Stockpiling

[Undercoverbanana]

I’m going to stockpile.

I hope it won’t be needed, but I’m doing it anyway.

Here’s my list. What am I missing?

Matches
Batteries
Candles
Lightbulbs
Toilet rolls
Basic medications
First aid supplies
Antiseptic
Soap bars
Shampoo bars
Washing up liquid
Laundry liquid
Cleaning cloths and sponges

Tins of:
Chopped tomatoes
Kidney beans
Cannelloni beans
Chick peas
Soups
Various veg
Various fruits

Rice
Pasta
Couscous
Dried herbs and spices
Long life milk
Tea

I have a well equipped tool kit.

What am I missing.

This is not intended to be a thread about the rights and wrongs of Brexit or whether there will be shortages.

I just wondered what I should have IF there were shortages.

I found a Christmas pudding from last year which is in date until June! Into the box it goes. It's probably OK for another few years anyway.

To those having a good laugh, that is why I wrote that I doubt any such event would occur. Indeed, the sheer costs in terms of manpower, time, and fuel would make that impossible.

The U.K. government itself possibly being in a state of upheaval would have other worries than if someone's kitchen seems too well stocked.

There was a documentary some time ago about how during WW2 the U.K. government tasked a member of each household with being a " Fuel Warden ". Their job was to make sure not too much coal was being used per household. A line was generally drawn around close to the bottom of a bathtub and any hot / warm water used was not to exceed that line.

They showed an illustration of a small face peering over a bathtub making sure that line was not exceeded. For some reason they seemed to pick a child for this role.

The documentary had a family put this into practice for demonstrative purposes. This family, particularly the parents didn't like at all that their son had this power to determine their bathtub habits. I think they ended up calling him " a good proper little Nazi "
or something.

I felt for him, he was only trying to do what the government had tasked him with.

I think perhaps the idea of governmental force taking away private possessions began with Charlton Heston's remark about how if the government came to take away his gun / guns they would have to pry them from his cold dead hands. This then got extended to emergency food supplies, fuel, generators, etc.

Glad I could provide a laugh, in times of great stress laughter is good for your mind and body.

Actually, it might all depend on how wonky and wacky is your government.

There was an event in Venezuela where the head of a company was charged with hoarding toilet paper. Due to extreme shortages of toilet paper in general, employees were stealing toilet rolls from the bathrooms and taking them home.

The head of this company managed to obtain a rather sizable amount of toilet paper to deal with theft issues, the government found out about it and raided his company with weapons drawn and confiscated all the companies toilet paper and then charged him with hoarding. I know he spent some time in jail but I think he was released some time after.

From 2013;

" CARACAS, Venezuela – Police in Venezuela say they have seized nearly 2,500 rolls of toilet paper in an overnight raid of a clandestine warehouse storing scarce goods.

The Thursday announcement on Twitter said that the officers raiding the garage in western Caracas also seized about 400 diapers and 7,000 litres of fruit juice.

Police chief Luis Karabin told Venezuelan news agency AVN that police, acting on a telephone tip, found “merchandise that we know is scarce on the shelves and doesn’t reach the people.”

Toilet paper is hard to find in Venezuelan grocery stores, as are staple food items such as sugar, milk and cooking oil.

The socialist government says the shortages are part of a plot by opponents to destabilize the country. Economists blame the government’s price and currency controls. ".

I guess it all depends on how wonky, wacky, crazy, and panicky you think your government may become.

@xebobfromUS, this is a conversation to have among US Preppers not here in the Uk where people are putting in some resilience at home in anticipation for Brexit.
I'm a prepper, I totally get this concept for the US but not here. It's hard enough to get people on board with the idea of getting some extra bits in.

I guess it all depends on how wonky, wacky, crazy, and panicky you think your government may become.

How many people are thinking of hoarding 2500 toilet rolls?

I don't think that's particularly going to be an issue for most people.

If anything if there is action taken by government it will be in relation to blackmarket activities where goods are sold way above the recommended price. Which isn't going to be relevant to people just stockpiling for their own families.

bellinisurge

I do get your point. If you scare people too much with dire predictions then they may either become paralyzed with fear which isn't good for their health and may lead to total inaction or they reject your predictions altogether and again do absolutely nothing to prepare.

There is a problem with trying to prepare for a worst case scenario. If it appears bad enough then it might seem impossible to prepare for it at all, so one might decide to not bother because what would be the point?

