Ok, so we come out of lockdown. After you have breathed a sigh of relief (or whatever) what top ups do you need for No Deal Brexit/Second wave of this shit/Normal stuff you prep for

[bellinisurge]

I'm sure we'd all like to pretend this is all going away. I'm sure we have lists of places we want to go and people we want to hug.
Assuming we're going to do some of that, we also have an opportunity to take a look at our preps.
A second wave of this horribleness is not impossible. Neither is a lurch out of Brexit transition.
What are you going to top up on?

(This thread is for preppers in the Preppers topic so don't waste your time whining at us if you happen upon it. It's our thing, just move on)

@Graphista well done on getting back into cooking and losing weight!

Hermes emailed yesterday to say they had my parcel from who gives a crap, it was left on the doorstep this morning so I guess you could call them and ask for a day that suits you once you know they have it but it is big and heavy, just thinking if you have a lot of stairs to lug it up plus it does advertise the contents on the box which the kids think is hilarious and gives them the right to go around saying 'crap' as much as they can!

@Dyrne no, you are not alone with your lack of socks!! I think I got rid of a load last year in a fit of efficiency and replaced them all in one go. Which was great at the time but now means they are all wearing out at the same time and of course now I can't get any more

I'm hoping to invest in some period pants too if I can find them at a reasonable price; we have the Cheeky Wipes cloths and have definitely had our money's worth from them, plus I didn't have the hassle of trying to find baby wipes/ J cloths when they were running short in the shops. Period pants would be handy in case san pro starts running out (or I can't get to the shops to get any, more likely!) but they are £££ for a few pairs...

I’m in! Not going through this fiasco again. I’m officially a prepper. To think I used to eye roll and scroll past prepper posts

@RubySlippers77 , period pants are pricey. Reusable pads can be self made. There are loads of patterns and "how-to"s online. You don't even need expensive material to get started. You can reuse and old T-shirt, an old towel and an old fleece jacket. Kids' fabric tends to be the most suitable because it has brighter patterns.
Or go for the Precious Stars Pads budget range. Perfectly fine.

Love my reusables!

My spreadsheet has been updated, DJ is on board and we are slowly working up to a month worth of stuff. We have two weeks worth currently.

All stocked for rolling g school closures if needed, or schools not going back.

I love my reusable pads too - I said to DP recently that they are probably the best purchase I’ve ever made! I bought mine from earthwise girls and not had a problem.

I’ve been trying to think what I actually need for winter, and I think I’ve set my supply chains up well. I think what would be sensible now is a bread maker and a sewing machine, as well as indoor ideas for 4 yo DS.

Can anyone recommend somewhere for bulk buying sweets/chocolate?

I've been buying sweets from A Quarter Of. They come in 250g bags and prices for the ones I've bought seem to vary from £2.30-£2.60 per bag. Delivery is £3.95 or less depending on how much you buy. I don't think it's too bad. The sweet shop in my local town charges £1 per 100g and I have to pay for parking or bus fare at a rate similar to postage costs.

Thank you so much, I’ll take a look at those. It’s sweets and treats that I find I have to go out for! I could get meat delivered from the butcher if I needed, then it’s just bread and sweets.

Hi folks! I’ve been lurking in the background and had what I thought was a good Brexit stash but like lots of you I’ve found some holes. We’ve been really lucky and not had issues getting an Asda click and collect shop but I definitely want to get a stash going again in the run up to winter, particularly as our second baby is due in August.

So far I’ve realised we needed things like shower gel/shampoo/conditioner/toothpaste. We were OK for calpol/toothbrushes and paracetamol thankfully. We also did well for cat food but could do with having a big bag of cat litter stashed away somewhere. Plus rinse aid/salt and dishwasher tablets as we’ve had issues getting hold of those. I tend to buy washing powder in a big box so we did alright for that. More flour (like everyone) would have been handy for baking with DD and more frozen fruit as I didn’t realise quite how much she gets through.

Doorstep delivery no good for me I'm afraid. So I'll stick to supermarkets for now.

@CuppaZa welcome to the fold! I've never understood the dismissal of prepping I just didn't think I'd be any good at it - turns out my ocd overthinking brain is good for something!

For winter I really need to sort a blender ASAP, keep trying to get one but no joy so far. Also an electric blanket.

Thank you for the reusable pads idea @bellinisurge, I'll definitely have a look at those. I realised how much we use our Cheeky Wipes and how we've definitely had our money back from those, reusable products are the way forward!

@ClaraLane have you tried Wilkos and/ or Poundland for the bits you need? Both will deliver (or you can collect from a Wilkos store).

