..to say Homestead Prepping Lite is not Doomsday Survival Prepping. So here's some non-panicky ideas

[bellinisurge]

I'm a general prepper so I know about this stuff. It's my "hobby", if you like. Best case scenario is it all goes away and is nothing. We all want that but it might not be like that. Next best case scenario is two weeks boring self isolation. Yes, you can ask your pals to bring you food but this pal has their own stuff to deal with. I'll help you up to a point as long as I'm not required to self isolate too. Next best case scenario is a general lockdown in your area when nobody can bring anyone anything. No one in your house is poorly but there's only so much TV you can binge watch before you get hungry or need a wee or do other hygiene stuff. This is where homestead prepping lite comes in.
You don't need to worry about utilities going off etc but you do need to eat. You probably have stuff in your freezer and cupboards but enough for two weeks. Frozen sweetcorn and spaghetti for breakfast, anyone?
And bog roll? Yes, there are general prepper approaches but who's got time for that shit if you aren't a prepper? You need to get extra but where to store it? Get a hold-all. Take the bog roll out of its packaging, squash each roll down and pack it in there. Yes, you might lose some on the outside of the roll, they'll look a bit bumpy but it's better than a bog roll wall in your bedroom. Or rejig your drawers to make space.
I'm not a medic, I am over 50 with an underlying health problem so my situation is different to you regarding getting poorly. Follow general advice about good hand hygiene and eating well to boost your immune system.
I hope the worst that happens is you get bored. Don't beat yourself up about being concerned. And stop willy waving about how it's all nothing to you and everyone else is being silly. Take back control of this situation and don't give in to hype either way. There's loads of great advice on here.

On sanpro, I've been boring people for ages with my reusable sanpro posts. Just get some extra disposables in if you've never used reusable. Now isn't the time to start new things. Unless you want to. But make sure you have supplies in for women /girls in your house. Including favourite treats or whatever.

@Rosehip10 - it's not the preppers that fuel panic buying, if you're prepped you don't need to panic buy. You buy a few bits and put them aside as you go. Panic buying happens from people who haven't prepped and then, well, panic.

Tinned tuna is a good protein source. Eggs keep outside the fridge. Stuff doesn’t need to be in the kitchen. Under the bed, bottom of a wardrobe.
Look up no knead bread where you let the dough prove overnight.
Pet food

You can buy 2 x Paracetamol and 2 x Ibuprofein at the same time. That’s what my local Asda told me yesterday.

I don't have much to add but I just wanted to give a nod to https://uk.whogivesacrap.org/ for toilet paper, we're a house of two adults and two boys, I buy a box of 40 rolls every 6 months. They're ace.
Also, I get laundry and dishwasher tablets from https://smolproducts.com/. They send out as many as I need each month, and they're a really good price. You can order a couple of months supply and they come in flat boxes so take up hardly any room when stored.

@AhCheeses we go through a roll a day in our house 😂 we are all at home though as kids are home educated and I’m home too obviously.

We have a smallish stockpile of food, toiletries, medicine and first aid supplies.

Food, we have your standard fair/fare, some including jam, peanut butter, soy milk (we don’t have dairy), oats, lentils, tins of beans (baked, kidney, chickpeas, pinto, etc) tins of coconut milk, tinned fruits and veggies, pasta, rice, passatta, some sauces,super noodles, yeast, flour, baking powder, Stock cubes, seasonings, water, etc.

Toiletries, we have toilet roll, soap, toothpaste, hand wash, shampoo and conditioner, toothbrushes, sanitary towels, deodorant.

Medicine and first aid, paracetamol, ibruprofen, cold and flu tablets, anti histamines, throat lozenges, nasal sprays, vicks, germolene, wasp sting cream, a mixture of vitamins, a variety of plasters and dressings, etc.

We have some cleaning bits too, washing up liquid, bleach, I make big batches of washing powder myself so have those supplies, vinegar for my cleaning spray, etc.

We have built this up over time, by buying a few bits every week. We only buy things that I would eat, as someone said earlier, what’s the point of buying beans and lentils if you don’t cook with them usually?

You could easily go to the supermarket and spend £20 and get some stock to last for a bit. It would be better than nothing for sure. I have a cupboard I store this all in but utilising the tops of kitchen cupboards or fridge, under beds, on top of wardrobes or book cases could all be a good place to store things. Even if you declutter and then find a space :) I know if I didn’t have my cupboard I could clear out all the crap from under my bed and store things there.

