How's everyone doing?

[bellinisurge]

Thought I'd start a thread to see how everyone was doing because this B-word stuff is getting a bit stressful.

My dh has come around to prepping for Brexit but not really generally. He's also pretty anxious about Brexit and doesn't really want to talk about it.
Early morning conversation with FIL this morning. Told him about our extra food supply to get him to mull it over for himself. Can't yet talk to MIL.

Morale is an important part of all this. Any morale tips to share? Mine focus on food and laughs and being reassured by having stuff in.

Just so we are clear - I would much prefer all this to be my little eccentric way and not something hitting everyone for real.

I'm doing a large non perishables shop after christmas. It's all sitting in online baskets ready to press the button - things like washing powder, cleaning products, toiletries, pet food, bin bags, light bulbs, toilet roll, batteries. We are lucky in that we have lots of storage space.

My aim is to get a year's worth at once. This isn't just brexit related, I'm hoping it will help the household run more smoothly if we just do one or two very large orders a year for these types of item.

Foodwise I have a good supply and will buy more after christmas.

DH has now come around to Brexit planning thank goodness. We have a large larder, so always have a lot of food stored, especially pre Christmas so kids have not really noticed.

Usually we are given lots of Christmas goodies like puddings and huge chocolate boxes etc and I end up giving these to food banks. This year we’ll be keeping the ones with the longest dates, donating the shortest.

Had a tangential conversation with our cleaner, who seems to be worried and prepping herself. Extra Christmas bonus and some goodies from larder for her.

I’ll be discussing it seriously with parents and in laws over Christmas. Cheery thought!

I hear households will get some brexit no deal advice from government in January. Will broach subject with my close friends then. Not telling anyone what we have though!

I'm massively stressed. My pantry is full but, in London with not much space, to go beyond stocking the pantry would send noticeable "I'm panicking" signals to my family and the world! Perhaps I will wait to see what the govt advises on their so-called consumer advice website supposedly launching Jan.

To be honest I am surprised Ocado don't have a "Brexit prepping'" tab

I have a few boxes of thingsnlike olives pasta Parmesan capers paprika garlic but as things ‘prgress’ These seem woefully inadequate and if we are to have real food shortages I may need to rethink and stick up on basics as well ! My aged and beloved passed away a few weeks ago and I feel relieved I won’t need to ensure she is stocked up too.

I have a fair bit in anyway but going to stock right up on tins and packets and foody stuff next month and none foody stuff in Feb. We should be good for a year by my reconning, more or less. It'll all come in even if it's not needed for Brexit reasons.
Must stock up for the pets as well.
I'm fortunate to have the room though.

I'm sorry if everyone is feeling the pressure.
Please do some lurking around this topic for ideas and focus on what you actually like to eat. Don't forget pets. Don't forget keep yourself entertained.
Hard to second guess how this is going to pan out.
If you focus on what are basics for you , that should help a bit.

For people who already struggle with anxiety it can be difficult to think clearly and take action to prep, partly because it’s scary to contemplate and so it can feel easier to avoid the whole thing because you just feel paralysed and powerless, or there’s the risk of losing perspective and panic buying and hoarding.

I wouldn’t say I have this under control and I am worried and probably spending too much time on social media fuelling my anxiety, but what has helped me is to try to think calmly about food and non food basics that we need and to start to build up extra supplies of these each time I go shopping

I have felt some reassurance from doing something and having some small sense of control. I will continue to add to food and non-food supplies - all things we would use anyway - and need to look at supplies of first aid and over the counter medicines etc after Christmas

My worry now is making sure my elderly parents have enough food supplies and that they have enough of the medication they both need. Will try to have this conversation with them over Christmas. My PIL are dogmatic Leavers and I’m not going to talk to them about it at all. Up to them what they do, or don’t do

I am usually very calm with prepping and I’m a natural prepper but Brexit has scared me. DH is on board in a kind of jokey “I’ve bought some corned beef for the war” way. But I’ve found myself decluttering cupboards to make way for more preps.
This morning my scales ran out of batteries, so I’ve bought a decent supply of batteries for them and will look to buy a non digital version in the sales. Other batteries worth checking - thermostat and fire alarms.

Thought I'd start a thread to see how everyone was doing because this B-word stuff is getting a bit stressful.

Interesting. I hadn't been stressed about it for ages but a couple of days ago when the government announced no deal preparations, even though this is something they should have done ages ago, I did start to feel a bit stressed again, and to realise there was quite a bit I hadn't done.

It's made me get off social media and get on with doing things - though quite a lot of it was stuff that needed to be done anyway, regardless of Brexit.