I just invested in a really simple stick blender from Amazon @Graphista, we actually had a Nutribullet which we had as a Christmas present a few years back but frankly I found it rubbish! In my dreams I would like a KitchenAid, but in reality a cheapo blender was more my price range

The Works has some great craft stuff & books for kids @AlohaMolly and they usually have a voucher code going too for more savings. I did a big order from The Book People just before the schools closed - delivery should have been within 4 weeks, but it still hasn't arrived - I'n thinking the kids will be back to school (in September!) before it finally gets here

I haven't the space for a kitchen aid, barely have space for a stick blender! But I'll find somewhere for it.

I love making soup in winter but much prefer it smooth than chunky.

I've said to my DP who I don't live with, that if there's another lockdown, I want him to move in with me! 2 months of hardly seeing a soul has been hard...

He can also do some of the DIY jobs that I haven't been able to get done.

I'd recommend getting a heated throw for the winter, good for both the sofa and the bed.

We’ve got a log burner and for the month prior to lockdown, we had a trip out in DP’s van for a picnic every Sunday in the same place where we ended up asking the local farmer if we could take the logs that had been felled. DP has a big old van that we filled to the brim each time we visited and we know have enough wood to last a good six months. DP even had to build two new wood stores for it all. We’re in the depths of snowdonia so we’re used to long cold winters, but I usually break them up with w couple of nights away here and there with DS and DP usually works away for a month or so.

I’ll definitely try the works, thank you! I was an early years teacher before I had DS so in theory I should be full of ideas but I’m just not. It’s so much easier inspiring a class than it is a single child!

@RubySlippers77 No I hadn’t thought of them, thanks for the tip!

We love our Cheeky Wipes here and I’ve got some of their pant liners that I use with my mooncup which are fab. I’ve also got some Imse Vimse pads to use after the baby is here as I hated the feel of disposable pads last time.

I would get the kids clothes sorted. Top up hand gel supplies ( I'm doing that now) more wool for crochet.

But honestly- kids staple clothes for the next 18 months. Buying on line isn't working with 4 kids! I reckon just making sure they had five winter and five summer outfits in the next size up would have been sensible in hindsight. Just some cheapie basics.

I'm waiting on H&M to post a order from the 8th.

Also comfy bras. My wires are coming out and I'm in two maternity bras. My "baby" is five. But I hear m&s is particularly open now...

I’ve prepped since late 2018 for Brexit.

What went well:

• long life essentials like pasta, tomatoes, toilet roll, tissues etc
• reusable pads
• non-essential ‘essentials’ like mayo, ketchup, curry sauces
• all the cleaning equipment we usually use but 1-2 months worth eg laundry power, spray, sponges, toilet cleaner.
• medication, paracetamol etc

Crucial: only stock what you will actually eat. Not what you think you should eat. Looking at the brown pasta right now that my kids won’t touch with a barge pole.

Things to do next time:
We go through more bread than I thought, as it doesn’t last long when you eat so many sandwiches.

• all the types of flour, all the types of yeast.
• long life ‘bake yourself’ rolls
• compost and bbq fuel
• registering early in a wide range of delivery services

I always buy clothes and kids stuff online so that hasn’t been an issue.

OH YES!! Bras! I’ve got one left, it doesn’t fit, it has a wire coming through. I don’t even really know what size I am since giving birth four years ago normally I’d go and try bras on, but now I don’t know what to do really!

Clothes actually have been a stumbling point for me and DS. I don’t have ‘loungewear’ and the novelty of wearing pyjamas wore off after a week for me. That’s definitely something to look into for winter because I’ve been wearing skirts and dresses in the good weather. DS also needs joggers/leggings as I don’t feel it’s nice for him to have to wear jeans to be around the house in. It’s never been an issue before!

I’m a knitter so will do us all hats and gloves like usual. I’m toying with the idea of snood style face coverings for us as well.

Excellent thread, thanks all. I lurked a lot on the Brexit prep threads, which were so helpful and I will be prepping for another spike/no deal scenario.

What is quite frustrating is that I was using this year as the year to pay off as much debt as possible and increase my savings, but I’ve been furloughed and most of my disposable income was from the overtime I was doing. What that means is that if I want to bulk buy things like sweets, I’m going to either have to do it on my cc or from my savings and pay that back, and potentially buy clothes on my BNPLcatalogue when I’ve nearly closed it off.

Nursing bras here. My baby is in secondary school!

My Dad has an allotment and has told me to start growing veg in my garden. I don't actually know how! I haven't prepped anything thus far but haven't given him money towards a good stash he started collecting a year ago.

Oh and my sons asthma pumps. I ordered extra: I would say any medication. I also have a newborn so going to look into cloth nappies! Baby food etc as a back up if I can't make from scratch