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.

Same!! It's been in my loft for 3 years now just in case 😂 £30 worth of loo roll stacked away safely

Yes this was AFTER something happened. Covid became serious, the first lockdown begun. This is when people run to shops to stockpile because they panicked. Today nothing has happened yet. People are not in panic so are not panic-buying. If you get a few extra items with each weekly shop shelves won't suddenly be empty from it. In a few months you will amass a pile of items at home so when something happens again, you won't panic because you have plenty of food at home. You won't run to shops panic-buying. Can't you see that this advice prevents panic-buying, not causes it

I've added a few practical items to my stash - single use wooden cutlery and bowls, and packets of dettoll wet wipes. If there is no electricity there will be no water in taps (water pumps need electricity). You will have all those tinned foods but won't be able to wash dishes and not everything is convenient to be eaten directly from a tin. You also won't be able to wash your hands if they get dirty.

I was pretty confused during the start of lockdown that looroll was running out in shops. Why do people not have enough for a few weeks in?

But, my DP doesn't keep a "stock" of anything, he buys toothpaste literally the day it runs out, for example. I buy it probably every other supermarket shop and usually have about three spare at any time. Same with pretty much everything. But it seems plenty of people don't do this.

I think when I grew up we didn't really do supermarket shopping much so when we did we stocked up. Dad grew all our veg, so mum was always freezing or pickling it, or making jam or chutney, and we bought meat twice a year and filled the chest freezer. So, to me, buying to last a while is the norm.

Oh Lord! I've got a lot of frozen food in, we will be feasting on special offer legs of lamb.

We recently struggled to buy white pepper! None of the main supermarkets had it. Bought it in a tiny spar eventually.

I am always amazed when I hear how many times some people go shopping. Every day or sometimes numerous times a day. Both me and DH dislike shopping so go as little as possible, usually a biggish shop about every 6 weeks and then shop for fruit, veg etc about once a fortnight.

DH's parents always had a big stock of food which is maybe why he likes to have a good stock. My parents had very little money so food was in short supply so that is probably why I like to have a stock plus not having to keep going to the shops.

I must admit loo roll is definitely the thing I don't understand. We all need them so surely it makes sense, unless you can't afford the initial outlay, to buy them in bulk. It works out much cheaper and you are not forever going to the shop to buy more.

Will you be able to cook those legs of lamb if there is a powercut?

I've sourced a big old fashioned pot with a lid for this exact scenario which we've already tried out on our firepit for stews or heating quantities of water. For cleaning pots etc we'll be using the supplies from the water butts and Milton.

I have 24ltr of bottled water and 10 times of vegetable soup! I will get some crackers next week. And biscuits.

I make my own compost as I have two bins behind the shed where all of our garden waste and fruit and vegetables peelings go so only supplement with a couple of bags of shop bought stuff each year. Potatoes are really forgiving, they'll definitely grow in old compost and I've even earthed them up with grass clippings from mowing the lawn before now and they've done brilliantly. I know potatoes are cheap to buy but if you have a couple left and a composting system in your garden you can basically get an endless supply for free or very cheaply.

https://blog.woodland-ways.co.uk/outdoor-cooking/making-and-using-a-hay-box-to-cook-in/

I don’t keep masses in the freezer anymore. Think of the waste if there’s a prolonged power cut 🙈.

Although if you freeze cooked food then in a power cut you can just eat it.

How does this work when the corner shops can't operate the tills?

If things get really bad (and I’m not saying it will), it also depends on the shop staff not clearing the shelves.

How long do we think it will take to get bad?

I'm fairly sure it will be hours rather than days unless people have stuff already.

and the shop staff even being able to get there

To keep it running well though consider freezing water. I've got space in my freezer atm and that's what I've done.

I watched a programme once that showed you how to cook a leg of lamb without power - wrap it in foil and bury it in a compost heap for 24 hours. That might come in handy for anyone with a compost heap and a spare leg of lamb!

Thank you for the spud growing advice from several people!

Our freezer is mostly full of dog food. I'm off to Google whether it's likely to kill us if we have to eat it ourselves in an emergency (the food, not the family dog).

And no local foxes.

Not sure if fancy that. There's too many things in the compost heap which would get in past the tin foil.

I'd rather roast a chicken in foil on an open fire. It's not particularly hard to do.

The cupboards are always well stocked though to be fair. I have more tins of soup than I know what to do with.

The cupboards are always full anyway. I maybe buy a couple of extra tins each week and it all mounts up.