Prepping for a Pandemic - Thread 16

[Sprayitall]

I don’t know why another thread hasn’t been created yet , so here you go. Now as we prep ourselves to the peak of this pandemic, let’s all face it together and appreciate how fragile our lives are and how we need each other to survive and flourish.

@Legoandloldolls should've just blocked her arse! And review your settings only people can post on my wall are actual friends.

Op sorry ex friend is a dick definitely no loss to you there

I’m happy as I’ve managed to get frozen mice for the snake. It’ll keep him happy for the next 6 weeks, then I’m hoping there’ll be more mice available

@Blackeyedsusan Yes, she is no more my friend but I’m feeling so stupid to believe her like that. She got away with my stuffs now (who knows she might have did the same with few more of her friends too - leeching everyone she meets I should say ) .. Sometimes people think they are so smart but they forget their children listen and learn from watching their actions and not by what they ask them to do. That’s what is wrong with the world I think

Humans are omnivorous so we can eat most things, so hopefully we’ll be ok

@PancakeFiend You are right, it’s going to continue for a long time but I was asking if we need to stop buying temporarily while this peaks..

It feels weird having stuff in the house when shops are empty. Bloody good job though. Would not like to have to rely on what ex can get.

I know @Bellinisurge suggested that people would go bonkers in the shops, knowing and experiencing are completely different.

Do we think this will calm down soon? By a week next Monday,?

@BlackeyedSusan agreed, it does feel wierd. The shortages and chaos in food shops haven't affected me yet, so it all seems quite surreal.
Regarding your question of whether it will imprint a week or two, I think so and hope so!
DH wants me to keep doing regular top up shops, which I agree makes sense. But equally, if the shopping situation is temporary, we have enough to get by without having to shop and I would certainly rather avoid it. Both for my own sanity and for the sake of there being more for others right now. However, if it is not going to get better, I may take advantage of the NHS opening hours and do a normal shop (or at least replenish the fresh and frozen foods we're low on).
Hard to know what to do for the best.

Improve in, not imprint.

I am so grateful to you all. You inspired me to prep, and I did. Properly.

I have a good 8 weeks of proper prepping food and supplies in. Although I can't find my water purification tablets anywhere.

I've been put on the highly at risk list so I can't leave the house. However I will go out in my car rurally, as long as I don't leave it.

We've found a small farm shop that will take payment over the phone and put eggs milk veg and butter into our boot without us getting out of the car. It's expensive so will help stretch my supplies but that's all. I dettol spray items I can't open and decant. So minimal risk of contamination.

Also discovered a local butcher that will pass us on a delivery round and drop telephone purchases in.

I have enough flour to make bread for 8 weeks. And basics to put something on the table for six of us.

I am absolutely amazed at how many people are wondering what's happening. I've been telling everyone I know to stock up. Even people I don't know. I think they think i am mad. But few listened.

Thank you all, I'm sure you are relieved to be slightly ahead of this horrific time too.

@Gammeldragz that's great you can use the nhs hours. What do you do in the nhs...besides being a superhero!?

We will he shopping every week still but just once. My husband will go and do a food shop for his mam to leave on the doorstep and will buy top up fresh food for us.

We could live on our stocks but pretty soon we'd be in the same boat as everyone else. And I don't feel we are better than anyone else by the way...but I don't want to exacerbate the shopping problem nor defeat the whole point of being a prepper.

I've been very very tearful the last few days. I'm normally very active and keep myself busy but now I'm not so busy it's hard to keep spirits up. I need to find a book called 'how to not bicker with your husband'.

I also started counselling two weeks ago after a late miscarriage last year but obviously the counselling has been cancelled. So I've had all these emotions unearthed (after I've packed them away) only to be left high and dry. Which I'm not moaning about as it's right to cancel the counselling but it's still hard. I'm going to have to dig deep to sort my shit out basically.

Agree with @BlackeyedSusan it feels strange, like being in the eye of a storm, to have a house full of prepped supplies whilst seeing all the madness on the news.

I must thank the Preppers topic for helping me to think about supply chains etc, way back when I started prepping for Brexit - I was thinking at the time that one good reason for prepping (regardless of whether food supplies were interrupted or not) was because I didn't want to have to fight my way through the shops whilst loads of people were panic-buying. And now that it has actually happened, I'm like "is this a weird dream?"

Thank you to the person who first started these coronavirus prepping thread, while we didn't go crazy overboard, the thread did make me think to prep a bit in early February, and I haven't needed to join the panic buyers. My husband is in a high risk group. We will just top up locally for coming weeks, avoiding supermarket. Thank you.

I agree its weird seeing people in the shops stocking up. I can only really store food for 2 weeks, probably 3-4 on weird rations. I'm working on the basis that I will go to the shop once a week. If they don't have something , then I will take it from my stock. But my store is intended to be used if we have to isolate for 2 weeks and that could still happen. The only things that were out were soap and flour. Eggs were back in stock. It did hit me the other day that I'm the one who has to go to the shop when I'm the one most at risk of complications I don't think DH has thought of that to be honest. I'm also grateful I found these threads when I did as my stocks had hit rock bottom and it spurred me on to replenish.

