Planning for a second wave

[GreyishDays]

Anyone got any thoughts?

I’m trying to think of consumables that could be reusables instead and have got some dishcloths. Also making sure our stock levels are maintained of general stuff. And thinking about what is really annoying to run out of and not swappable.

I’m trying to think about cold weather entertainment. So if right now we’re all about garden toys and walking and cycling, is there anything that would be useful to have if there was a lockdown in cold weather? Craft stuff I guess. Yet more jigsaws.

Anyone else got any ideas? I’m reading the ‘lessons learnt’ thread.

Do you mind me asking why you think there might be power cuts? On the prepping for pandemic threads the consensus was they weren’t a likelihood - not being snippy, honestly just curious!

In terms of a second wave, our winters can be long and harsh up here in snowdonia and we only have a little house. I’m very worried about DS (4) as we are outside in our yard or walking normally and it will be a thousand times worse for him if we are inside. DP is in the process of rigging up some sort of tarpaulin system where we could use the yard still if the wind isn’t too bad but it’s raining.

@AlohaMolly I think probably once people get into a prepping mindset, that they start imagining all sorts of scenarios, such as power cuts. Certainly that's how it is in this house. I doubt the pandemic would cause power cuts, but if the virus had literally cut through swathes of the population, there may have been many more people unable to 'keep the lights on', I guess.
Just my thoughts though :)

Speaking as someone who had quite a nasty case of COVID- a thermometer, pulse oximeter, plentiful supply of paracetamol (and calpol for children), tissues, throat pastilles, high strength vit D and C, and squash (you will need to drink litres day so whatever helps you get it down).

Salt or iodine or hydrogen peroxide for gargling.

Also some easy to prepare foods (I ate nothing but soup for 3 weeks), lots of cereal for kids.

More loo roll than youd usually expect to get through.

If you are asthmatic make sure you have all your meds, and a spacer and a peak flow meter just in case (data now shows asthmatics arent at particular risk but you can still be unlucky ).

@Dunking have a look at the Batch Lady's book and/ or social media - I'm not up to her standards of organisation and probably never will be but there are some really helpful ideas for making the best of ingredients and how to freeze meals.

Hope you are all recovered now @Porcupineinwaiting? Thank you for the tips, I've ordered a pulse oximeter; we do have most of the rest as I was trying to think what to stock up on in case we were ill. I'm going to set up a standing order for loo roll, it's on my 'find a regular supplier' list.

We visited Snowdonia a few years ago @AlohaMolly and it was beautiful, but I imagine it can be bleak in winter! Do you have plenty of winter woollies already for walks? Might be a silly idea but could you buy a cheap tent for pitching in the garden if needs be, keep him a bit warmer and drier than a tarpaulin and you could spin it as a fun play area?! My DTs are 4 so I completely empathise, it's tricky to think of things to do with them when they're full of energy but it's blowing a gale and pouring down outside!!

I want to restock the food supplies generally.

I need to get a few clothing essentials that need replacing.

DD has grown so will need new winter thermals and decent raingear.

I have found that having good outdoor clothing is great to make smaller DCs get outdoors a lot in winter and blow out the cobwebs - warm layers, proper wind and rainproof coat and trousers, and wellies (or hiking boots as they get older and less likely to spend all their outdoor time jumping into puddles.... ). LOADS of gloves - the first winter it properly snowed, DD was miserable with cold wet hands all the time, but the 2nd year, we had 1 decent pair of snow gloves and a fair few pairs of regular wool mittens/gloves that could be changed and 1 pair dry out on the radiator while she ran around outside in another pair. And a few spare hats too.

I also need to find more things to entertain teen DD outside of schoolwork - she doesn't "do" reading, or chatting to friends, will watch some tv/streaming but not a lot, is just mad into sports and couldn't do those for months.

We are also going to go to Ikea when it reopens (and has had it's first wave of customers through!), to get a better desk for me. But we've been very lucky in having 2 decent desks and 1 workable one between the 3 of us (and 3 reasonably decent chairs), and being able to each work in different areas and leave the kitchen for communal gathering in the house. But I think both DH and I will be WFH a lot more going forward, and DD is going into a State exam year so needs to keep her setup for study.

And I already have one, but a slow cooker might be a good idea if you don't have one to do tasty nourishing stews and pot-roast type meals for winter, while WFH/supervising homeschooling etc.

@BiddyPop I cannot wait for Primark to reopen my DTs are only 4 and go through gloves/ scarves etc quickly, like you I say have to have several pairs on the go for them!

Other than that I'll be keeping an eye on Facebook for any second hand winter woollies - people tend to sell on clothes for kids their age as they grow out of them before they get much wear - and possibly for furniture too. We could do with extra shelves and a desk would be handy for us too.