This would be just as bad as totally ignoring it and making zero preparations. I suppose from a strategic standpoint some sort of middle ground prep would make the most sense, at least at the governmental level.

I do try to provide any helpful advice I can think of but sometimes I do tend to wonder off.

@xebobfromUS , I get it. I really do. I just think that there isn't anything like the self reliance culture in tbe UK that there is in the US. To my mind, if people want to explore other prepper type ideas, they are of course welcome to. But I am really keen to stress to people on here that they don't need to be a prepper to prep for Brexit.
If it gets worse than troublesome at the shops and everything a bit pricier, there will be plenty of voices talking about it and I may be one. But I really don't think it is going to get to that point .
And I am desperately keen not to alienate people from making sensible proportionate preps for their household.

This reminds me of the people in America who have built nuclear bunkers and have stocks of food and drink and intend to create a post apocalyptic society.

They also have lots of guns in case the zombies come for them!

Oh dear @birdonawire1 , if you think Brexit prepping is like that you are really misunderstanding.
It is not the same as general prepping but general Preppers like me have been regularly advising people on how to do sensible budget friendly proportionate prepping . I'm not recruiting anybody. I don't give a shit how you live your life or what choices you make as long as you aren't creating an atmosphere of panic at the supermarket by leaving everything to the last minute. Or getting into stupid fights over a loaf of bread at the supermarket and ending up in A&E diverting doctors and nurses away from people with actual emergencies rather than self inflicted avoidable bollocks.

@bellinsurge. Well that’s exactly as this stupid thread comes across.

Let’s whip up some hysteria about bread and milk supplies.

Fair enough if businesses are stockpiling EU available parts or medications then it’s a sensible option, but tins of tomatoes? You can’t be serious?

Nope. I had a discussion with a US prepper and gently told them to back off because things are different here.
If you are still listening, here's my advice:
Think of being snowed in for three days. What do you and your family actually want to eat? What are your hygiene needs - toothpaste, soap sanpro etc. What about snacks, treats and entertainment because being stuck in the house is boring.
Three days gives you a bit of breathing space to consider your local situation without worrying about going to the shops. It is doable and storable. If you want to do more there is lots of advice on here. But don't do less.
If that sounds like preparing fir a zombie attack to you, @birdonawire1 , you don't have a very sound sense of proportion.

I'll just leave this for you to read @birdonawire1
No-deal Brexit 'to leave shelves empty' warn retailers www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47028748

Well we’ll see one way or another.

@birdonawire1 , i would be more than delighted to be wrong. I'll come on here and say I was wrong. Egg on my face is a small price to pay, in my view.
Will you, if you are wrong?

This is not about a Zombie Apocalypse.

It is about my (and many others’) total lack of trust that our government are in any way prepared for the effects of Brexit, whatever way it goes.

As an individual, I cannot keep the Irish border open. As an individual, I can not control whether or not the NHS is keeping a supply of my daughter’s medication coming in. What I can do is make sure we have a good stock of supplies to tide us over if things get shitty, and in the case of civil disorder, have a wind-up torch and a way of heating water and food.

Absolutely. I’ll also come back if I’m right.

Still sounds like whipping up hysteria to me. Civil unrest, massive food shortages, sitting in the dark for days, stock up on candles?

Obviously there will be some price increases but the rest?

It’s all a lot of brinkmanship if you ask me on both sides, and people and businesses are paying for intransigence on both sides.

birdonawire1 - there a very, very many people in the U.K. who will not be able to manage if there are price rises.

Pretty sure my three day suggestion didn't include anything about candles etc etc.

It’s all a lot of brinkmanship if you ask me on both sides, and people and businesses are paying for intransigence on both sides.

The problem with brinkmanship is its reckless. And in pushing for their ideal settlement there may be no deal accidentally.

And thats why many are worried. They are worried about how both sides of parliament are approaching this in a party political way which hurts the general population in the process.

Its this lack of trust that makes people nervous and as if things are out of their control, thus see a psychological need to stockpile.

I'll come on here and say I was wrong. Egg on my face is a small price to pay, in my view.

I'll be brutally honest and say that if it is no deal, and if no deal does not lead to shortages, then I will be 1% mildly disappointed not to see brexiters eating humble pie .... but 99% relieved that my family and friends are still getting their food and medicines.

So many useful posts on this thread! Thank you!

Egg and humble pie sounds like a plan in the case of disrupted supply chains.

I've been in to Aldi today and although most things were well stocked, the tinned goods area was pretty empty!