Only on mumsnet do people prep.

[Notlong20]

There is not one person I know in real life that is prepping for a coronavirus outbreak. In fact, no one I speak to even mentions the threat of the virus.

Of course we know of it as the hysteria surrounding it is all over the news / social media, but aibu to think preppers only exist on mumsnet?

@speakout , and it wasn't a problem ultimately because of a lot of behind the scenes hard work . It wasn't a non-issue .
Millienium bug comparisons are just another bingo item.

Pre DC I wouldn't have been arsed, but I have been adding a few extra bits and bobs on to my shopping for a while, firstly for Brexit and now just in case. Mainly UHT skimmed milk, toilet rolls, tins, pasta, medicines for DC- all stuff we will use anyway, and if we don't, it can be donated. A lot of my friends seem quite surprised by it, but I'm really hoping that they are doing the same.

These threads always bring out the nasties dont they? We dont understand it so we have to take the p. Pathetic.

Who cares if someone else has a couple of weeks of food as a back up. its not affecting you is it? Oh unless you suddenly find the shelves empty due to panic buying then start bleating on about those selfish people who buy a couple of extras a week or a few things on special offer to have a bit of leeway if they are snowed in, power goes off etc as they have food and you dont so its 'only fair that they give you it'. Sod off. If I can do it so can you. I cant afford to feed some lazy git who spent their time slagging others off while doing sod all themselves.

What is so difficult to understand about your average prepper?

Do you buy Xmas wrapping paper in the sales in January? Pick up birthday or xmas presents during the year to spread the cost? Get Xmas food in in advance? Make jams or chutneys etc? Have savings, pensions, Isas? Well big news thats prepping!

Most preppers are not preparing for armageddon, they just have a buffer of staples and meds etc in case they are unable to get to shops or shops have low stocks for any reason, snow, powercuts, illness meaning they cant get to shops or maybe lose pay for a couple of weeks, job loss, disability, unexpected bills meaning they dont have much money for a month, etc. Its not rocket science nor unusual. Its really bog standard practice in rural areas, its called common sense.

If most of you read the preppers threads then you would know its just a few days supply or a couple of weeks, its not building a bunker and buying supplies of guns and hazmat suits ffs! We arent all emulating Burt Gummer (although I do love that character )
I dont have loads of stuff but I like reading the prepper threads just the same. Lots of sensible advice on what to have and how to use it.
But hey nobody is forcing anyone to read the preppers threads, dont be a dick and just go on them to slag people off. We are all different its not affecting you so why do it?

And no prepping isnt grabbing hundreds of things off the shelves and stockpilling them. Its gradual and nobody even knows we are doing it. The people who cause shortages are the people who go mad grabbing things off shelves like there is no tomorrow in panic buying mode. Go pick on them!

Just to be clear: my ideal scenario is that it all falls away and none of this is ever needed. Just as I hope my car isn't involved in a crash or my holiday doesn't get ruined or my house doesn't get burgled. But I have insurance in case, despite my hopes and best efforts, that kind of thing happens and I need my insurance.

What I’m really tempted to get is some paint and polyfiller. I mean if we’re all at home surely we could just get the house looking smart???

@5zeds I like your thinking

@TattiePants ooooh on offer in Sainsbury’s you say? Excellent!

Oh I prep like a motherfucker and I am absolutely unashamed of it and will happily talk about it about it in RL.

Everyone is welcome on the Preppers thread (as long as you don't come simply to mock and be a dick). We really like seeing people delurk and join us. We think you're sensible.

I prep for lots of reasons and in the same way we all buy insurance, which no one seems to mock. I also prep for Christmas to stretch my budget and be organised. Like my insurance, I assess risk and make a decision, I don't assume for sure that someone is going to steal my TV next Thursday but I have insurance in case they do. I don't assume we will all be rioting in the streets next week and there will be no water, but I do prep for the level of risk I think may happen eg that there may be quarantines in exactly the same way Italy has imposed them, and that non preppers will be clearing the shelves. I also think it's risky to rely on supermarket deliveries if lots of drivers are quarantined, items are out of stock or delivery lead in times are longer than normal due to the above.

Personally I see nothing stupid or hysterical or nutty or disproportionate about the above, and I'm not bothered if people mock me for it as I am secure in my choices.

Yes, I probably do have too much time on my hands and like to fill it any way I can. I also have factors influencing my own risk assessments, I have uncontrolled epilepsy and prone to unexpected hospital visits, injury and illness. DH has had to take time off work unpaid to look after me in the past and having enough food, and petrol already in the car to cover the lost wages and travel to hospitals has been good. I also have respiratory issues so probably do worry more than others but I think this is with good cause. If anyone sees it as laughable or mental illness or hysterical, you're lucky you haven't experienced things like that.

