains on top or sinks, it will alert you to whether your food has thawed, or thawed and refrozen, and is therefore dubious.

I have already mentioned somewhere that it is wise to keep some bottled water in the freezer, both for storage and because it helps keep the (closed) freezer cold in the event of a power cut.

The amount of water needed for each person is an issue. We each need at least 2 litres daily and humans cannot last longer than 3 days without water. If the power is disrupted, so are the pumps for the water supply.
We are fortunate because we have a spring nearby, with clean water, although we would use purification tablets to drink it.
If I lived in a town, I would check out nearby natural water sources which could be drunk using purification tabs, and things like swimming pools for hygiene use, which should be made available, if it gets that bad.

As for all this talk about hoarding, it seems to me that this is a perjorative term for stockpiling or prepping, which is a totally different thing from panic buying, as any fule no.

I can recommend solar lanterns. At least 2 so you can go to the loo and leave a light with someone.

Solar/wind up radio or just a little battery one from Asda with spare batteries.

A power bank.

Treats.

Entertainment (pack of cards, kids game, etc)

Having your winter over the counter medications in.

Cooking:

Have food you like and eat anyway that you don't need to.heat up, eg:

Tinned meat, fish, beans, seeds, nuts, peanut butter
Crackers, biscuits, wraps,
Jarred veg like beetroot, pickled onions (only stuff you actually like)
Dried fruit (Aldi has a wide range)
Chocolate,sweets etc (calories on the go)
Christmas cake. (Lasts well past it's date)
Jam, honey, treacle, syrup, Nutella

Lots of people have a BBQ. You can get disposable ones with a small stand.
Or camping stove. These are good for outdoor spaces only. Small camping stove used on expeditions.

Have some just add hot water food:
Packets of couscous (DD adds tinned beans, olives raisins and seeds)
Mug shots, instant noodles, instant custard, gravy, cup soup.

Some just heat up food
Tinned veg, curries, rice pudding, custard, beans, (baked or kidney)
Microwave rice. Dal pouches. Soups

(Always good when you are ill)

Most likely scenarios are illness, winter storms with possible power cuts, snow, flooding cutting you off from shops. Hybrid war and cyber attacks or just the bank going down when they try and upgrade their systems.

Have a bit of spare cash and change so you can top.up from the corner shop.

Oooh cans of protein shakes are a good idea, like those nourishment ones - haven't had one in years but used to love them at uni.

No. If i didn’t drive or if I lived rurally I might do but I can walk to at least 30 corner shops for emergency supplies.

72 hours of stuff is not that much. Drinking is the hardest. You've probably got 48 hours of stuff in anyway if you don't shop every day. Possibly add some cheap pop or fizzy water and stick under the bed.

Look at what you eat now and see what you can get an extra of.

Surely if there is no electricity those shops will not be open?

I swear people in the UK are sleepwalking in complete denial... They need to start reading the news instead of scrolling tiktok. Another mistake is misunderstanding Russia and their methods, and thinking that Putin is just another leader like Macron or Meloni. Meanwhile he's more akin to Kim Jong Un (or worse)

This is the one DH just ordered. He has tried it out and is very happy with it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08V17BPBC?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

think it is going in adult DC's Christmas stockings

People are not stockpiling fresh fruit. It lasts a few days. It's not panic buying. Empty shelves are just the beginning of what we will experience soon after this disastrous draught killed do many crops. Listen to farmers. There are numerous articles on the internet where farmers discuss how difficult this year was. Some had to sell some of their cows because they couldn't feed all of them due to failed crops, then feed the remaining ones with their winter feed. Fruit & veg crops were awful. I can see myself that the two plum trees near my garden had no plums this year for the first time. We will have empty shelves in shops in the coming months and the food that will be available will be expensive