Anyone else still feeling just as tense as they were in the middle of the worst bit, and as though things are by no means over just because everything is opening again? The more that life returns to normal, the more I feel the need to prep; for a second wave, for no deal Brexit, for recession. It's like this massive dissonance between what is outwardly happening ("Hurray! It's all fine now!") and what I feel.

Hi all, just read the thread. I got prepped with your help in Jan/Feb this year.
I think I'll invest in a freezer aswell as PP, I suppose it would even be useful for now when WFH with the kids here. if I started cooking extra and freezing it, then I'd have dinners frozen as a back up for the days when I'm really under pressure.

I've now gone through a lot of the meds I bought at the beginning of the year so will stock up again.

The big issue I had was dbaby growing out of his clothes and not having the next size up, once the shops were closed I found it really hard to even get the basics online

I also struggled to get weather appropriate clothing with the shops shut, both DC needed sun hats and I struggled to get them, so I'll prob try to be more prepared and have winter clothing for them.

Yes, I know what you mean @RhubarbTea. My feeling is that this crisis came absolutely out of nowhere and therefore I don't know that another (and possibly worse) one will hit at some point! And we have been relatively lucky, we'll have to take a hit on the mortgage payments but DP has at least been working all the way through, and his job still seems safe. I was due to start a college course in September (when the DC start school) but now don't know if it will be running, and if so whether we can afford it... and there's no deal Brexit to factor in too

A freezer is so, so helpful @Dk20, I freeze lots of extra meals and even bits of fruit etc to make into muffins/ jam/ crumbles at a later date. I've found it tricky too with the DC's clothes, as above I bought quite a bit via Facebook, and George @ Asda have started delivering again too (handy, as they do the best school trousers we've found!). And if Sainsburys do their 25% off clothing again then it's always a good time to stock up!

@RubySlippers77 thanks for pointing that out about George at Asda, I am living in Ireland now but still order the kids clothes from there as they are better quality than what we get here for the same price. I just checked and yes they are also delivering to Ireland again time to try and plan ahead clothes wise.

I feel the same Rhubarb people are relaxing now and all I can think is BUT WHAT’S COMING??

Haha, thank god it's not just me
I was reading this article about Beijing today and thought, feck that's us in 4/6 months.

I saw Beijing too I also keep wistfully looking at New Zealand and wondering when PIL will die so I can persuade DP to emigrate... I’ve got transferable skills.

Only joking about PIL.

Sort of.

No, I am.

I know we have a bigger population but aren’t we a smaller island? If only we had reacted in the same way, we surely could have been in a similar position?

I think what is really beginning to stress me out is that I genuinely can’t see being brought back from furlough until October due to being in the tourism industry and even then, from October is ‘quiet season.’ I usually do about £200/250 a month in overtime and that enables me to do birthdays, christmasses and spend disposable income on preps. Obviously that isn’t happening at the moment and I’m dipping into savings for all the above, which makes me feel anxious because no deal brexit is looming.

@RhubarbTea I wonder if it's sooner than 4/6 months. But yes, agreed. Hearing about Beijing is sobering and worrying.
Feel like a lot of the population have just stuck their fingers in their ears and decided to ignore coronavirus and pretend it's not happening (still).
Preps wise, I have been stocking up gradually over the past few weeks but still far from where I'd like. Can't afford much more than an extra £50 a week max on food and supplies. We depleted most of it first time round as I was (and still am) unwell.
Would really like to build up a freezer stock of homemade curries, stews etc. Barrier to this at the moment is time and energy as I'm not feeling great, but could use the slow cooker I suppose.
Like the idea of an extra freezer, we only have a small one which seems to always be full with ice cream, peas, fish fingers, berries etc.
Where are people putting their extra freezers? We don't have electricity supply to the external garage (yet) although that could be an option if we thought chest freezer was worthwhile. The wiring is there it just needs updating.

Yes you're right, I thought after I posted that even 4 months is on the generous side.

I'm slowly saving up for a new fridge freezer while I wait for AO.com to say they are delivering inside people's houses again instead of bringing to the door. Don't know if I could move a whacking great fridge freezer through the house on my own. And I also can't really afford one yet so it's a moot point.
I don't have space for an extra one so the existing (tiny) one will have to be freecycled to make room for it. So am going to try and get the biggest new one I can.
Is it weird that I'm kind of excited about buying it? Sad...

I am baffled that many people/the papers have the attitude of, 'oh it's starting to pass now'. Err, no it isn't! All I can conclude is the media has been told very firmly by the gov to be positive for a while so that people will at least feel like they've had some respite and a bit of normality before the winter hits. The mental equivalent of a summer holiday, without actually going anywhere. Otherwise people would revolt and riot. But who knows.

Our local Milk & More milkman is now accepting new customers again, so it may be worth checking your local options. We had out first doorstep delivery today, and it was really lovely to have fresh items waiting.

We live next door to a nice supermarket, but I think I'll make sure I order at least once a fortnight to keep my account relatively active as it'll be very handy if we need to self isolate again.

