2019 Brexit Preps

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I thought it would be useful to have a thread as we head into the new year where we can discuss our Brexit preps.

Today I picked up all gift wrap and cards I will need for next Christmas which I would normally do anyway but I added some neutral gift wrap which could be used for birthdays. I also stashed a few toys in the sale which can be used for birthdays. The thought of the DC going without birthday presents is too sad.

I’ve also just stashed some lightbulbs, candles, lights and matches.

Going into 2019 I’m focusing on:
Solar chargers
Camping gas
Protein
Medicines
Box hair dye
Skincare
Loo roll and tissues + hankies
Cleaning products
Home brew kits
Books on self reliance

If it comes to it, I hope you’re right, whatabout. It’s possible the opposite might happen.

I definitely have enough for 3 days. But it might lead to some odd combinations .

Ihave more than three days if you do not mind weird stuff, but not if we want to eat relatively normally.

I normally stock up on stuff that is on offer... thus I have a lot of sweet chilli dipping sauce as that was on offer recently and very little of some other things.

I have found some extra places to stash food despite me claiming everywhere was full. if there are reports of one flat collapsing into another, you will know what has happened!

@Blackeyedgruesome I was raised ( in a socialist country) by a mum who was born during the blitz, so I hope this doesn’t sound crass, but part of me is looking forward to being challenged and managing on less.

Looking at it this morning, I can get 6 normal meals with enough for lunch the next day and A slightly odd stir fry with the remaining tinned veg. And I’d still have stuff left.

I’m doing better than I thought.

I've got cotton hankies, instead of using nice disposable tissues (ever since Kleenex introduced the balm tissues about 20 years ago, my nose has been spoilt). I have my first cold since the switch over... must stock up on Bepanthen. OMG... now I remember why I loved the wonderful new tissues when they first became available. Absolutely raw.

I must buy chickpeas.

I am becoming slightly nervous about the amount of weight that one lot of floorboards can hold. Especially when they are directly over the staircase. Would that be structurally stronger, I wonder, or should I listen for worrying creaks...

I am becoming slightly nervous about the amount of weight that one lot of floorboards can hold.

Conversation between DH and DS2 last week. "Come and help me hide the evidence of your mother's insanity. Don't stack them all in one place since the loft wasn't designed for that and the ceiling will fall in"

Whataboutbob... that's not the case. Look at the current situation in Venezuela. Serious food shortages there. Yet many people are obese and unhealthy with metabolic diseases. People eat carb and fat rich dumplings/fritters there... flour and processed cooking oils are the more available foods. When food supply to a nation declines, quality quickly nose dives, quantity dwindles. A "sub-adequate" supply of low grade hyper processed food like soy bean oil, flour and sugar means people will be obese and sick.

We need fresh (or frozen fine too) unprocessed food in the main to keep us healthy. Meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, dairy products, some fresh fruit. Over reliance on refined processed foods (which also happen to be the cheapest and most abundant ) leads to poor health outcomes for a population.

Oops the thread dropped of my 'I'm on ' list!

My supplied are now roughly:
2kg pasta
box lasagne sheets
2 packs spagetti
3 jars pasta bake sauce
2 boxes rice (individual portions)
approx 10 tins soup
3 cartons chopped tomatoes
3 tins kidney beans
6 packs super noodles
2 x 4 pack beans
3 tins sweetcorn
2 x long life fruit juice
about 10 sachets of things like casserole mixes etc
bread mix x 2
yeast

As well as that I've started on the freezer - currently have about 6 chicken breast portions (and will replace as I use)
1kg beef mince
extra peas
freezing veggies that I don't use for a meal so have them for when needed.

Today I've done my online shop and added (for my stocks)
2 x 1 litre long life juice - that will be enough of that
pack paracetamol (I've also trained the youngest to swallow tablets so I have no more need of buying calpol at extortionate prices - huzzah)
pack ibuprofen
2 packs breafast biscuits
2 packs pop tarts (for emergencies!)
Big box weetabix (we get through loads anyway, so I'll replace before the current one has gone)
2 x dumpling mix

Next week I'm aiming to get ahead on shampoo / conditioner / toothpaste etc

@DoodleLab I guess I'm fantasizing about junk food being unavailable and people eating a plant rich diet with enough protein! I take your point re WW2 being a well managed situation and the current one doesn't appear to be. I don't think we'll be hitting Venezuela type chaos though. I certainly hope not.

I have muslins for hot cloth cleansing which could double as handkerchiefs if necessary. Most of them have seen a lot of use and need replenishing though so I'll look for some baby muslins which are much better value than the ones in the beauty aisles.

If you can sew I’ve purchased 2 meters of muslin off eBay for about £4 if cut them up and hemmed the edges. I use it for rose petals in the bath but hankies are a fab idea.

