Prepping amidst Pandemic - Thread 17

[Sprayitall]

Hi all, starting this thread to continue from preppers thread 16. Because we are amidst a pandemic now, I have changed the title to prepping amidst pandemic than “for pandemic”. I hope all of you keep well amidst this and get all the help, support and hope needed to cope during this challenging times. Feel free to add your thoughts, preps and ideas here.

Prepping win here- water is off but I have a decent amount stashed for cooking, washing and cups of tea. I will need to ration the water just in case this carries on for a while so I guess I'll have to drink wine tonight.

We tried the Wrights orange cake mix today and can report it as a success

I got some quail so that I could have fresh eggs, but the space they will take up in my new shed could be used for a small additional freezer to prep for Christmas. As they won’t lay eggs over the winter anyway without extra light I am really wondering what the best thing to do would be. I know I can find them a good home if needed. Any opinions welcome.

Where is cheapest for light bulbs do you reckon?

how is everyone getting on?
I am building my stash quite nicely.
Bit of a heads up to check your flour (and possibly yeast ) supplies - according to this report the wheat harvest has been really bad this year:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-53921121

Slow but steady.

I’m just trying to keep in a little extra of our usual stock.

My husband still thinks I’m crazy, but appreciates snacks at 10pm

Did I miss the memo? Costco was heaving this morning. And lots of people had large amounts of toilet paper. I've not seen it so busy since lockdown.

I have been awol as after a nasty virus ( suspected covid but tested negative but later on) I have had 6 long weeks of chest infection/cough and three lots of antibiotics. I have finished the last lot but my cough and tight chest seems to be coming back again! I have been "prepping" for quite a while now , recently I have stocked up on bread flour, yeast, sugar, UHT milk, all types of flour, pasta, grains, rice etc. Quite a bit was replacing some of the preps I used over lock down when I didn't want to go out. I have had a huge veg patch this year and I cant quite believe the amount of food it has produced. I have put well over 20 kilos of french and runner beans in the freezer plus fruit and other veg. Today I water bath canned several large jars of tomatoes and home made tomato pasta sauce. I have many kilos of tomatoes left to harvest so it looks like we may be sorted for the next few months. I have grown many potatoes, squash, corn, brassicas, lettuce, peppers, chilli, courgettes and cucumbers we almost have too many and I am struggling to keep up with eating or preserving them. I keep hens so I am self sufficient in eggs and sell a few to cover the cost of the feed. I have been scrumping fruit ( legally and otherwise!) and my kitchen has huge bags full of eating/cooking/crab apples. I have picked elderberries, blackberries and field mushrooms and either frozen them or dried them in the dehydrator. I am making elderberry jelly tonight , a small batch as I don't know whether I will actually like it! This year more than ever I am trying to preserve/freeze as much food as I can. I am lucky I have three freezers, although two are already rammed full of food! I have made sure my preps for lighting, alternative heating, medicines etc are fully stocked as all we need is a perfect storm of Brexit, second wave and poor winter weather!! I am planning to hunker down and hide!

@AspergersMum

Did I miss the memo? Costco was heaving this morning. And lots of people had large amounts of toilet paper. I've not seen it so busy since lockdown.

I am sure that I looked as though I were panic buying paper products at my local Costco today. None of it was for me. I had mentioned I was heading that way and three family members had me buy stuff for them.

I’m sure I started the stampede after the fact

LovePoppy look what you've started We went today for some items I missed and it was so busy that we turned around and went home! Hope it settles down a bit after the bank holiday.

I’m such a trouble maker

It's probably people anticipating the school/uni return wave

I am very rudely post and then read back from where I bookmarked.

Grumpy break from packing understairs cupboard after holiday.

So far I have got the suitcases packed up with next year's holiday things, including antibacspray, pasta, rice, lentils etc. as well as all the paraphernalia we take to the cottage.

I have hoiked out some short date tins but not sorting them all. That can be done another time when the flat is tidier. I put mainly long date ones in last time I sorted.

I need to retrieve the tins that were in the latest shopping and stack them in.

No more shopping until this last lot is put away properly.

And oh my goodness, hoovering a week before we went away and not til a week after we went away is not a good plan. Where does all the muck come from? ( There is probably half a ton of sand brought back on wetsuits as well)

Jealous of the garden/shed/ chicken owners. Flat dwelling here, but a 1960s flat so reasonable storage, except, I hoard junk... Not deliberately just don't get time to get rid.

I also have second generation running out of food anxiety inherited off dad who grew up poor. We were rationed with food.

Great news on the new freezer. I expect it has been delivered and installed by now!

I need to clean up and clear up. Need a plumber to fix a leak in the loo or recommendations for a solution.