You can buy fresh cauliflower, chop it into florets, quick rinse, then I food process it and put it in portions to freeze. Then you can cook it from frozen in the microwave in a few mins. We use it instead of rice.

Food delivery slots are more scarce than usual at the moment - I think more people are getting prepared.

I need to do some sorting of our freezer to make more space for a couple more batch cooks, but I think we'd have enough for 3 weeks. Maybe longer. Reusable pads and nappies and wipes already. Could probably do with more calpol and cold/flu type stuff still

DH is a bit of a stockpiler. Not because he is true prepper but because he comes from a large family in rural North Africa where popping to the shops wasn’t an option when he was young. When I first went out there, there was no running water (well only) and all cooking is still on bottled gas. The did always have electricity but there were power cuts. Things are better now as they have started to get water most days.

We will probably do a Costco shop soon as we haven’t been for a while.

@bellinisurge thought I'd cracked it when DD when onto period pants but she's since decided they're "dirty" (OCD) so it's back to disposable for now. Hoping she'll change back though.

@motherofawhirlwind as and when. She's got a long time menstruating. Well done for introducing the concept.

This is difficult for us. We are renting with a tiny freezer and small fridge so we would have to rely on tinned food really. I can't eat pasta or much potatoes so it is a struggle to think what we could stockpile for 2-3, weeks really. We also can't really afford it.

I can make my own bread easily enough and have the ingredients for that and drink oat milk which keeps forever. So bread and milk would keep me alive at least.

I am chuckling over folks thinking food deliveries will still happen. Who is going to drive the lorries? My husband is a lorry driver for a supermarket. The depot is out of our area. If either area is locked down exactly how will the deliveries get through? This is something to bear in mind for all sorts of scenarios not just this one. If you can keep a small stock built up, over time, then you are protecting yourself.

I'm always surprised how nonchalant people are about the food supply!

Of course not everyone can stock up, but if those who can do so, then it will be easier to help those who need it.

The quarantine in Italy was introduced after a small spike in cases in 48 hours. It's not unreasonable to think it could happen in the UK. There, supermarkets are only open a couple hours a day, if at all, and they only let a few people in at a time. Personally I'd rather stock up a bit now and not have to worry about it.

I used to live in an area with really bad winter storms, there's nothing hysterical about being prepared.

^
And the award for the calmest and most erudite post on the thread goes to...

I can be erudite and calm in many instances. I didn't think this warranted it. Fucking mental.

Why did you feel the need to post on here at all. It’s clear what the thread is about. It’s purely so you can make yourself feel superior.

It is weird how people like to flaunt never worrying about or preparing for emergencies.

This whole thread is about getting a bit of extra food in, not going full on doomsday. Not sure why a few extra bags of groceries are mental.

No, not at all to feel superior. I came across the thread- it's in AIBU- and my opinion is that it's very unreasonable. I'm allowed a point of view, as are you. You can't police what people have an opinion about. If you don't like mine just go about your day, as I will.

Homestead prepping sounds pretty mental to me. I am constantly amazed by what occupies people's headspace- but that's what makes our society colourful. I think it's mental but crack on.

I don’t think this was an unreasonable post, and to someone who never thinks further in advance than the next days dinner it’s been quite helpful.
Thanks op, and the other posters who’ve given me some simple ideas I hadn’t thought of. I’ve even defrosted the freezer now this morning and decluttered it (3-year old netto bacon anyone?) so will have space for some frozen veg now.

Well yes, I do think the label is unnecessary (sorry OP!)

But everything has a label these days, look at all the threads about baby led weaning and baby wearing etc and so on, it's the Instagram age. You can't just clear out your house, it's 'decluttering' .

If we just call it being prepared, there's nothing weird about it. There's some great tips here so thanks OP for starting it.

My friend has been in self-isolate for nearly a fortnight (went to Far East in her work told her to). She had time to prepare before she went so next time I see her, I'll ask her what she did. We're fine for painkillers and loo roll. Might have to raid the allotment for the last of the carrots and sprouts...

Ah sorry about the decluttering cross post :)

That sounded snarkier than I meant it, I just mean that very normal activities people always did now have new labels and social media presence so they sound like something different. But they're just things people have always done, no reason to think badly of them.