..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.

Millions to be told 'stay at home' if coronavirus continues to spread

We'll have to see if govt policy does indeed switch to mass self-isolation

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/15/exclusive-millions-told-stay-home-coronavirus-continues-spread/

Anyone suffering flu-like symptoms could be ordered to “self-isolate” for a fortnight if the number of coronavirus cases in the UK hits the hundreds,
in what would be a dramatic shift in Government strategy.

Currently, we are far from reaching hundreds of infected people
but if that happens, best to be prepared for isolation, just in case

@MinkowskisButterfly you could always isolate him from your stuff . But seriously, and I know I said I wasn't going to talk medical stuff, at least having an idea of what you want in a hospital bag and where those bits are, is a good idea. I know some people are triggered by even thinking of it let alone pulling it together in one place. Say, a bag.

thanks @bellinisurge
we have been getting that extra tin of veg, extra pack of dried pasta, loo roll, cordial since the first big storm a couple of weeks ago now.
always stuff we eat or use anyway. so nothing is wasted.

Mentioned it elsewhere but there's things like an app for 7 mins daily exercise- star jumps and things. Being stuck at home is boring and even some larking about half arsed attempts at exercise with the kids every day is a good idea.

I always find it odd how reluctant people are to prep 'just in case' if they have the space and can afford it. Whats the worst that can happen...they had too much pasta in for a few weeks? I'm a bit of a stocker by nature as i always like to think id have enough to get by if i lost my job or something unforeseen happens like a big bill I'm not expecting. When all this kicked off i got a muscle food delivery to stock up the freezer (and perhaps a virgin wine delivery to stock up the wine rack ) and made sure i had plenty of lentils, pasta, beans etc.
I'm severely asthmatic so would isolate if advised to as its all very worrying to me and id rather feel calm about the food supply 🤷‍♀️

I’ve been watching Doomsday Preppers on Netflix and my jaw has dropped at how utterly bonkers some of them are. Having said that, I’ve also been watching Pandemic on Netflix and I’m a smidge concerned. DH & I both have underlying medical conditions which sometimes mean that even a cold can cause problems, so the thought of even the normal flu is quite worrying. I also do the shopping for my mum, so if I’m stuck indoors either ill or in self confinement, she’ll struggle too.

I’ve started stocking her up, along with us. Nothing mad. Just a few extra tins, pasta etc in with the normal shop. I already buy toiletries & loo roll in bulk. Luckily, we can afford it and have the room but I’d be worrying if we couldn’t do it. I don’t have any faith that the government would be delivering food parcels in the event of a lockdown!

Hence me trying to differentiate between doomsday prepping and homestead prepping. We are boring and do stuff like make jam.

if stuck indoors all day you will need a lot more loo paper than during a usual work/school week.

My school of thought is that I will stock up just in case. I can easily afford to do so and there will be those that can't. I would hope a civilised Government wouldn't let its citizens starve, but resources are limited, so if I can sort myself out, so much the better.

If (and hopefully when) I don't need it I will donate it to the food bank.

Thanks OP some good suggestions on here for us complete novices!

I’ve always been brought up to have a little extra in just in case, only realised how true that was when we got switched to universal credit last year.
Since then i used a small inheritance to triple my fridge/freezer space (previously only had undercounter ones, so probably not actually that excessively big now, just bigger than what i had before)
I’ve also made sure to have at least a weeks extra of food essentials, we would probably be more likely to run out of fresh fruit, veg and milk if we had to isolate. But we would be fine for bread, meat, pasta, dried/ tinned goods etc.

Definitely need to sort out the medicine cabinet. My df is a pharmacist so will ask him what he thinks would be best to stock up on.

Jus back from our local Tesco, they have run out of or are very very low on:
Hand gel (run out)
Milk ( I got the last 2 pint SS organic as thats all there was)
Cheese!
Paracetamol (run out)
Ibuprofen
Hand wash
Bread
Loo roll
Kitchen roll

It’s not just here that people are prepping!

OP and Thenextstorm the world doesn't revolve around me, maybe I just have more friends...

And who the feck uses the noun 'homesteader' in this century? This entire thread is comical and bizarre all at the same time. Knock yourselves out panicking the arse out of yourselves. Sad, sad, very sad. OAO

I did manage to get wine and walnut cake so that will see me through this evening at least!

PS Been to the supermarket today and all shelves completely full, including hand gels and no price hikes- needed paracetamol and was 29p. Pure and utter panic over nothing.

@snoopdogsbitch if there was an incident that meant there was nothing in the supermarkets, would you have enough in?

A few pp sound seem very invested in trying to stop people prepping

When I don't care about an issue, or am "amused", I might post at most once, then move on

Hi @Snoopdogsbitch . I don't need to go to the supermarket and ransack the shelves. Because I'm sorted already.
As usual, I really hope I'm wrong. Because that's ok. But what if you are wrong?
My op is the opposite of panicking and screeching about. Weird that you think it is.
When you are bored you can go on Style and Beauty and say cheap make up is shit. Or The Litter Tray and say all cats are shit.
I know this is AIBU so I suppose you can cheerfully tell people they are "fucking mental" on it. Why not? We could all do with a laugh.

To be honest I’d not heard of the term prepping until Brexit, I just thought that I was organised and always had enough stuff in to last a few weeks if needed.
I always also buy more stuff if it’s on special offer.
If that labels me as a prepper then so be it.
It was a godsend last October when DH and I both got full on flu and were wiped out for 2 weeks. We did run out of Lemsip so I’m always buying extra of meds these days so we don’t run out again.

They really do, don't they @BigChocFrenzy . It's odd. Wonder why they give a shit.
My op was pretty up beat and non-panicky. No doom and gloom. And yet it seems to trigger some.

@bellinisurge your post was useful and I’ve learned from it so thanks for posting x

You're very welcome @MelanieFrontage .

Anyone have 'sad' on dipshit bingo?

Bingo potential quite high on here and elsewhere.