DH told the DC we could grow tomatoes on the balcony last night. I asked where he was going to get the pots and soil to grow them in so the plan is to sneak down to FIL's in the middle of the night and dig up his lawn if things get tough!!!

Lego block, ignore and concentrate on your DC.
enough ??? is that your name? I hope you're feeling better. Everyone else who is ill too.

Happy Mother's Day

@footprintsintheslow I am so very sorry to hear of your loss . I have some idea of how you feel as I had a miscarriage ten years ago, albeit only an early one (missed miscarriage at 12 weeks). I do know how the grief feels and I’ve also had counselling for something else, so can also identify with the raw feeling of the early days of counse.

I actually got an enormous amount of support from the Tommy’s miscarriage support helpline and found them very kind. I wonder whether it might be something you could call if you feel it would help over the coming days. This is what they say:

“Losing a baby is a deeply personal experience that affects people differently. No matter when in your pregnancy you miscarry, you may need support to help you come to terms with what’s happened.
Tommy’s is here to help you. You can talk to a Tommy’s midwife for free, Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. You can call them on 0800 0147 800 or email [email protected]. All our midwives are trained in bereavement support and will be able to talk to you about what you’re going through.”

@Sprayitall 💔 about your DF

@footprintsintheslow - can you access any form of Skype counselling? Have you ever tried ADs? If they helped before maybe it might be worth trying them again whilst we get through this.

Thank you CVRD and Sprayitall. Your postings on prepping a room are very useful but have made me very concious of how alone I am in this scenario.

There is no point me ringing a bell becsuse there is no one to hear it.

Did you get any warning symptoms before you got to the stage when you couldn’t get downstairs for food / fluid? Any suggestions for foods that you could tolerate that I could bring upstairs in the initial stages? Is there anything else I need to have upstairs with me from the outset.

Also can anyone advise on Hospital Bag contents (I have been on this thread since Brexit days but can’t find the posts about this). Is there any point taking in clothes, PJ’s etc? Surely if we are in ICU we will be gowned? Will things like books, phones etc actually be a liability and taken away because they are an infection risk?

One thing I always take in a hospital bag (I have a severe medical condition and unfortunately end up getting dragged in ocassionally) is paper copies of all my previous admission discharge letters. I have been surprised at how often they have been needed because my notes have not been available.

I’ve been away from this thread for a bit focusing on my family, but I need to say a huge thank you to everyone on these threads. I stocked the cupboards thoroughly in February half term, and knowing that I can feed my family for at least a month is very reassuring in a horribly anxious time. I’m in an at risk group and knowing that DH didn’t have to go to a crowded supermarket this week was brilliant. Yes a few more bits would have made us more comfortable - but thanks to you we didn’t need them, so he didn’t go. We have enough medicines, foods, nappies etc and some tinned fruit and bits that the kids love because all of you on the thread made me consider this. Thank you so much!!!

I’m still having deliveries, but we open parcels outside, antibacterial wipe the contents and wash hands. We are having a food delivery in a couple of weeks and I strongly suspect I’ll wipe every bloody tin and packet! I don’t think it’s feasible to do this without having deliveries.

I'm also feeling very grateful today that we prepped.
It has made the last few weeks much less stressful. When I came down with suspected covid and had to self isolate, there was no stress about getting on provisions. I have dietary restrictions so I'm particularly glad I did this.
I haven't yet done a proper inventory so I'm going to do that today. I've downloaded the nest egg app so I'm going to give that a try.
Also lots of DIY and gardening to be done.

@inmylifeIlovedthemall I have no idea. I haven’t caught it yet but I am at high risk. So I am just taking the cues and inputs of @CVRD and @VenetoResident here and prepping.

@Elsa8 Yes I am already doing the same. Spraying it first and then using the wipe to clean the every bit of covers or boxes inside the big box. What I have observed is we never wipe the insides of the cardboard boxes but if we can we should do it or quickly empty it by picking the contents with gloves hands and wipe them right away. All non-food stuffs goes straight to the garage after spray to be kept there a week atleast.

@inmylifeIlovedthemall

You won’t necessarily be on ITU though. You could just be on a ward, perhaps only needing oxygen via a mask. I’d pack the necessities, books, headphones, chargers etc.

Unfortunately the nhs has to make very hard decisions on who gets an ITU bed and a ventilators in the upcoming weeks. None of us are guaranteed to get one.

@footprintsintheslow I'm a Practice Nurse so not particularly super-hero right now, but likely to be called on for other duties as some point (if not, I shall volunteer myself!). Only been qualified 6 months so very grateful not to be in a hospital right now, also thankful to have a job I know is safe.

@whatthefox True that. Even if I catch it and I am in death bed, I would love to have a book or two nearby .. lol. For phones I have set the lock screen with my name and my two immediate Family contact numbers as wall paper.

Good idea about the lock screen sprayitall!