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

I have an allotment but haven't started for the season yet, I need to get to work. I'm a bit worried about people pinching stuff.

I have a large vegetable garden but have only started chitting potatoes. I have broccoli which overwintered so has a good start. I have lots of seeds

BTW we stopped off at lidl last night for the DC to grab a drink on the way home and they were putting their seeds out. I didn't have time to look properly but it looked like the usual selection at very good prices.

I can see why allotment owners are worried about people pinching stuff. Its a worry when you've put in so much effort. I grow in the garden and we are fairly secluded but it isn't ideal for growing everything since its in woodland and there isn't much sunlight for a big chunk of the year.

I'm putting in fruit trees this year for a longer term resource.

cloudtree , I would see if there is any appetite for discussion with whoever manages the allotment scheme. All users will have the same concerns.

I asked this question earlier in the wrong thread. Those stocking up, have you considered the following:

-Not buying food locally, to avoid being identified as a potential source if required by people in your area
-Only paying in cash so it's harder for, as an example, an unscrupulous and desperate bank employee to identify you as someone with food and other supplies
-Keeping a smaller, decoy stockpile in case the unthinkable happens and someone tries to force you to hand it over, so you're not as badly affected
-Identifying body washes and shampoos that work well with cold water, in case cold showers are the order of the month(s)
-Only unpacking your car under cover of night so neighbours don't see you carrying large amounts of supplies into the house
-Preparing yourself physically with moderate levels of exercise while food is plentiful to minimise the impact of physical wasting
-Relying on frozen food is a gamble if the power goes out for more than a few days, not only do you lose your supplies but you're now less financially able to afford items that can be stored at room temperature

I would say that these are useful points @Gronky although I suspect a lot of "new to the concept of any prepping" people might find them difficult subjects.
Building a bit of fitness into your preps is a particularly good idea. I'm pretty far from athletic but I have found Couch2 5k really helpful mentally and physically. Yoga is an alternative too.

Yoga is an alternative too

Do you rate yoga for strength building? I'm very traditional with my exercise but am open to alternatives.

I have MS. So my physical abilities as well as my energy levels can fluctuate. I have found yoga helpful for muscle tone and endurance. As well as the assistance to my mental health that it brings. If I didn't have MS and wasn't in my mid fifties, I would go forward with running and swimming - the exercise I have found I like most.

Thank you, I don't have MS but I am at that age where it's frustrating how few results the same exercise level now produces compared to 30 years ago.

I look at for example Prepper Pot Pourri on YouTube. She looks about my age and plays to her strengths. I think that's a good way.

"Only paying in cash so it's harder for, as an example, an unscrupulous and desperate bank employee to identify you as someone with food and other supplies"

If it gets to this stage, we are all hugely fucked anyway! Do you really think this is likely??

No I don't think it will get to this. A bit grim followed by more expensive. That's my prediction.

@bellinisurge may I ask on what you base your prediction? Just curious.

I base my prediction on being old and having seen a lot. I think government bodies in their cockeyed way are trying to be a bit organised. I think that here in the UK we are more comfortable with the state organising stuff for us (more than in a lot of other western countries ).
I also think people are starting to make personal preparations so the general rubbishness if any government plans will be generally tolerable. Plus all this Brexiteers have wound themselves into a bollocks blitz spirit frenzy so they will have to suck it up or lose face.
In short, it'll be a bit shit for a bit.

Things have been shit before, early seventies power cuts, (candles with a mirror behind was very exciting as a kid) the winter of discontent, rioting at least twice. Droughts. Bread shortages,

Thinks get tricky, expensive, in short supply, but the government gets round to sorting something out at some point, living on your own resources until then would be preferable to having to take children out to get food.

It could go tits up with supply issues, and riots but then there will be intervention and some sort of emergency plan put in place.

Using your own resources to Improve on emergency basic resources will make life better and more bearable.

If it really goes tits up, then it buys you time to make a plan. If nowt much happens then I have a buffer from divorce costs/ maintenance reductions etc.

@bellinisurge I tend to agree. Of course the media will go to town with pics of empty shelves and lorries backed up on the Kent motorways. I think we'll middle through with more inconvenience than catastrophe.

I don't even want to muddle through, I want the government to do better in the interests of the country. But anyway.

A long way back on this thread someone asked about getting more than 'immediately required' amounts of prescription meds - if it hasn't been answered, then try and do it. I genuinely AM going travelling for a few months starting in 3 weeks - we'll be away over the Brexit date. I've been given 4 months worth of HRT (to add to the 2 months I've already got).

