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 you have kids Ikea have a hand powered LED torch that is actually not too bad.

It’s now sold out in my entire country, but not in the UK.

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/majbagge-hand-powered-led-torch-green-orange-30557399/

I don’t really understand the advice to stockpile lots of rice, pasta and canned food when most people rely on electricity or gas to cook and heat things up.

I have plenty of this sort of food stocked up anyway — not specifically for emergencies, it’s just how our lifestyle is. But I do have a log burner and plenty of cast-iron pots, kettle, coffee maker etc., so I can use it for cooking, boiling water and heating things up if we lose electricity/gas.

Without that, I think I’d focus much more on food that can actually be eaten without electricity or cooking: nuts and seeds, peanut butter, crackers, biscuits, cereal bars/protein bars, dried fruit, tinned fish, tinned meat, tinned beans and chickpeas, canned fruit and vegetables, UHT milk, long-life bread/wraps, chocolate and other calorie-dense foods. Basically things that are nutritious and reasonably calorie-dense but can be eaten straight from the packet or tin.

And then there’s the heating issue. If this happened in winter and you don’t have a log burner or another safe alternative source of heat, how are people planning to heat their homes? You might have plenty of food stocked up, but if the heating and electricity are off for days in freezing weather, the bigger problem could be keeping warm.

I think storing a few chorizos could be good. I looked at tins meat but they don’t hugely appeal to me whereas chorizo we really enjoy. Long life and don’t need to be cooked

Not read the full thread as it's too long.

I only started recently, as more is being put in the press about doing this. I've got the following in my garage so far:

Cartons of UHT milk
2 x 6 pack of large water
Tinned goods - fruit, rice puddings, custard, fish, beans etc
Boxed Cereal
Cereal bars
Pot Noodles
Biscuits
Crisps
Pet food
Toilet rolls
Sanitary products for my DDs

If power remains, I've got plenty in my freezer to keep us going for a while.

The food is only enough for a few days for 4 of us. I don't really want to be stocking more than that. I've also gone mostly for things that don't need cooking, as my reckoning is that an emergency could lead to power supplies being down. If I do need to heat water or cook anything without power then I have camping stove I could dig out. I've also stocked up on batteries for my torches and I've ordered a radio from Amazon that is both wind up and solar powered. It also has its own torch built in and USBs so that you can charge your mobile. I'm also going to take out and hide an amount of cash in case cash points are affected.

I live with my two young adult DDs as I'm widowed. My worry is for my mum who is 90 and wouldn't be able to cope with disruption on her own. Fortunately she lives nearby so in the event of an emergency, I'd fetch her to live with us for the duration.

My thoughts are that the Gov is worried about a huge cyber attack from Russia that could bring our power networks to its knees. Russia has taken a hit on their oil refineries from Ukraine, and they're already pissed at the UK for helping arm Ukraine. They want to punish us, but I doubt it will be via an arms attack, it'll be more subtle and something cyber.

I literally always have enough food for 72 hours, more even. Never let things get ran out before I buy more

I agree with what you've said. As for your supplies I'd recommend adding (if you don't have this already) a first aid kit and more water (it really is the bottleneck, no pun intended!) - probably another 2 x 6 packs of water. Remember pot noodles need water!

I think the govt advice does leave a lot to be desired, as you say, pasta and rice need water and to be heated! Also they seemed fixated with avoiding too much sugar, salt and fat, even though they're talking about only 3 days supply! For Goodness' sake! Although I would say steer away from very salty food because it'll make you thirsty.

Yes lack of heat will be very problematic, no idea how my own home would be heated, it just won't. Certainly makes you think about how our ancestors lived.

I’ve got a dozen tins of various sorts of beans, four tins of tuna and enough flour ro keep me in bread for about a month. To be honest I don’t like much tinned foodso these really are iron rations.

I’ve been thinking more after reading here about cooking things. We have lots of food already, like pasta, rice, beans and pasta sauce. Well, many other things too since we have storage space so always keep lots of everything.
We a huge shop today with things you don’t have to cook like honey, crisp bread, crackers and biscuits, dried yeast, cereal, nuts, chocolate, peanutbutter, flour & sugar, some decent sauces and stock, parmesan, smoked cheese and cheddar cheese, various drinks, cured sausages, mackerel, spreadable tube cheese, soup and lots more. Also got UHT milk, powdered eggs (made from
fresh eggs) and cheddar cheese.

It will all get used anyway, so no waste apart from maybe powdered egg.

