Prepping for war

[Beansandcheesearegood]

Reading the news and really thinking war in some form will come sooner rather than later. Any basic prep we can do? Or just have enough food, water etc for a few days?

Loads of people are saying they’ve bought and used dried milk. I bought sone during Covid. Tried to use it - it was rank and we threw it away! But loads of you seem to use it in everyday circumstances - was I using it wrong?

Depends which brand. Asda/Morrisons dried tasted more like milk on cereal/in coffee. Not sure I would drink it as milk alone. The Nestlé one in a yellow tin tastes very different. Ok in cooking but not so.good in cereal/coffee.

Most people on this board are here to prepare for inconvenience. Snow days in winter, water shut off, issues with stocks getting to supermarkets.

Who said otherwise?

People see the word 'prepper' and assume that we are all doomsday preppers in the extreme

Did you even read the thread title or OP? 😆

Ah ok, we had Marvel. It was honestly vile. Maybe I’ll give the Asda one a try. I don’t often use milk in cooking. The main use is drinks and cereal so that’s what I would need it to for or there’s not much point!

Sorry if I’m being dim but how do you use dried milk to make porridge? Do you take the oats and dried milk in then mix with water at work? How do you know the proportions?

I use a food flask. Fill with 50g oats, some raisins and a couple of spoons of milk powder. Then add hot water and it cooks in the flask on my commute. Fresh porridge when I get there 😋.

Oh I’m not disputing that dried milk has its uses! I’m just referring to this whole bandwagon of “Oooh what shall we stockpile for this latest drama” as though it’s a trend. Or because they think that hiding in a cupboard for a few days with a wind up radio, bottled water, dried milk and a battery lamp is all that’s needed to survive a nuclear explosion

Again, this is the Preppers board, so by our very nature we aren't jumping on any bandwagons. We prep for different eventualities as part of our lives (small threats and large). If it doesn't sit well with you, then maybe you shouldn't comment on such a specific topic. It's really not helpful.

One boring and low key thing I do to prepare for difficulties (whether war, pandemic, floods etc) is to keep up with my regular health appointments. So get your breast check, cervical, dental, blood reviews, colonoscopies all done on time and then if a time comes along when the normal infrastructure isn’t functioning for a while, then it is less likely a health emergency will result where you need urgent care for something that could have been picked up and treated sooner.

Also have a well stocked home first aid kit.

What would you consider a well stocked first aid kit @WalkingaroundJardine please? I have a small kit with plasters, germaline in but that’s about it? Ideas would be great if you don’t mind.

I just got a car first aid kit from Aldi, bandages, plasters, masks, scissors etc for £4.99. Seemed like a good starting point to me.

i was able to buy inexpensive pieces of sealed gauze (for wiping larger wounds), adhesive wound pads, eye pads, bandages, tape, scissors, gloves, splinter probes etc from the chemist. It would be worth getting an ice pack for burns and sprains too, though if you have lots of frozen veggies in bags you can use those as an alternative.

I looked up the contents of First Aid kits for sale on the internet and slowly bought similar, so that it wasn’t too expensive.

My workplace provides offered a First Aid course and I signed up for that too, just so I got a general idea of how to treat stuff. It was a very long and detailed course though and even covered poisonous snake bites and jellyfish stings haha!

thanks @Troubledwords and @WalkingaroundJardine I have a very thorough first aid kit for my horses (too tight to call a vet for most stuff) which covers most of this and iodine spray, wound spray and boot ice packs etc so think I only need to add a couple of bandages in now thinking about it. Oh and an eye patch. I do think one thing I need is paracetamol and anti inflammatory as we tend to only have a box in. I always have codeine in as I have endometriosis but they are a bit full on. This board is very helpful for supply disruption. I always have two weeks of food in for my horses including bedding / hay since covid as we struggled for supplies then. It made me think I needed to be in control in future. I have spares of things like shampoo / conditioner, face creams and all toiletries too.

I’ve now had IBC tanks fitted catching rainfall for the horses despite having water at the field as I worry how I would get water for three of them. They are a five minute drive or 20 min walk but I’m also getting a bike 🚲 just in case there’s no fuel. It will also come in handy if my car breaks down anyhow.

