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To stockpile 72 hours of supplies

542 replies

seriouslessness · 27/03/2025 13:23

..in case of disaster or attack. A new preparedness strategy inspired by Nordic countries and Germany, who already do this.

Is this something you already do, or will do?

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/26/stockpile-supplies-72-hours-disasters-attack-eu-tells-citizens

OP posts:
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6
VanillaVein · 27/03/2025 18:41

seriouslessness · 27/03/2025 17:12

It’s like primula cheese. It’s not rank. It only keeps for a very long time and doesn’t need to be stored in the fridge when unopened. There are many different types of soft/creme cheese and they are very tasty.

Ohhh I completely forgot Primula existed. I was thinking more along the lines of squirty cream but in cheese form 🙈 I do enjoy soft cheeses tbf I could live on the garlic & herb Philadelphia alone.

varden · 27/03/2025 18:43

I'm thinking of sending an intergalactic message to the Space Station to see how they survive, eat, drink, wash, go to the loo etc. for months at a time.

I'm sure there's a website somewhere about it....

vitahelp · 27/03/2025 18:43

TheFatCatsWhiskers1 · 27/03/2025 18:36

Our building loses water if we lose power so this thread has reminded me to buy some bottled water. I currently only have one 4L bottle.

I have no power bank and my phone's battery is shit. Only a few tins because I don't like tinned food. It would be miserable. I do have matches, a torch and batteries though. And plenty of cat food.

Same here, we lose power several times a year often for entire days and the water goes off several times a year again for day long periods. Yet despite all of that we still don’t have bottled water in the house 🙈 really must get some!

LBFseBrom · 27/03/2025 18:44

seriouslessness · 27/03/2025 15:14

Quit reading then.

It is scaremongering.

SoOxon · 27/03/2025 18:50

72 hours is hardly stockpiling

when our town had no water two summers ago we had 4x5gallon flagons of water
and 8x2litre bottles but didn’t waste any on washing
I was astonished that the supply depleted so quickly

also note there is actually a use by date on water - does it degrade after a while
in its plastic container ?

OldCottageGreenhouse · 27/03/2025 18:54

@seriouslessness So are you saying that you have sometimes have less than 3 days worth of food in your home? 😱 Bloody hell I’d be close to panicking at that stage. We currently have about a month’s worth of food if we were to eat solely what we already have in and nothing else bought at all.

everythingeverything1981 · 27/03/2025 18:55

OldCottageGreenhouse · 27/03/2025 18:54

@seriouslessness So are you saying that you have sometimes have less than 3 days worth of food in your home? 😱 Bloody hell I’d be close to panicking at that stage. We currently have about a month’s worth of food if we were to eat solely what we already have in and nothing else bought at all.

Edited

Lucky you Hmm

GuessingGownaGoGo · 27/03/2025 18:56

LBFseBrom · 27/03/2025 18:44

It is scaremongering.

I honestly don't think it's scare mongering - I think it's wise.

I feel safer knowing I've got a few useful practical items in the house and some long life foods and medicines.

Also I like to have a bit extra in case my older neighbour over the road is stuck for anything.

Disasters don't have to be huge to pose problems. A heavy snowfall, a burst mains pipe, an electrical substation outage - can all cause a few days of problems.

OldCottageGreenhouse · 27/03/2025 18:56

neverknowinglyunreasonable · 27/03/2025 13:42

It's a nice idea but I simply don't have space to keep 15 bottle of wine in my house.

😆 This really made me laugh! 👍🏻

CaptainMyCaptain · 27/03/2025 18:59

AirborneElephant · 27/03/2025 13:29

No, not in case of attack. I do always have at least a few weeks food and essentials in the house in case of supply disruptions especially after Covid but I don’t stockpile anything, just buy at a normal rate and use it on a FIFO basis. I’d be very surprised if most people couldn’t do three days!

This. I could probably last a couple of weeks apart from water.