I've filled the freezer with 'fresh' fruit and veg, and bought a fair amount of dried goods. But if it does go properly tits up and we HAVE to come back after the 'few months', then we'll fill the car up in France . I've got a list of stuff to buy. We've already changed £ into euros, and would have enough for about 6 months if we could find somewhere to live really cheaply. Have friends in Estonia we could live with, as well as France - Estonia much cheaper. Hopefully that would ride out any immediate shortages and 'issues'.

I had DM over for a while, and surprisingly she was very impressed and supportive of my new prepping ways (she's usually a more "everything will sort itself" type of late). She's been to the shops with me, and I now have packets of pancake/yorkshire powder stuff, lemon curd, milk powder, "proper" basic bleach and all kinds of other bits and pieces I'd not thought about. Also lots of hints and tips. I have (after some harrassment) made a promise to at least try growing tomatoes! She bought me a WI book on basic gardening...

The medication side is starting to worry me, though. I've managed to build a tiny stockpile (by the odd half-dose and prompt renewing), but DH hasn't, and doesn't have a chance to. He's just changed meds, too, so it would have been a bit useless. He's currently on a weekly prescription, and this week it took us four days to get his meds, and we ended up having to go to a different town to find a pharmacy that had it in stock. :( So stressful, especially when he's currently quite unwell. The idea of him having to cold turkey from neuroleptics and ADs if nowhere happens to have stocks is giving me conciderable worry.

Speak to your GP . At least it puts your concerns on their radar and, if they are getting a lot of the same concerns from patients, this will make a louder noise on the radar that they have to address.
I say this as a person with a chronic condition (MS) so I recognise your concern.
Good news about your DM. I think getting as many people in your family quietly onside means it's one less thing to worry about. It helps you and your dh if you have one less thing to worry about.

I'm really pleased with my now rather well stocked larder / freezer!
I've always got supplies in for nutritious meals - even when poorly, and weirdly I can't remember the last time I ran out of milk! (normally go at least once a week to local shop)... so the money I've saved on buying stuff we don't need has now been spent on stocking up. The larder is pretty much full and we even have some treats in there enough to last a few months so as we use I'll replace.

Its not a massive stockpile by a long shot but essentially approx 5 each of things like kidney beans, chopped tomatoes, sauce jars, 2 spare bags of frozen mince, as well as an extra 6 chicken breasts and 2 packs of sausages, 8 extra portions of rice... that sort of thing?

Anyway - hopefully it will be enough to help keep us going if there are shortages, but if not its definitely enough to stop me wasting money on crap in the corner shop and to tide us over through illness etc.

on meds - for those with Asthma.... I realised my inhalers are prescribed 2 at a time with the intention on my current dose that they last a month each... I managed to get another lot a month early, so I'll go every other month again from now and that will mean if there is an issue I've always got one spare . Also got an extra salbutamol - I rarely use so they often go out of date before I finish... got one ahead now to ensure I'm covered.

I hope everyone is able to stay covered meds wise - if the government aren't doing all they can to ensure the supply chains for those at least then they are more blinkered than I thought.

Yes, it's nice to have her onboard bellinisurge, and even just nice not to be ridiculed. She'll be safely out of the UK for March/April, though, so I don't need to worry about her and DF. (They do keep stores at home, too, in case of bad weather or car trouble, as they're a long drive away from the nearest little shop, and even longer from a supermarket, pharmacy etc.) DM grew up in the sticks and has plenty of know-how to share.

I used to get two inhalers per prescription, too OohMrDarcy, but that changed years ago for me. :( I have an early asthma review booked now, as been having some niggles, and can hopefully get an explanation to why my Ventolin has been put down as a single annual prescription now. I've been needing it pretty often of late! I guess I might as well ask asthma nurse about any reassurance about meds in general, though I doubt she'll know anything more than I do.

In other news: I've bought spares of the few make up stuffs (foundation and mascara) where I actually have a preferred brand/type, and will feel nicer having them, rather than needing to experiment with others. Totally non-essential, but nice all the same.

Also, despite earlier decisions on not to buy extra alcohol, there is now a very secret wine nook in my wardrobe. Well away from any prying eyes, who might be tempted to pilfer it! I just can't face Brexit stone cold sober...

My notes on what I store are now four pages long. There's an "essentials" list, an "extras" list, a "toiletries and household" list and a "freezer" list... To be fair, I bloody love a good list!

Lists are good. Lists of food are even better.

Serendipity; discovering that your child will drink uht milk in hot chocolate because their dad has run out of the milk that I bought him and has not replaced it.

Adds uht and hot chocolate to shopping list.

I'm going to try the uht milk in macaroni cheese, hot chocolate and tea and see how it is. Then I'll buy more if ok

I make white sauce for pasta. Macaroni cheese without the cheese. It is a good idea to try it for that.