We all assess risk and prepare for things accordingly and I'm not mocking people who don't prepare. I feel a little envious they are so unconcerned but also a little concern they may be stressed and uncomfortable if the situation worsens. I don't think it will worsen I think it may and I'm preparing myself and my family accordingly. I'm not harming anyone, in fact the reverse as I won't be clearing the shelves at the same time as everyone else.

I'm a real person who talks about it in RL and I really think if we were face to face people wouldn't be so sneery and mocking and dismissive as they have been on this thread. I don't think people would call me mentally ill or nutty and I'm actually interested to see if people still think thiss way after reading posts like this.

Another snide thread based on ridiculing others for not doing as you do, how dull.

I don't consider myself a prepper but given that there has been expert advice showing the potential knock on effect of medications (even before coronavirus escalated) I make sure I have an adequate supply of anything I need that relates to my health,plus plenty of hand gel, hand wash, disinfectant etc and enough store cupboard and freezer food for a 2 week quarantine.

Hardly something to be embarrassed about. I have a chronic illness so tend to live that way anyway in case I can't get to the shops or come down with something and am stuck at home, there has been no extra purchasing other than alcohol gel and medicine really. When you're immune deficient you don't have that much option otyer than to prepare and making your life easier and being sensible is hardly even worth conversation really. I'd have thought any reasonable adult would have 'spares' at home, food and things to wash with in a decent supply generally in case electricity went off or the water supply went off.

Oh and my GP must be a prepper as she has issued me with two months prescription meds rather than the usual 30 days.

I've got a bit of a stash. I did an online search last year and it linked to MN as there were some good threads about whether or not to stockpile pre Brexit. At the time there was a lot of talk about No Deal. It didn't happen at the time but through discussion on here I learnt so much more.
I've noticed that people who are panicking and have been signposted to the prepping threads are given sound, non panicky advice.
I don't discuss it in real life because there are people who do think it's bonkers. But I might casually ask in conversation if somebody thinks they'd have enough at home to cope if we were suddenly put on lockdown, as has happened elsewhere.
Only this morning the mother of a child in UK has been told he must self isolated due to his half term travels. Suddenly, potentially 2 weeks or more of not being able to get out to the shops is very real for that family.
So why is it so strange and an MN only thing?
I think lots of people have well stocked kitchens if they can afford it. They just don't call it prepping.
And one of my friends is disabled and on a fixed income. Money is extremely tight. She'll always buy BOGOF if she can, and over the years has developed a little store cupboard so if there is a particularly difficult time she can ride it out. That's prepping, and I don't think she's on MN.
So yes, I vote YABU

• I mean the mother of that child came on to the prepping thread to ask advice. I'm sure there's a lot more than one in the UK

What we are generally talking about is what Americans call "homesteading ", rather than prepping, anyway. Your home has a bit of resilience to the problems that arise from the outside to affect it. Is that such a weird controversial idea?

Can I also just say that (especially in light of the very very recent news) the Preppers thread is actually much calmer than other similar threads where people are beginning to panic. Although that may not last long, I am sure lots of us are feeling more anxious this morning.

Please anyone do come over if you want, we have very good pancake mix.

(Although if you're coming to call us "loonatics" like a recent visitor, you don't get any pancakes )

I'm in no way a prepper, we go to the supermarket every day practically! But I'm beginning to get slightly concerned about things like baby milk, which I've usually only got two boxes in stock of.

My PILs returned from a holiday in Italy at the end of last week and seem to think it's all a big joke. That's an attitude I don't really understand.

I don't have the space or money to prep, but I don't judge those that do it. I will be very jealous of them if we end up quarantined and I'm feeding a family of five with one tin of soup.

What a daft post OP. Most people are just trying to be prepared for an eventuality that has actually already occurred in Milan and Hong Kong where there are strict road blocks and shops completely empty. It just sounds like common sense (and I haven't got round to it yet but probably will). You probably won't need the food and you can then just use it as you need it so it's really a 0 risk outlay - why wouldn't you?

Prepping is sensible in general. I keep a reasonable stock of things like generic paracetamol - if there's a sudden panic, the 65p packets disappear and you're stuck paying £3. I think all tightwads - me! - prep to some extent as a matter of course.

I don't regard myself as a prepper but we always have loads of food in the house.

Me and DH hate shopping so no way are we going shopping every few days or even every week. We do a big shop about every 2 months and buy tinned items like baked beans, tinned tomatoes, things like pasta, rice, lentils etc.

We buy lentils and chickpeas in big packs usually from an asian supermarket as they sell bigger packs than ordinary supermarkets.

We have a fridge freezer indoors and 2 freezers in the shed. One is for raw dog food and the other is for us. It is mainly full of veg, some of which I have prepared and frozen, bread and rolls, milk and some home made meals.

We shop roughly once a fortnight for fresh fruit and veg.

