Hell is ever closer-how's your stash looking?

[SistemaAddict]

My brexit cupboard shelves have been depleted due to using up the things that were going out of date like long life milk and juice. We also seem to have raided the baked beans
After today's announcement of buffoon johnson (isn't Johnson an American term for penis?) being our new PM and his threat of brexit on Halloween come hell or high water I figured I should assess my supplies. I still have my original lists somewhere so need to check everything.
Anyone else extra worried now and assessing their supplies?

Good point re the pie, Cloudtree, I don’t like the look of the fray bentos much. As close to fresh home cooking as possible.

The DC said that the chicken in white sauce tastes like really thick chicken soup with massive chunks of chicken in it. So it was a hit with them.

The fray bentos pie has a place in every stockpile but a very very small place for if times really get dire. They were fine in the 80s (or my memory/tastebuds have changed) but now are 90% gravy, chewy meat and pastry that no matter how you cook it will always be under cooked under the top layer.

I have contemplated removing the whole thing from the tin and seeing whether better results can be achieved but you'd still be left with a gravy pie).

So with some veg it would work with rice or pasta too.

Yes definitely. DS1 likes it on top of a jacket potato too.

The chicken that is, not the fb pie.

Oh I don't know. My OH would eat it. Fb pie and pasta. The disgusting pig < not envy
The M&S chicken sounds nice, will get some

If youre going Fray bentos the puddings are better than the pies IMO

I'd eat it but I'd rather make my own with a bag of pastry mix and a tin of chicken. I'm a big fan of the bags of pastry mix in this type of stockpiling situation since they last for ages and you don't need to add butter.

Pastry mix in bags, Cloudtree? Where do you buy that? Do you just add water?

Yes you literally just add water. The fat is already in it. Tesco and Sainsburys do their own and home bargains stock the Jane Asher bags. Its really handy to have in, particularly given the crazy price of butter (personally I think they all need a pinch of salt).

Thank you Cloudtree! You have given me a lot to think about😺

Tonight I made curry with an Aldi curried chickpea sachet. I added peas, coconut cream and extra curry powder, simmered it and served it with couscous. I made it as a timesaver TBH but it was very nice and I will buy some more to use as a quick base for a more hearty curry. It also has a long shelf-life.

I think we should get our cupboards back up to max before the end of September. Anyone else agree with me? 😧

Definitely.
First concentrating on things like bin bags /shampoo/lightbulbs etc. With no sell by dates.
Then tins and dried goods, though I have a lot already. I need more tins of chopped tomatoes as I use so many.

I have to check dates on other things and rotate/ replace.

I will stock up on short date things as late as possible, whilst still having some in.

By September I expect to be at high levels of stock refilling as I use it.

Yes by September I shall be back on top of everything.

This year I actually approached things differently anyway. After Christmas I did a massive household goods shop. I bought washing powder, toilet cleaner, toilet rolls, light bulbs, bin bags, hoover bags, dishwasher tablets, washing up liquid, hand soap, toiletries, pet food etc etc. Basically everything I thought we might need over the next six months in guesstimate quantities.
I massively underestimated the amount of toilet cleaner we use and the amount of hair conditioner and shampoo. I still have loads of general household cleaner (partly because I dilute it right down anyway and partly because we have a cleaner twice a week who uses her own stuff) and washing powder which lasts much longer than I thought.

I will do another big shop in September to see us through the next six months. Its a big upfront cost but it is great always having everything we might need. I'm lucky that we have the cash and the storage space. I appreciate not everyone is in the same position.

I'm concentrating on Christmas this month then I'm going back to this next month. We still have some stuff, so I need an audit, then a list!

Need to sort out presents. Agghhh.

Dc b day in september - sorted ✔
Next month I'll start getting xmas gifts.
All new school stuff bought ✔
We booked a uk break in October half term. Sort of wish we hadn't now...that money could have been saved :(

This morning I have bought maintenance products for the next 12 months.

Septic tank cleaner
Limescale remover balls for washing machine and dishwasher
Tar removal granules for log burner
descaler for iron
oil for cars and lawnmower
antifreeze
screen wash
booked boiler service

We've just done the two birthdays. I'm almost complete with Christmas gifts now too. I'm starting on Christmas food now as I can get my baking ingredients now. I've already made my mincemeat, so that's done. I'll sort puddings soon, or just keep on top of my ingredients stash.

We had/have a lot of flour, UHT milk, juices and passata that will expire between August and October. Halfway finished using that up but glad to know this would have actually lasted us 3 months if Brexit had happened in March.

I canned a lot of a new soup recipe that fussy DH really liked and I am trying to find out how long it stays good (cocunut milk in it, should be good for ~1 year). Thus far it has been 6 months and it still tastes really nice! Going to make more when the first fresh butternut squashes are back in store. Also have some pectin left that expires soon, so will grab some fruit on sale and make jam one weekend.

Meds stash is fairly depleted because DH pops pain killers like sweeties. Prescription meds pile looks surprisingly healthy. Need to stock up on some herbal meds and teas for the colder months. Learnt that DH and I prefer soap to shower gel, which makes my life way easier.

We asked the vet and they are not stockpiling anything (they think we'll get a people's vote), so we have a little more than usual of dog meds - just routine stuff like flea treatments and wormer. We also got the original certificate of the rabies vaccination handed to us, as the passports won't be valid anymore. Apparently the current plan is to get new "UK Certificates" in 50+ languages to essentially say the same thing the pet passports do but they might need the original titer test cerificates.

Also find that having a lot of zero waste options is really helpful and keeping the stress levels low.

Things I am still contemplating:

• Scrubba Wash Bag
• Travel bidet(s)
• Pressure canner and some extra jars. Means I could can meat (I hate frozen meat and who knows what will be available when)
• suture kit - our first aid kit is that of a very accident prone family and includes those "no stitches" stripes but I wonder whether it might be good to get the real thing in.
• jumper for the bigger dog that does not usually need one but might if the (electric) heating does not work for a longer time.

As soon as the Christmas tins of chocolates come out and go on offer I'll be buying a few. I'm also starting to think of presents and supplies. We don't go mad at Christmas and there's only an and the children this year so we won't eat that much. We are veggie too so that reduces cost massively. I don't drink either although I like knock off baileys from Asda at Christmas so will get done of that.

Replenishing canned goods at the moment - we really like the cans of ratatouille you can get, they make a nice change from plain tinned tomatoes in a pasta sauce, or you can do baked eggs in them (like piperade/shakshuka). Plus some canned fruit and bottled lemon juice. I don't want to put replenishing off too long, I think there's a real risk that if the government did a no-deal leaflet drop we'd see some panic buying, and I'd like to be sorted before that. I think the last two deferred exit dates have made us all relax a bit and get a bit complacent, and the mood might turn very quickly.

@notjustanexpat , pressure canner is a big expensive one. Pop over to the prepper topic and chat about it if you like, I have one

You're probably right, Mother. I wonder when they'll do the leaflet drop?