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.

If our energy supplies were disrupted and there was no way of actually cooking food then all of that dried rice and pasta isn't going to help much. Might be better to buy things you can eat cold.

This is what I've just done! More than slightly startled at the price difference when you have your lentils (for example) cooked in a factory vs cooking dry ones yourself - but suspect I'll find it so much easier, I won't want to go back.

I've always kept tinned fruit on my shopping list. I love them, and it often works out cheaper than fresh produce. Not so sure I'll enjoy my tinned curries quite as much if I have to eat 'em cold, mind. Still, they are definitely food.

You can use liquid in tins to cook with / other purposes if necessary. You need to add water to dried lentils.

I’ve only read the OP’s posts so don’t know if the following have been mentioned:

1.small bills of cash… cards will be useless if the grid goes down

2.solar lights used for the garden are very good for indoor use if the power goes out.. we do this now

3.a small mirror that can be used to reflect the sun to start a fire or signal rescuers

4.a plastic whistle to signal rescuers

5.safety pins and a roll of duct tape

6.an extra pair of prescription glasses ( can be old ones even if your prescription has changed)

7.extra prescription meds that you rotate through so they don’t expire

8.a sharp knife

Yes, the reason I've ordered tinned is that I may not have spare water for cooking. Or a working cooker.

I live very rurally, and got snowed in for two weeks when we had "The Beast From The East" a few years back.

As a result I start putting a couple of extra tins in the trolly every week from the end of June. We have our own water supply, although we buy drinking water, so we have purifying tablets in case we run out of the bottled stuff. We have a log burner with an unlimited supply of free wood, so we will be warm and can do some heating up of food if the power goes off.

If anyone is stocking up, remember pet food if you have pets. We are seasoned pro's now, as we get snowed in for at least a couple of days three or four times in a normal winter, so happy that we have enough to keep us going for three or four weeks if needed.

OMG, @Sweetpea1532, you're a serious prepper!

If I need to be whistling for rescue or starting fires in the wild, I'm giving up. My outward bound days are far behind me, with no wish to repeat. It was miserable enough while I was young and fit!

Random but dental floss can be used for so many things..It’s strong, stretchy and lightweight. You can use it to mend clothes or heavier things like a backpack, use as a clothes line, hang things on, make a fire (with waxed floss), fish, slice soft food..

Ive just done a sizeable online shopping order with back ups of most things. My pantry will be very full. I've also bulk bought pet food and chicken feed.

We are also lucky in that we have a free wood supply and log burners. I also have solar plus batteries so would hopefully have a bit of power even if there were power shortages in the depths of winter.

As well as food, loo roll etc it is worth getting a good head torch. We live miles away from the nearest village, and use head torches all the time when taking the dogs out in winter. We have 4 or five which last well, and are very bright. We could sit and read books by head torch light last time we had a power cut, so we'll worth getting.

Crisps are impossible to stockpile though. For.... Reasons

battery-powered LED camping lanterns are good for reading or cooking by, and strings of battery-powered LED fairy lights help one to navigate round the house when the electricity is out. They also look quite cheerful and can be kept around for Christmas.

My food stores always include a few extra cans of anchovies, and for more old-fashioned cooking tinned pork-and-ham (Lidl own brand better than Spam imo) and corned beef. Either is fine with salad or on sandwiches, but if you can cook the p&h is good with pasta, corned beef excellent with mashed potato, onion and kale. Best browned in the oven, but perfectly edible without.

The dates in Costco are often relatively short. Basically they are designed for businesses or large families that will get through things at a rate of knots. Have been caught out in the past

Reason 1: (for me) Availability of pretty snack bowls that require filling with more than one standard 25g pack

Reason 2: Book am reading/film am watching/personal issue I am confronting are all very absorbing

Reason 3: if I don't eat them hubby will....🤔

There is no way of me stockpiling crisps. I have no off button with them.
I'm already side-eyeing the 1kg bag of mixed nuts I got today.
Oh well, I can store supplies as extra body fat I guess.

I concur.

Unpopped popcorn is more doable.

I remember when it reached a pound a gallon!

Yes. I think the most useful things are things like cereal bars and tinned fruit. I don't think I want to eat cold baked beans, for example (though DH said to me the other day that if I am desperate I won't care - well maybe not, but I might as well have tinned fruit!)

We had a Brexit stockpile which came in handy in the early weeks of COVID but don't have much anymore. I don't like having stockpiles, I feel the need to use them up! I need to build one up again though.

I'm undecided on whether to buy a camping battery. Google helped me figure out the most economical way to use one as a failsafe power supply for the fridge-freezer, and I could (according to Google) also run my coffee filter machine, a slow cooker and an electric blanket.

They're expensive, even if I go for the smallest that does the above. I'll feel a bit of a twat if it never gets used. But we are having more power cuts already ... I don't know! How much prepping is too much? 😬

I know it's common sense to stockpile for emergencies if you live rurally but having read the government advice just now, I guess it makes sense for all of us to do this because of the extreme weather we're facing this autumn/winter alone. Wish i didnt keep thinking about the post-apocalypse scenes in Threads, though. Watched it recently with 2 of my adult DCs and it was just as frightening as first time I saw it. So along with the tinned stuff, bottled water, meds, wipes, battery chargers etc that I need to buy, I'll need a very big stash of Walkers Sweet Chilli sensations crisps, Reeces Peanut butter cups and Maom pinballs. Not helpful, sorry everyone

I agree, though I’d add that I’ve read that the problems caused by El Niño could well be felt next winter rather than this.

It seems to me to be important to know that, both to ensure that we’re prepared long term and because if the conditions this winter aren’t severe, there might be a degree of scepticism about future weather that could result in real problems.

How much is whatever you think is right for you and your household- worst case scenario (or best depending how things pan out) you never need it you can always sell it on one day.

I just can not understand the posters who say they arent adding a few extras to ensure they can get by for 3 or 4 days in the event of bad weather, supply difficulties. Buying now will stop the empty shelves situation - or at least ease it

I grew up with the shortages of the 70's, when you joined a queue in the hope of sugar, flour, loo roll

Since then I have always had a store cupboard. Its not huge, but yes there are 24 loo rolls , a sack of rice , 5 kilo bags of pulses, tinned fish , an extra salt drum, tea bags etc nothing major, nothing that we dont use . I always work with one open, one in stock

Now I live rural, over the years we have a much better set up , head torches, wind up lamps, battery powered radio, gas canister and a portable gas cooker, stoves that burn wood and can heat water - and cook on if need be . We have a couple of 12v batteries to run lights, charged by cheap solar panels during the day . First 10 day power cut we had, was bloody miserable as we did rely totally on the electric, now whilst things are basic, we get by quite comfortably

Living rural you cant rely on the power in the winter - last year we lost everything -phones, 5g , electric and water - 6 days and the roads impassible for 2 . So we have to be prepared not only for ourselves , but to help out those less able

I wouldn't bother replying and encouraging them, clearly a teenage with nothing better to do.

Working class people voting Reform is like turkeys voting for Christmas. Farage is a rich banker who doesn't care about poor people, he'd stop all benefits immediately if he could. People are blinded by their own xenophobia and can't see they're voting against their own interest.