What are you prepped for?

[Glowinginthedark]

I'm new to this and with the current state of the world I have been thinking about prepping for certain events.

Mainly thinking about keeping car filled with fuel, stocking up on tinned/frozen food and bottled water incase of panic buying caused by any major events that could occur rather than prepping for actual events, I'm more anticipating being affected by shops running out with panic buying rather than being directly affected, should ww3 kick off for example! Does this sound sensible?

What about everyone else?

Oh god now I need to prep

Dealing with any pets? Do you mean what I think you mean?

I prep for my whole family including my cat.

Toilet wise depending on the catastrophe think about outside toilets or composting toilets. I know where mine would go

Lastly when prepping who are you prepping for? Your family? Family and friends? You need to know this as you could prep for four then someone else comes along and your14 day supplies will only last say 11.

I don’t do preparation for an apocalypse.
We do prepare for winter because we live remotely.

• We have two heat sources, so can stay warm.
• We have fishing lanterns in the shed, torches and lots of candles.
• We have a salt stock and snow shovels.
• We have enough food in the larder to get by for a week or so.
• We have a stock cupboard of cleaning items, toiletries, loo roll etc.
• We have a good few cases of wine. Also an amount of bottled water.
• We have board games, unread books.

Also obviously have first aid kit, spare batteries, frozen food, tool kit,. My husband has a 4x4. I’m not really wanting to survive a nuclear holocaust, in truth.

It’s not so much nuclear I worry about. Although it is a real threat because of certain males in the world, I think more about mass power cuts

Actually I didn’t mean euthanising my pets. When I said “dealing with” I meant food/Water/carrier/portable litter tray and litter if we have to bug out.
Yes, my indoor cat has a bug out bag including a harness and lead which she has sniffed a lot but never actually used. My dd would be broken hearted if I didn’t include the cat and it would give her something/someone to think about.
Even if we get a power out or are snowed in, I want to be able to take care of the cat.

I never thought of a harness for my cat. That’s brilliant

And when I say “take care of”, I don’t mean in a Sopranos way .
As for helping friends and neighbours, It’s really tough to think about not helping someone out because that is what you would naturally do.
If it was a power out/snow situation you probably would help your neighbours. In a Shit Hit The Fan situation (less likely but ...) you need to steel yourself to put family absolutely first.

Mynwood Cat Jackets. Get the best reviews. Worth the peace of mind.No, I don’t have any affiliation.

Phew I’m so relieved I thought I was going to have to chap my dogs over the head as well as deal with the apocalypse.

I prep for hiding in the house during a national emergency in terms of panic buying/looting in case of world events - food, water, pet supplies. Food wise (& pet stuff) I basically buy almost everything in bulk and restock when more than half is used. Amazon subscribe & save is great for this, and spreads it out month by month. I also have an allotment so grow as much of my own veg as possible. Preserve, Batch cook, feeeze a lot. Also have stocks of things like cleaning supplies, toiletries, loo roll, medications etc.

I need to work on power cut preparedness - we have candles and torches/batteries/solar charger but that’s about it. I want to sort out a camping stove/gas bottles & wind up radio. Just in case.

My car is fairly well prepped for emergencies - I keep emergency snacks and water, first aid kit incl CPR mask, blankets, try and keep tank above half full if I notice. I have an emergency tool in the driver’s door pocket that can cut seatbelts and break windows.

I carry a small personal first aid kit when I’m out & about in the city.

I also have a grab-bag in case we need to evacuate quickly. It has a change of clothes, basic toiletries, a few days of important medications, the passports live there when not in use.

Lastly I want to get a fire escape ladder for upstairs. Not got round to it yet though.

Pets are part of the family and often get forgotten when thinking about power cuts etc.
When thinking about the really bad stuff happening, no harm in at least trying to include your pets.
If your kids ask about your prepping, it can’t hurt to say “I’m including Fang/Tiddles obviously and here’s how”.

And, op, don’t forget to enjoy life now when (please god) horrible/difficult things are NOT happening to you and your family.

This is it. Don’t let it take over your life. Tonight I went to the cinema with one of my kids. Doesn’t mean the state of the world isn’t at the back of my mind but life is for enjoying

In the case of cooking in shtf one thing to ask yourself is can you cook over fire? I know a lot of people say ‘well I have a bbq how hard can it be?’ But most people are only used to cooking bbq food. Could you cook a pan of water? Or meat? Are your pots and pans even suitable for that? Weird I know but would make a difference

Have an adventure practise with the kids and camping gear on a nice day in the back garden.

Another consideration is to bump up your physical fitness or, if you are a lazy slob like me, give it a kickstart. In trickier times, you will need it.
I found Couch 2 5k a really good way of building my physical endurance. I’m in my 50s, I have MS and I have a 10 year old. And as already mentioned I am naturally a lazy slob. I thought I would only excel at the Couch bit. Turns out, I can do it. Give it a go.