What do you advise is “Situation Prepped” for where we are now in the U.K.?

[modernfemininity]

I have used my supplies. It feels good. Having stores of stuff is a bit of a burden. I understand I am very lucky I can store stuff if I want to.

Do I need to restock? What threats are there ahead? The media have gone fairly quiet on supply problems.

I think I've re evaluated a little. And yes, having a big stock of stuff did become slightly overwhelming however.. at the moment we risk a lot of people in all industries being absent because of Omicron. As a result, I've got a good sto k of bottled water in (so if water goes off and it's not sorted for a couple of days or more at least I have a starting point) There still seem to be issues with certain products and I've had more than a couple of problems sourcing DCats favourite food this year so I'm keeping a month or so of that, rather than a weeks worth.

There's a good thread at the minute about "what if 20% of the workforce are off at one time" in the Preppers board too.

I always keep an eye on OhYouBadBadKittens weather threads. Shelves can get cleared quickly and stay empty for a week or more if we get a Beast from the East type weather front. So always have the basics, bread in the freezer and long life / powdered milk as an absolute minimum. Medications are always a priority too and couple packs paracetamol go in each weekly food delivery. I've always got two deliveries booked ahead too (disabled and I have a Sainsbury's delivery pass so I make use of it!)

There are still so many other scenarios and possible issues, I'm still keeping a medium level of prepping.

BlackeyedSusan will probably be along soon with some great advice on what should be on anyone's list.

Oh, and I've stocked up massively on logs. So if you have a wood burner or open fire (yes I know they are controversial) at least you can heat one room if the energy prices become financially worrying.

What threats are there ahead?

ageing population & the associated costs
climate change
wars

I'm not sure how a full pantry helps if civil unrest breaks out though!

Your biggest threat is still catching covid - 10 days food supply plus relevant cold meds is sensible for everyone who can afford it

True about covid, I'm lucky to have chop chop, deliveroo, uber eats etc & the pharmacy will deliver so that's probably why i'm very relaxed.

I keep a stock of bottled water (covers off lots of potential hazards) and some frozen veg. Also a few more tins than usual of the basics, and one big bag of rice and pasta.

Reading the PP posts I should have a stock of cat food, otherwise I'll have to sacrifice the tinned tuna to them!

Struggling to buy any painkillers ATM as they always seem to be out of stock. We need them for things other than covid so I'll be in search of paracetamol later!

Thats a hard question to answer, and unless your a proffesional at business continuity (im not) you will likely miss something.

I tend to prep (amongst other things) for 2 weeks with no help but the local community. I could push it further but i would be sick of porridge at the end of it.

As im typing this i am waiting for the results of a PCR test (i have symptoms). Being self employed i have to factor no pay into the equation (being ahead with mortgage/ credit cards is prepping just as much as a bag of pasta).

So my thought is we need to prep for the things most likely to hurt us and be flexible to side step the unexpected.

Lordy Lord, yes of course, thank you for saying it clearly -
#1 Risk; enforced self isolation with covid, (or flu) and feeling poorly, needing meds.

Water is a good idea too. I have stopped buying bottles but have saved those old bottles. I must fill them!

I have upgraded my WiFi with a deal that sends battery packs if the power goes off, and dongles if the network goes down. £50 per month.

I still have loads of food from Christmas but we have eaten most of the best bits.

I have re-evaluated how much I will store. I think we went through a hard time and yet the shortages did not affect me too much. I could have stored less. I think. I am
not sure what is to come.

@K9medic I hope your illness eases and it is not covid!

I wonder if there might be shortages of stuff after 1/1/22 as the customs checks ( brexit) kick in. Not sure what might be in short supply but things imported??

Eggs - eggs are always an issue for me if I cannot shop. We get through so many! I would like to have chickens ideallly but there are loads of foxes here. I don’t think chickens would stand a chance.

Thank you @paxman
Ah Brexit continues to drip its gifts to us all as a nation! So, custom check rules are being newly enforced in January then?

Yup, it’s on gov.uk
Full Customs control starts.

Oh!
www.gov.uk/government/news/less-than-a-month-until-full-customs-controls-are-introduced

Should we buy specific imported items? Tinned tomatoes and pasta again?

I don’t know but I’m pretty sure not many people are aware of the changes ( based on conversations I’ve had recently)

I'm not in the class of some preppers here but have painkillers/ cold remedies, matches, candles, battery lanterns, power banks, a few tins, pasta etc. Keep some cash in the house just in case.

That sounds a good list, thank you @dementedma. It makes sense to think custom checks are going to cause issues. This could affect imports for a while but I am guessing that as a household, my family will find alternatives and I certainly will not panic buy.

Maybe I will order some batteries and some bbq briquettes. We cannot store much in the way of petrol. Perhaps I should do a cook/freeze session for us just in case.

Have we got to the worst time already for omicron to affect delivery drivers? I know it is some weeks/days away before we see if the NHS is overloaded and if schools and universities are affected. But are the workforce for shops and deliveries, and bins and council infrastructure/management etc affected to the max already, right now?

[quote modernfemininity]@K9medic I hope your illness eases and it is not covid! [/quote]
Tested positive on my PCR, so now I have ten days of housework / decorating the kid's bedrooms to look forward to. And as I'm self-employed no income over a usually busy period (New Year medic cover in nightclubs and inset days teaching first aid to school staff).

Symptom wise I felt cold and groggy for 24 hrs now all I have is a runny nose and toothache.

Heard the wife describe my condition to her mother the other night as "he has man flu" so I'm not getting much TLC at home either.

I have always shopped the offers and keep 3 months or so of toiletries and household cleaning/laundry items, this hasn't changed for years.
I have made sure my larder is more organised, these days i wfh so meal plan more, as it's not as convenient to pop in somewhere to grab ingredients (also I don't really want to pop into a shop atm).

BTW I am a professional in emergency planning and I will still forget something vital!!

It's also good to be prepared to leave your house in an emergency (gas leak is one of the examples). I don't keep a grab bag but have a list of things instead. List is based on me being able to go to a relative's house as that is most likely for me so doesn't include stuff you'd need at a rest centre.

Great to see people being prepared!

I keep a backpack at my parents with PJs, spare jeans, t.shirt, undies and some toiletries as a just in case as I have a tendency to be accident prone, but my sister has used it more than i have 🤭.

You might want to have a 2+ week store of stuff in, more if possible. The pingdemic of postive but well isolating at home will make the supply chains bumpy for a bit. Inflation (and shrinkflation) will get worse so pre-buying frequently used items that store well makes sense.

There is still a big potential threat behind the Build Back Better message that means they really have to break the economy and fully break it before "fixing" it.

By April we should get our temporary summer reprieve from the insanity, make hay while the sun shines. Go back to the old ways of spending the summers preparing for the winters.

With the way food prices are going up, maintaining a good pantry and buying when things are on offer is a good idea. Keeping up with medication and allowing time to get a GPS appointment for routine things. And planning next year's garden/ allotment if you have that option.
It's also time to reduce unnecessary expenditure - for example seeing if you still use subscriptions.
And looking out for warm jumpers/ throws/ slippers in sales and charity shops.