Yes, exactly. I the government has created a society where people are heavily reliant on systems working all the time, and now they’re telling people to “be prepared” without necessarily explaining what that actually means in practice.

A lot of people probably haven’t experienced being without power, water or heating for several days, so it’s difficult to even picture what you’d actually need.

That’s why I’m trying to build a lifestyle where I don’t have to rely on those systems unless I want to. Not in a doom-and-gloom way; I just like being more self-sufficient and knowing that if something stops working, we can still cook, keep warm, get water and manage for a while.

We also have only bought things we'll definitely use and many that don't require cooking, though do have 2 portable gas stoves and a large supply of gas, plus fire pit. I think maybe the powdered egg can be used in cooking..? Neither of us eat eggs other than if I'm baking, so I haven't bought any. I went for full cream powdered milk rather than UHT, it tastes much better, just a personal preference and the date is 2029; plus evaporated milk which I like in coffee and hot chocolate and is quite calorific if needed.

Heating will be our biggest issue too. We had an open fire in our last house but are now in a new build reliant on GCH. It would have to be many layers and I've also invested in extra hot water bottles (including one for the 🐈)!

Edit for typo

Sorry, I meant to say full cream powdered milk. And also cream. The egg powder could be used for cooking and baking, one tablespoon mixed with 2-4 tablespoons of water equals ome egg and one jar of powder was 28 eggs. Might try and make an omelette just to see..

We also have lots of gas, and ethanol for two stoves (which we use during winter).

Got it 🙂 be interested on your results on the omelettes- as I said we don't routinely eat eggs but, DH is partial to the occasional omelette! 😅

Well, I am sceptical but it might be ok and hopefully we will be able to keep using fresh ones! 🙂

Is anyone not stockpiling? Where do you seriously store all this stuff if you live in a small house?

Under the stairs, water behind bath panel, bottom of wardrobes I've seen mentioned. Under the kick boards in kitchen. Lidded boxes that slide under the bed. Morrisons do cardboard ottoman type boxes on occasion with lids that look tidy and hold a fair bit.

Just takes a bit of an imagination I think

Behind the books if you have a bookshelf.

I agree it’s sensible to have some supply of water and non perishable foods. I’ve always slightly over-shopped anyway and luckily I have a small larder. I do need to buy some 5 litre drums of water which will not fit in there though. I’m assuming there is a long BBD on them!

I read this week that there’s an undersea’s cable threat off the Irish coastline. If that’s cut then it will be a disaster in many ways for the UK and Ireland. I don’t think this is about winter storm prepping at all.

For plastic bottled water you usually get around 2 yrs BBD on them. I believe storing water in high grade (304 or 316) stainless steel containers is the ideal, it never goes out of date! I didn't know that fact till today. This is because it doesn't degrade like plastic does. However I think we're getting into long-term prepping with that!

Do you have a way to boil water without electricity or gas? Hot water bottles are great, but they won’t go very far unless you have a way of heating the water in the first place.

I have a log burner and all the accessories to cook on it, but I also have a little outdoor wood-burning stove made from bricks, which I can use for cooking. It doesn’t take up much space, so I wonder if something similar could be an option for people with gardens: just a few bricks, some wood and a cast-iron pots and kettle.

I use it during summer to cook outdoors and it could give you a way to boil water and cook if the gas and electricity are both off.

I have pasta, rice, dried pulses, lots of tinned food, water, wine, torches, camping stove/canisters, candles, lots of dog food and a car with £50 petrol. I’m unfit and old. If the zombies start taking over I’m fucked but if the electric goes out or there’s a storm I’ll be ok

Yes many times upthread I've mentioned we have two portable gas stoves, lots of gas and a firepit. Means to cook and heat water were our first considerations, obviously 😉 We also have a large stock of wood for the firepit We are in a new build with restrictions, so an indoor log burner is absolutely off the table- unfortunately.
Edited to add: I do though love the idea of your little outdoor stove for anyone who doesn't already have something like that 💡

A kindred spirit 💕

I'm finding the 'be prepared to cope for 3 days' is just a bit too vague, so agree with Loverurliving01 that Gov needs to provide more nuance. There's a big difference between bad weather, power supply interruption, Internet outage, Martian invasion and zombies!

I want the Gov to provide more specific recommendations for people living in small flats in densely populated cities, especially with implication to be prepared that water supply might be interrupted - what's going to happen to sewage and toilets!

If you're in a flat can't necessarily have backup BBQ or camping stove. While I am finding food that doesn't need heating it will be a miserable diet during winter.