M&S do very nice baby muslins & hankies. I got about 10 muslins for having a wash - I use them for my face etc, as I don't always have the energy to shower daily (or can't step over the bath side) but can usually stand at the sink for a minute at least when I go to the loo. The hankies are great but OMG at the amount of packaging! If you have a local market maybe look there too first, as M&S weren't that cheap.

DH has just brought me the tube of Sudocrem for my nose. Ow, ow, ow.

If you sew, and cook, you could also make muslin bags for infusing spices etc in. I usually buy them but the commercial ones seem to fall apart quite quickly.

One thing I have made, quite successfully, and will continue with, is making cotton dishcloths / cleaning cloths. I got some plain DK weight dishcloth cotton from the local craft shop & knitted it. Crochet would probably be better, (less liable to unravel if there's a hole) but I can't! However, the fabric might be rather stiff. Mine is very sturdy, it mops up lots of water so would probably work as a substitute for kitchen roll, as well, if I can get my arse in gear & make more than the 2 I've currently completed. I realised that not only are the cheap nylon dishwashing sponges likely to get more expensive, they're really bad for the environment when I could definitely make a lomger lasting & more biodegradable alternative.

I also use flannels, rather than disposable plastic-type bath sponges, for in the shower. Stick-on hooks on the tiles so they don't go hideous between uses. New one every few days. To be fair, I got my flannels as a job lot when Woolworths went bust so I have about 20...

ahhhh woolies...

sorry where was I?

I have been to sainsbury's to take advantage of their offers on toothpaste, deodorant for three people, soy sauce and stir in sauce. when asked if I was stocking up I blamed the lack of stuff in Aldi and dc's disability requiring certain brands.

I usually bulk buy when there are offers on, this is nothing new.

I have started stashing under the stairs. I have other places to stash as well that I thought were full and have some space.

My wind up torches have arrived from amazon. they will be used as presents if they are not needed before hand.

Just been through my stash today and I've got ingredients for 15 small loaves of bread, milk for 24 breakfasts, carbs for 56 meals and almost enough veg to match.
Bit low on protein options but trying to only get stuff we would normally use so I'm going to get some more tins of chilli and chicken in white sauce.
Happy with my medicine and baby stuff stash except for baby snacks and puddings, plus need more nappies and loo roll.
I just want to say a big thanks to everyone who inputs sensibly onto these threads to help us who don't really know much about prepping. I am really worried about Brexit, even more after last night's shambles, but knowing I've got a 30 day stash is making a huge difference to my mental health.

I’ve spent today working out how much we have and I think we have 4 months of 3 meals per day for 10 people but I would like to add more protein. We are a family of 9 and we have a nanny who is only part time at the moment but will be back to full time the week before breakfast and I want to make sure she is provided for whilst here.

My focus now turns to protein, cleaning products, personal hygiene and follow on formula.

I would love a free day to do a full stocktake on mine. can't see it happening anytime soon.

I did a stocktake but I have no idea how many meals it would make. I need to sit down and work it out. I know I need more tins of peas and sweetcorn and any tins of carrots. asda was sold out.

I have to stay in for a delivery tomorrow. I may do some number crunching and updating the list.

I am planning to distribute other stuff around the flat in hidey holes. we could eat for a week or two, though it may not be our usual diet. and a bit farty.

My Brexit freezer has arrived, it’s a tall 5 drawer one in the garage. Our old under counter garage freezer is 18 years old but still works- at the moment! Anyway that’s how we’ve justified it.
What shall I fill it with?

If i has an extra freezer I would fill it with meat, frozen fruit and veg, ice cream, cheese and butter...
I totally could fit one in the shed... hmmm.

frozen veg mainly. cheese, butter or bertolli some meats, proteins can be stored in the forms of tinned beans but fresh veg is harder to store.

I defrosted my freezer yesterday. We have a reasonable amount of fruit from last summer in there which was a nice surprise.
Also some unlabeled containers so some surprise dinners coming soon.

but that is just my best guess and what I would like.

ahhh blue peter dinners oybbk. I have some of those as well.

I bought an extra chest freezer in the sale. It currently holds meat, cheese, butter, prepared meals which would just need reheating (bolognese, lasagne, meat and veg base for shepherds pie, moussaka, moroccan tagine) bags of fish pie mix (I have instant mash for the top and packet mixes for the sauce) and bags of frozen veg (lidl and aldi MUCH cheaper than tesco for bags of frozen veg Ive found).

I'm eating down the random stuff out of the other freezer to make more room for meat.

Ive bought packs of pastry mix that just need water and packs of crumble mix that just need water. I don't generally use either but butter might be difficult/expensive to get. (I also have packs of lard in the fridge for pastry to make pies and quiches).