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.

Teaand How's your cat now?

Apparently the shortage of certain types of Felix cat food are partly a knock on effect of the coronavirus (staff shortages) and and increased demand. Apparently they are taking on extra staff.

Just saying hello as I keep losing this thread for some reason!

The official Cambridge masks which I ordered in February arrived this morning and seem good. I've ordered some more which will arrive in mid August. Given that they have 100s of hours of use, that should hopefully be more than enough for us going to the shops etc.

I'm feeling a bit low this week - I just have no motivation and keep losing track of days. Hopefully I'll wake up a bit soon!

Well what a luck.. the parcels ordered at various times were all suddenly delivered today some of which I don’t even remember ordering - along with a grocery delivery! Can you believe I received a delivery that I placed mid March with h&b that I actually forgot about, dh’s amazon ones and even Costco delivered (ordered them day before and they said it will take 7 days to deliver but still got them today ) all this morning.. so much of disinfecting that I was anxious about catching it from the cardboard boxes! Half of them is to prep ahead.. like filters for the tank and long time laundry stuff .. also lot of snack things because the snacks are flying off the shelves more than I expected and also ordered some for my local helpers group.

I just store apples in the fridge. They last longer there (6 weeks max) and I place all my apples in front of every shelf in the fridge (Trust me, no one at home touches them or looks past them ) If you want to freeze them you need to core/slice and put them all in lemon juice then double freeze.

@Teaand saw Costco Online selling felix treats if that helps x

@Oxyiz could you let me know where to order masks and kids masks please as I have no idea where to order one. I’m sure dd might need some when the schools open

Ifonly4 he is still not well the vet will see him if he hasn't improved by next week. My sister in law managed to get me some felix while doing her shopping today. I still had some left but was concerned for the future.

Of course - here's where I've bought them from, not sure if anyone else has a different or better supplier: https://cambridgemask.com/

@WhereDoWeGo I’m a bit anxious at the thought of shopping too. I know I’m going to have to get back out there again sooner or later, not least because the cost of online shopping is exhorbitant.

For apples I find the fridge best, but wherever you store them, go over them very carefully and take out any that are bruised or rotten. It’s no exaggeration that one bad apple can ruin a barrel! They give off a gas that causes fruit to ripen. I put them straight in the fruit bowl with any thing I need to ripen up and eat all those first.

I had to leave the last thread as I was so upset by people bashing preppers or deciding to become preppers by panic buying in mid-March. I don’t know why that impacted me so much.

My husband has covid. He has been away from us since mid-March as he is front line NHS and I am shielding. He is living in a hotel. He had a really rough week but seems much better.
It’s so difficult not to see him and the kids are really struggling.

I’m training people from home but as I also work frontline NHS and our department is now at 50% capacity there is little for me to do. So now I switch my attention back to prepping as a distraction.

I’m updating the spreadsheet, clearing out the garage and planting, planting, planting.
Tomorrow I am getting all of my jars, bottles, vacuum bags etc. out to run through to see if I have any gaps for storing our produce.
I’ve cleared out my 1970s China cabinet to create more storage space. That can all go into the attic for the next couple of years.

Neome I am sorry to hear about your dad. My heart goes out to you during this most difficult of time. Thinking of you.

Hope your husband gets well soon BanKittenHeels, that must be really scary and tough for you.

bankittenheels good to have you back, I often wonder about the posters from the early and other threads as I appreciated all of the input. I hope your DH is ok, must be hard not seeing him.

Re: supermarkets I am usually a Lidl shopper but I found it was too small to keep distance as aisle not wide enough and backed up at the tills so have switched to a big Sainsburys so even with more people through it is easier to keep distance it just takes soooooo long to get round and I really wish they would make aisles one way and have a women only hour as ffs the men just do not get it.

People don't seem to understand the difference between prepping and panic buying / hoarding.
I'm an accidental pepper in a way.
I live rurally, so if we get snow, floods or power cuts, it makes sense to have supplies in.
However, I also love cooking but the range of products available is quite limited locally.
As I travel for work a lot, its not easy to buy on line as I'm not able to receive parcels, but it does mean I visit any interesting shops local to where I am working, then buy large quantities as I don't know when I will get the chance at that particular product again!

Teaand hope he picks up soon. Putting aside Brexit and coronavirus, cat food is one thing I do tend to keep a good supply in, fingers crossed it'll see me through. Otherwise, they'll have to eat some stuff I got from Zooplus which they were hit and miss with.

BadKittenHeels good to see you back, sorry to hear about your DH - it must be worrying for you, but hope he feels better soon

Marking place been meaning to check in.

Hi everyone, just checking in. Here on the IoW it is all still pretty calm, think we may be behind.

Very glad we were prepared, we don't have a surplus of shops around so delivery slots etc are still unavailable. I was very glad to have a few booked in early on. The best thing I got though was a second freezer, bought for £20 about a week before it all kicked off. Can't find them anywhere now.

I've built a network of smaller local suppliers for delivery now, which I'm pleased about because I always wants to use local places but never had the time. Now they're all doing deliveries! 👍

I'm still working one week in three in school, DH is doing emergency response only. Kids are all at home, they're starting to get a little bored I think.

I'm thinking ahead now to the next things to do. Prepping for summer temps etc, and then ahead to another wave and Brexit.

Have lots growing as well, just got to keep it alive!

wheredowego yes I would avoid bus to shop at the moment, maybe try and see when Aldi quiet periods are, I think I saw something about late afternoon being their quietest time. You are right though, people just stand next to you or lean over you no matter how carful you are.

oyziz where do you envisage using the Cambridge masks? It has been so long since we went out anywhere I can't actually remember what we did! I guess better to have them than not

Gah oxyiz sorry!

Thank you @Oxyiz I have ordered two of them for each. I am thinking how much we might need for each of us .. £25 is too steep but it’s reusable anyways.. do we need to buy any filters separately for that? Also does someone know how to make cloth masks and where to get the filters for them please? I would like to make some for the local helpers group. Thank you

Mums with kids in primary, do you all work according to the school home learning timetables? I’m finding it’s incredibly hard to stick to the schedule and is very difficult with me working from home. Though I have temporarily closed my business I have to design and do some silversmithing to keep things on top anyways.. Dh is busy with his calls and clients all day over the week. if I try stick to the time table and keep on acting like a teacher all day I don’t know how will I find time cook or clean - it’s all too stressful. How are you all managing this? I am able to keep her interest, finish one to two activities and learning stuff but not everything they expect.

@lexloofah it’s a reusable mask and i bought some today from the link @Oxyiz sent this morning. I just want to keep it handy just in case. think it will be very helpful if for something we might need to visit the GP’s, or supermarket visits, or they might lift the lockdown and schools start early than anticipated or there is this new rule where everyone should wear a mask etc. With all the recent happenings I would even start to believe in conspiracy theories and alien invasions that might require a face mask to escape. I can’t believe that up until the beginning of February, I never even bothered about them except for the odd “aloe Vera face mask” I picked up from boots. Now 8 weeks on, I am thankful that flour is an under the counter item🤣 Sometimes all this feels like we are in a sci fi movie!

Sprayitall I would suggest the best filter you can get hold of easily is an F7 vacuum cleaner bag.
Once you have identified some on line, Google the MSDS to make sure there is no fibreglass in it. Then use a layer of that between two layers of tightly woven fabric ( polycotton or similar).
Not perfect, but short of medical grade as effective as you are likely to get.

You néed some sort of wire for the nose piece too, so it can be moulded to fit.