My dh has come around to prepping for Brexit but not really generally. He's also pretty anxious about Brexit and doesn't really want to talk about it.

I know these people have their reasons but it doesn't half wind me up when I hear people who can afford to stock up and have the space talking about how worried they are and that they are trying not to read or think about anything to do with Brexit. (Seem to know quite a few people like this.)

Also have quite a bit of non-perishables type stuff to get. Lightbulbs and so on. Things I always used to keep a stock of but which I've been buying as and when over the last 2 or 3 years because prices have gone up.

Been noticing little annoyances or daft things, like bulk buying some cotton wool pads (though still have 2 packs left from 2016 stockup immediately after the referendum) and finding when they arrived they are the embossed ones that you can't tear in half to be more economical. Or tidying out a box of clothes and finding 4 bags of Tesco pasta, which must have been the result of hurriedly moving things out of the way between the arrival of an order and visitors. I thought there was less pasta than I remembered buying - this explains why.

Tip for storing multiples of smaller things, like kitchen drawer stuff or beauty products, if you don't have fancy storage with compartments: get some big clear food bags with tie handles and put each category of item in one. Makes things easier to find in a hurry.

Likewise I'd been feeling less stressed by it after worrying in August but am now ramping up the stores again.

Luckily DH is on board with my idea to buy all household non perishables for the year in January and see if that works to keep us more organised (and gives me a Brexit buffer)

Plus DH has also just said it wouldn't be a bad idea to buy another freezer. Result.

Why on Earth would you bother to buy items that are manufactured in the UK?

Not doing well at all. Had a horrible Nov/beginning Dec and so no preps done at all and have in fact run down food stores as haven't wanted to go out to shops. Need to get back on it in Jan (but no £ )

What are people doing for tasty protein? I would eat tinned fish throughout the apocalypse but none of the other people in the house will.

Why on Earth would you bother to buy items that are manufactured in the UK?

Because lots of items manufactured in the UK rely on components/ingredients from elsewhere - I don't know which and can't be bothered to find out for every item we use. Plus logistics problems could mean supply issues for all sorts of products. Plus prices are likely to rise in general. Plus it just makes life easier if there's no prospect of running out of things.

Why on Earth would you bother to buy items that are manufactured in the UK?

1. in advance of price rises (unless you are in a very well-paid and secure job)
2. They may be manufactured in the UK but using imported materials.
3. People who usually buy competitor products not made in the UK and who have not stocked up will be buying what is still available, meaning less to go round over all (unless manfacturers and retailers stockpiles are massive and outlast any customs delay chaos)

What are people doing for tasty protein?

I think protein is the hardest. I have tins of chicken in white sauce, tins of curry, FB pies (yet to test if the DC will accept them), corned beef, look what we found ready meals and hot dog sausages. Beans and pulses are also an option.

I am stocking up on meat for the freezers. Will do a large muscle foods order.

Can I ask — are you preppers given to stress and anxiety generally?

Sorry to hop on your thread, don’t mean to sound glib but I wonder if there is some transference going on?

Tasty protein - lentils but in a chile sauce. Chicken in freezer and in pressured "cans" - actually jars (I imported a pressure canner earlier in the year). Dehydrated meat - bought a cheap dehydrator a while ago. Powdered eggs (). Dried soya mince/flakes.
I bought a vegan cook book a while ago for some ideas too.

Chile? I mean chilli!

I’m not even a remotely anxious person, in general. I don’t worry. I prep

Prepper anyway. I'm not feeling anxious about Brexit, just don't trust the government to do it's job properly. Too many of us are complacent in our throwaway society and think that the shit won't hit the fan for them in any meaningful way. We've been pampered.

It's doing something other than whine and wring hands.

Can I ask — are you preppers given to stress and anxiety generally?

Nope. I'm a very level headed, practical person. I simply don't want my children to be suffering and experiencing difficulty when financially there is no need for it. I have the cash in the bank - better to convert it now into the things we need for the year whilst we still can.

Also have a kitchen garden to supplement our food supplies. Again, it needs thinking about some way in advance of actually needing the produce..

Agree - prepping is better than worrying about stuff. Gives you options and a bit more control.
I look at the possibility of being snowed in or losing my job or being waylaid by illness or Brexit and think I have a way of keeping things steady.
And then you can get on with ordinary life.

I suppose it is the ‘whilst we still can’ bit that I am wondering about - imminent disaster around the corner is also one of those feeling that accompanies stress/depression.

Not saying that is true for everyone! I am a prepper by instinct: love a full larder and the feeling of ‘We will be alright’. But I don’t really think it will ever be needed by some specified time.