RedToothBrush · 27/03/2025 18:59

OnyourbarksGSG · 27/03/2025 18:28

i started a plan for this years ago add in a terrible ridiculous over thinker.

as a result, 5 adults in my family are recurve archers and 3 of us own our own bows. I’m a pretty good shot. My BIL was in the army and then went on the ships as armed protection against pirates so he’s very handy and would have no qualms in protecting his family using violence. Tbh I think I’d be ok with it too, and I’d deal with the emotional fall out later but I could survive it. But my DH and DSIS would probably need to be gagged and duct taped to a chair to stop them inviting marauders in for a brew “cos they look thirsty “ ( and I’m not joking, they are really gentle and good people that are blind to the ill will of others).

i also grow my own mushrooms ( mostly magic with some Reishi, oyster and Lionsmane) and know which ones are growing wild that are bad. If somebody managed to get in to my cosy little place you can bet your bottom dollar I’d be poisoning the stew and id look forward to them crapping their eyeballs out of their arse.

It's all coming out now!

I don't have any duct tape in the house ATM. This clearly needs rectifying.

OldCottageGreenhouse · 27/03/2025 18:59

@everythingeverything1981 I didn’t mean to imply shame or judgement onto those with less money. To be clear, I’m saying we could survive for about a month. Not live. Big difference! Much of what we have is dried stuff.
I know fine well what it’s like to have nothing. I was living on the streets at 16 and frequently went a week without eating.

CaptainMyCaptain · 27/03/2025 19:00

SoOxon · 27/03/2025 18:50

72 hours is hardly stockpiling

when our town had no water two summers ago we had 4x5gallon flagons of water
and 8x2litre bottles but didn’t waste any on washing
I was astonished that the supply depleted so quickly

also note there is actually a use by date on water - does it degrade after a while
in its plastic container ?

It's the container that will degrade affecting the water.

PleaseDontFingerMyPouffe · 27/03/2025 19:06

OldCottageGreenhouse · 27/03/2025 18:59

@everythingeverything1981 I didn’t mean to imply shame or judgement onto those with less money. To be clear, I’m saying we could survive for about a month. Not live. Big difference! Much of what we have is dried stuff.
I know fine well what it’s like to have nothing. I was living on the streets at 16 and frequently went a week without eating.

Edited

A week without food, and more than once 😧 how awful,I am so sorry you went through that

PleaseDontFingerMyPouffe · 27/03/2025 19:07

SoOxon · 27/03/2025 18:50

72 hours is hardly stockpiling

when our town had no water two summers ago we had 4x5gallon flagons of water
and 8x2litre bottles but didn’t waste any on washing
I was astonished that the supply depleted so quickly

also note there is actually a use by date on water - does it degrade after a while
in its plastic container ?

It may have already been mentioned, but it's thought each person uses 142 litres of water per day

OldCottageGreenhouse · 27/03/2025 19:07

MrsMitford3 · 27/03/2025 13:32

I could def do more than 3 days/weeks but I have a pantry and a full freezer so my sister always says if anything goes wrong she is heading straight to me!!

*Not for any disaster preparedness-just how I like it.
Get anxious if I am running low.
If I used the back stock then I get another to replace it.

May I ask, did you go through a period of living in poverty or relative-poverty at some stage of your life? I only ask as I very much did once I became homeless at 16 (lived on streets) and even now, 24 years later, I still subconsciously panic if we don’t have a fully stocked kitchen.
Apparently it’s called food insecurity and is a known thing.

OldCottageGreenhouse · 27/03/2025 19:11

@PleaseDontFingerMyPouffeThank you that’s kind. It was painful and made me incredibly dizzy. I couldn’t bring myself to beg as people just assume all homeless people are drug addicts. I couldn’t take the filthy looks. I was tempted to steal from shops but didn’t. I did faint in a newsagent once though, from lack of food and was arrested for the pleasure. That was embarrassing.

FurFangsPawsAndClaws · 27/03/2025 19:13

Threads like this really scare me.

I have severe anxiety and one of my biggest fears is the threat of nuclear war or some other attack, I try not to think about it or panic most of the time then we get advice like this about how we should have 3 days supplies and my anxiety goes through the roof.

Last May when the government sent out a warning I went shopping with a friend and we spent hundreds on tinned and dried food, water, batteries, candles etc. I still have the batteries and candles and have charged power-banks at all times but don’t really have anywhere to store bottled water, we have two cars so I might fill my car boot. We ended up eating a of the food as food shopping is so expensive now but usually have 3 days worth of food now as we do a weekly shop at Aldi rather than picking up a few fits daily.