I've been trying to reorganise my food shopping system. DD keeps using up things I have bought as "stores" items or good to have for certain specific things - she just sees them and eats them for "a snack". Bloomin' teens and their growth spurts. But I bought 5 M&S shelf stable meal pots (the chilli con carne with rice included/spag bol with pasta type that you just microwave as a lunch - there are a few different ones), put 2 in the kitchen as DD likes them and had put 3 up in the stores upstairs - she ate the 2 in the kitchen and then just raided up here and took another 2 within 5 days of my buying them. When I had expected those to last at least 4-5 weeks.

But now that I've been able to restock and organise somewhat, I did a big stores shop last week for the tins, jars, cleaning stuff etc. And I'm aiming to just do "fruit and veg, meat, bread and dairy" type shopping for the next 4-5 weeks locally - a few online shops from the supermarket, but some just going to local greengrocer, butcher, deli and going into supermarket in person. And then another BIG shop one evening when it's quiet.

And trying to get organised so that I use up things I have lying around - DH just wants "easy dinners, no fuss", and DD keeps starting cooking before I get out of my home office in the evenings and has done things completely differently to how I do them and differently to what was planned.

But if I am successful in keeping them so some bit of a plan (I wrote up a menu this week so fingers crossed), then I can manage the supplies better and will have plenty in reserve if a second wave does hit us (and a much easier time dealing with resupplying at that point).

We're getting through the other jobs as things reopen - replacing clothes that have worn out or been grown out of, a few DIY bits and pieces to replace, sewing supplies I found I needed to get on with for making masks/planned projects using up my stash, garden supplies (more water retaining crystals for pots as it's very dry, and I need more pots as well).

I still have other bits to get and do, like replace a watch battery when the jewellers reopens this week, book a service for the gas boiler and the chimney sweep for the wood burning stove, etc.

And I am going to keep up a reasonably regular order with our local bakery as well, same as duvetdan and her milkman, once a fortnight or so. The local milkmen here don't have organic milk and DD and DH won't drink regular milk normally (they had to a couple of times recently, begrudgingly).

Creeping sense of fear building up gradually. No deal at the end of transition looming.

Keep hearing about a second wave. Not sure where we are at at the moment. Different people saying different things.

I have started restocking. Holding good stocks of pasta ( apart from macaroni)
Rice, baked beans. Not so much other beans. Gradually building them up but there is not a lot of space. May have to tie some tins up in carrier bags and slide them behind the kick boards that won't come off. What is there needs pulling out rotating etc.

The next couple of days will be a good test for us I think, as it’s set to rain for about a week. The only way we survived lockdown with DS4 is thanks to having such wonderful outdoor spaces available.

I’m really concerned about the winter. We are in Wales so I think we will avoid the end of June/July second wave that I keep hearing about on here, as we haven’t opened up nearly as much as England. I think October/November will be hard going and potentially a second wave but no deal brexit straight after is pretty shit!!

How has your rainy week been @AlohaMolly? It's been more or less constant here (south east) and very miserable. The waterproofs have definitely been back out for our walks!

@BiddyPop - I've been ordering from Iceland and hopefully will still get delivery slots if everything goes pear shaped in the future! There is a £35 minimum but we reach that quite easily if I stock up on frozen veg, cooked meats, eggs, yogurts, cheese etc - stuff that lasts quite a while in the fridge.

We managed to dodge the rain on some days and settled for picnics in the car and bike rides through puddles on the others! Driving around is still a novelty given that we’ve only just been allowed within a five mile radius, and I’ve been a bit reluctant to do even that, still. Our cases are the highest in the U.K. atm I think, and the county over from us has just been identified as a hotspot after an outbreak in a meat packing plant.

I suspect the second wave will start in the autumn when people start having gatherings inside. Prepping should be easy in theory. Spend the summer stocking up on items that were restricted or had completely ran out first time round.

I feel like I've become complacent in a sense- I'm not in the UK but my family is.

I placed a small order for bottled water this week (5L) and avocado oil for my mother.

My family still have the £1 hand sanitizers + were given extra face masks from a relative.

They still have lots of pasta, oat milk, sauce, tuna, cereal and don't really bake.

I'm just trying to save money at the moment.

I also donated some food mainly rice and quinoa.

At the moment I can't see how we can avoid a second wave if people are having mass gatherings again

I'm trying to do the same @PomBearsyummy, stock up on the things which ran short (non perishables) and order from new suppliers so I will (hopefully!) always be able to get deliveries. It's a pain having to stand out in the sunshine waiting for things, but in the rain it would be horrible...

And yes, I'm trying to always donate to the foodbank @Orangecake123, even if it's just some teabags. Our local one was asking for more sweet stuff recently - sponge puddings, custard etc - I donated some tinned fruit and rice pudding. We aren't exactly flush with money but neither are we starving, and I'm remembering to be grateful for that and trying to help others out.