Personally I find it odd that others only have enough food for a day or so. I know some people don't have much room but there is always somewhere you can store things such as under beds, on top of wardrobes etc.

I know that if we couldn't get out due to illness, snowed in or whatever we have more than enough food for at least a month but probably longer.

We do need to go shopping to top up as we only have 4 tins of baked beans and 3 tins of tinned tomatoes at present. We do though have 6 biggish bags of different pasta, 2 big bags of rice, a big sack of onions, a sack of potatoes, 3 different kinds of lentils, 2 different kinds of chickpeas, loads of different dried beans plus the freezer food. We have lots of flour including chickpea flour, rice flour so could make bread, pasta etc. Big cupboard of spices as we are big curry eaters.

We buy the 18 pack loo rolls and always 2 at a time so fine for those too.

We will buy dog food at the weekend (we have about 2 weeks worth at present). We normally buy 3 months worth.

We find it works out cheaper in the long run to buy in bulk plus we are not always going to shops and using fuel

What we are generally talking about is what Americans call "homesteading ", rather than prepping, anyway. Your home has a bit of resilience to the problems that arise from the outside to affect it. Is that such a weird controversial idea?

That's the thing I am massively confused about. When people say they are preppers and just have properly stocked kitchen and medicine cabinet and preserve things they harvested so they have a peace of mind just in general, it's a normal thing, isn't it. Basically everyone does that. We all have few extra tins of something.
Then there are people who would say they are preppers as well but on totally different level with boxes of food in case of x and y and that sounds more like a survivalist thing? The two are not the same imo.
I am just really curious because if you google prepper it comes with the latter version of survivalist and don't even go to preppers uk shop

I wouldn't really consider myself a prepper, but we always have a couple of weeks tinned/dried food on hand - my mum always had plenty of things in the pantry so I just do the same, really.

I also do clay pigeon shooting at county level, so have a couple of shotguns in the house. I suppose if it came to it, I could bag a brace of duck to feed the family, although I've never shot a living thing in my life. The clays would take too long to casserole, though.

Prepping is exactly the opposite of selfish. I'm prepped and ready and wont be fighting my neighbours for the last loaf of bread/box of paracetamol if there's a major coronavirus outbreak in my town.

I think it comes down to where you live and your lifestyle. I live rurally (not right out in the sticks but on the edge of a village). We've been snowed in twice in the last few years. I also grew up with frugal parents who made preserves, grew food, picked from hedgerows etc and they remember rationing so perhaps they put a lot of value on food. Its in my blood to have stores in for winter and I find it incredibly useful.

If you live in a city with access to loads of shops by foot, and no storage space then that's a lifestyle that probably has never needed you to ensure you have a good storecupboard of food.

I've never classed myself as a prepper but what's wrong with that?
My 'prepping' is having spares of things we always use like nappies, meds, full cupboards, full freezer, batch cooking. Plus, we are self employed so if we happened to have a lean month we'd barely need to shop. I've not gone down the route of bottled water/face masks or anything like that.

No mental health/anxiety issues here either. But if someone is anxious, if it makes them feel better, how does them having extra food in the house affect anyone else?

I also prep with things like birthday gifts; I have a stash of cards/toys for kids birthday parties so I don't suddenly spend £££ in a last minute rush (as learned from other Mumsnutters ).

Depends what you mean by prepping. I always make sure I have plenty of shelf stable foods, batteries, Gerry cans of fuel and boxed water. It does me absolutely no harm and comes in very useful from time to time.

I don't understand why anyone wouldn't have some emergency supplies stocked up, especially if you have children. Nevermind coronavirus - something could happen at any time.

I live in the tropics so floods and cyclones are just a part of life here. Everyone has emergency supplies and food/water stores in their home. People would think you were a total idiot if you didn't. Perhaps this is what gives me a different mentality to "prepping" in general. The way I see it is, so long as it isn't having a negative impact on your day to day life, you are pretty foolish to not squirrel something away for a rainy day. It's needlessly complacent to assume that nothing bad will ever happen.

It's odd how some people find it so annoying that others like to plan for the future.

Do they hate squirrels? Burying their nuts in secrets stashes so no other squirrels will find them.

Yes, hate squirrels

< misses point of thread >

I have never prepped for anything in my life but after seeing pictures of completely empty supermarkets in Italy I am going to get a good supply of basic items.
We have a new baby in the house who is bottle fed so will definitely get as much formula and nappies as I can manage. Also basic medical supplies and tinned goods, etc etc. toilet rolls and pet food.
I don’t think it will actually be necessary but I am worried people will panic as it starts to spread more. (I am also aware of the irony of me buying extra and that lots of people buying extra is what will cause empty shelves).
Our local high school has staff and children in self isolation due to a half term ski trip and my drs surgery was closed last week for a deep clean due to a suspected case - turned out to be negative - So it definitely feels like we are on the cusp of mass panic