My DP and friends are aware of how much I worry about this but they just tell me worrying won’t change anything and it’s extremely unlikely anything is going to happen, I don’t know if I’m just pessimistic or if it’s down to anxiety but I actually feel like something is imminent and we are being kept in the dark over it. I did something very silly a few months ago and watched the film threads
I know it’s just a film but the fact that everyone was going on with their lives with attacks being planned and unaware till the last few days is a scenario I can see happening.

The Russia and Ukraine war is carrying on and I avoid watching or reading the news but I can’t see it ending peacefully, the conflict in other countries and trump being in power in the US makes it seem inevitable that the UK won’t be affected in some way.

I agree with the pp who mentioned medication would be a big issue, I’m on daily medication that I only get prescribed once a week, without it my life would be very difficult and I bet there are a lot of other people for whom this would be their biggest concern. I think this is a big issue most people neglect to think about.

My DP is Persian and his family and friends back home are worried about living in a country ran by a power mad dictator, they are also growing increasingly concerned about the threat of war. My DP is autistic and can’t fully comprehend our worries because unless something is directly affecting him he doesn’t have the capacity to imagine how bad things could get, I’m quite jealous of this! I don’t want him to be worried but I think he needs a level of awareness just in case.

I do find the funny comments on this thread reassuring and it helps calm me that plenty of people don’t seem particularly worried. As I try to avoid reading/watching the news I imagine most people posting will be better informed of the level of risk then me and my overactive imagination, I
I hope my worries are just anxiety based and the threat of a nuclear attack is very low, I just find it hard to believe that with the emergency phone alert being implemented and the occasional warnings about having 3 days supplies that the government and people in power are keeping something big from us.

Does anyone else feel as worried or am I just letting my anxiety rule my life as usual?

PoopingAllTheWay · 27/03/2025 19:18

After the last warning we had similar to this
I have

  • A battery powered radio
  • Afew different torches
  • Tons of batteries of different sizes
  • 4 Battery power banks
seriouslessness · 27/03/2025 19:26

VanillaVein · 27/03/2025 18:41

Ohhh I completely forgot Primula existed. I was thinking more along the lines of squirty cream but in cheese form 🙈 I do enjoy soft cheeses tbf I could live on the garlic & herb Philadelphia alone.

Mayonnaise comes in a tube as well, a bit like that.

Puck cream cheese spread is also very nice, in a jar! It goes with almost everything, even pasta. No need for fridge unopened either.

OP posts:
seriouslessness · 27/03/2025 19:27

varden · 27/03/2025 18:43

I'm thinking of sending an intergalactic message to the Space Station to see how they survive, eat, drink, wash, go to the loo etc. for months at a time.

I'm sure there's a website somewhere about it....

There is a YouTube documentary about it that is supposed to be very good.

OP posts:
SoOxon · 27/03/2025 19:29

CaptainMyCaptain · 27/03/2025 19:00

It's the container that will degrade affecting the water.

yes, thats what I wondered - we will buy more and use this current supply up

has anyone notice the rising price of plain bottled water over the last couple of years?

Tesco 5litres was 99p for example, now 1.40.

TigerMum8 · 27/03/2025 19:30

No, just governments scaremongering so that we are less inclined to scrutinise their incompetence. Plus clutching at straws to encourage us to spend what little is left after taxes.

SoOxon · 27/03/2025 19:34

PleaseDontFingerMyPouffe · 27/03/2025 19:07

It may have already been mentioned, but it's thought each person uses 142 litres of water per day

yes, huge amount - thanks -

seriouslessness · 27/03/2025 19:40

OldCottageGreenhouse · 27/03/2025 18:54

@seriouslessness So are you saying that you have sometimes have less than 3 days worth of food in your home? 😱 Bloody hell I’d be close to panicking at that stage. We currently have about a month’s worth of food if we were to eat solely what we already have in and nothing else bought at all.

Edited

No. Certainly not. Always for many months. Including water. We have a big house with lots of storage.

72 hrs is better than 24 hrs though.

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