Pissed off.

Getting new windows is also supposed to be on the agenda. Not happening.

So....how much do you think we need? How much do you think you've got? And where are you all putting it other than kitchen cupboards?

Definitely need two weeks supply of all shopping minimum in case of quarantine. That's the easy bit of thinking.

OTC meds for being poorly. Especially as one is strongly encouraged to not go out with a cold etc. No popping to the pharmacy on the way home.

How long did pasta shortages go on? A couple of months before macaroni was back? ( Longer than I expected at least) maybe two months worth of the specific brands you need for children who won't eat a different variety.

Last minute stocking up buggered the supply chain for at least a month maybe? The question is, will we have last minute shopping again? Maybe if local lockdowns happen.

So what happens with the end of transition? More buggered supply chains? Probably. But how much should I buy?

Waffling my way through above... possibly a month for Brexit plus two weeks in case quarantine and Brexit run consecutively, adding in an extra two weeks worth of the must haves.

Arse. That is a fuckton of stuff.

Yep definitely need a second house or at least a second kitchen to keep stuff in.

All available out of sight nooks and crannies now used. Time to stack trays of beans in the living room, throw a blanket over and call it a footrest. Seriously, we cannot keep enough beans in the house, or tuna or pasta or ......

It's sweet corn I can't keep here, although tuna, 4 bean mix and tomatoes are the other main tins used up frequently. I've managed to organise my ingredients/baking cupboard better and DH feels the cupboard are not bulging too much - but he's not allowed look at the wardrobe in the spare room 😂 - I have a full stores shop stashed up in there, cleaning materials, bathroom essentials and food (and wine and tonic for the gin!).

Spare room envy. We are one bedroom too few, but nearly every nook and cranny has food stashed in it. I do have a very big bathroom for toiletries.

Here I can't keep up with the conditioner and shampoo.

Name changed since I last posted.
I’ve been ill for a couple of days, and realised that I need to get my prep sorted properly. Things are jammed in here, there and everywhere. And while I know where it all is, if anything happened to me, dh would be finding things for years. And with the dc around all summer, I’ve stashed some Christmas presents in odd places. Although, like @
I was slowly clearing space in the attic but I’ve lots of Christmas things to donate and I don’t want to haul them out until I’m sure they’ll be accepted as donations.
I stupidly managed to irritate the lining of my lungs spraying weed killer but my gp won’t see me until I get a negative covid result, and the dc can’t go to school while I’m waiting on it. Meanwhile I’m huffing for breath and absolutely incapable of hauling things to the attic.
And with the dc not bringing books home or doing homework, I have no idea what they should be working on right now (and they are annoyingly vague) Our school operates a book rental scheme so we only buy the workbook type. I had planned that they would bring me home a different text book each night and I’d photograph the topics so I could keep them ticking over if we had school closures.
I’d been quietly confident about winter until this happened. But we’re only well prepped if I’m around!
@Evenstar did you decide on the quail? I’d probably opt for a freezer tbh if you can rehome them, and freeze some eggs for baking/scrambling. Although, like @BlackeyedSusan I have a case of chicken envy too.

Our spare room is currently spare room for 1 (2nd bed folded away under top 1), FT WFH office for me, crafts for me scattered around, our winter and formal clothes in corner (built in) wardrobe, our wetsuits and other coats in cloth wardrobe, and prepping supplies under the clothes in corner wardrobe. So it’s no longer a “spare” room... DH was already set up in study when I got sent home so his office set up is in what is the box room.

Re rice: Lidl have big bags, but it is worth checking the price regularly;their basmati was cheaper in the smaller bags than the bigger one when I last checked.

I have one room that is: bedroom,living room, dining room,office,craft room,playroom,gym,drying room and Brexit stash larder all in one. To be fair it is only a part time play room now.

Live in a 2bed duplex flat with kitchen bathroom living room. We are lucky to have access to roof space and an understairs cupboard.

Could I ask for advice from you all please?
I have been prepping since October 2019, is it best to store raw ingredients or batch cook lots. Sorry if this is not obvious to me although I think I know the answer.

@30daysoflight

Could I ask for advice from you all please? I have been prepping since October 2019, is it best to store raw ingredients or batch cook lots. Sorry if this is not obvious to me although I think I know the answer.

I would do both. Batch cooking in case of illness etc. Raw ingredients because they may become hard to get hold of or in case of other prepping emergencies. It is unlikely that you would be able to batch cook enough meals and store them to last you 6 months unless you have lots and lots of freezer space but you would be able to store lots of raw ingredients in dried, tinned, canned, vacuum packed, dehydrated form etc and have space for some frozen items too.