That’s just a thought for equestrians who are on the prep board too. I bought water purifying tablets but it’s for the animals. Just in case the IBC tanks water has sat there. I did completely run it off the other day as the water was stinky.

Large dressings from Superdrug or Home Bargains. (Sticky /non sticky)
Larger dressing from the pharmacy
Antiseptic wipes. (Supermarket)
Tubigrip/elasticated bandages in small medium and large
Tourniquets
Gloves
Eye bath
Micropore tape
Paracetamol (kid/adult)
Antihistamines (kid/adult)
Ibuprofen (kid/adult)
Diarrhoea meds
Fluid replacement sachets.
Cough linctus
Antacids
Aspirin (soluble)

I'm sure I've forgotten loads!

You can get decent first aid kits on Amazon, read the description, though, carefully. Some are very safety pin heavy to boost content numbers)

Honestly, I’d start with a basic 72‑hour kit – enough water (around 2–3 litres per person per day) and high‑energy, non‑perishable food like beans, canned soup, energy bars, plus a manual can opener and bottle‑fed water purification tablets. Don’t forget a small first‑aid kit, torch with spare batteries, whistle or radio, multitool, and some cash – that covers most essentials if things get messy.

Don't forget plasters & tweezers.

A rocking chair, a slab of beer, salt & vinegar kettle crisps, a 12-bore and plenty of cartridges.

That should suffice.

Solid start, but I'd modernize it a bit. Add a compact solar power bank (for charging your phone, headlamp, or radio), a water filter like Sawyer or Lifestraw, and a mini stove like an Esbit or collapsible gas burner. Also consider thermal bivy bags and an emergency foil blanket – lightweight but genuinely protective in rough conditions.

Hello all! In the light of current events I've returned to prepping - I did a fair bit prior to Brexit but after that let stocks diminish and used the space for other things. Now I am getting back to putting away a fair few things in case there are economic issues that decrease our supply. I need to be gluten free so imagine that getting hold of those types of products in a crisis could be very difficult. Hence I'm stashing long-lasting GF ingredients and foods.

Re the dried milk thing - I do use it as I don't actually like fresh milk and use it in my chicory 'coffee'. I find it OK, I use Marvel. I have on occasion used it to make DP's tea and he didn't even notice LOL.

Im upping my stocks today. Things are looking bleak with the russians sending drones to attack poland and the Americans all losing their shit and seemingly being on the verge of civil war. Not even going into the shit show in the middle east.

I have really run stocks down over the past two years but I'm going to load up the freezer with items that might become difficult to source and do a massive household shop with things like washing powder, toiletries etc.

I suggest peas. The harvest wasn't good this year.

Russia is under a lot of pressure. Their oil terminals and refining plants are getting hit on a regular basis. There are queues for fuel. Ukraine have just got longer range missiles on stream. It is not as bleak as it feels. Still worth prepping though. Winter looks difficult weather wise.

Who said otherwise? The posters making scathing remarks assuming that every prepper is prepping for nuclear war. If you read the thread you'll see them

Ive been on this board since it was created and right from the beginning there have been those who jump on and ridicule. I don't get it nowadays when we have all been affected by a national crisis with covid. Nobody here is prepping for nuclear war with an underground bunker - its emergency planning and effective household management.

I'm doing my usual winter prep next weekend once youngest has gone off to uni. This year though Im upping the emergency supplies and Ive been looking out for price reductions on staples for months so that I can buy things like coffee/ tinned tomatoes etc when they are on offer.

I don't know why people who don't prep ridicule those who do, I don't have a go at others who spend 1000s on holidays and cars and whatnot. Their money, their choice.

I prefer to feel that I am in a good position to look after myself and my family should I need to, than have expensive holidays.

Preppers don't hurt anyone, we are the ones who don't have to panic buy, its already stored away.

During covid I was able to share some of my tinned foods and loo rolls with my elderly neighbours, when others had greedily stripped the shelves.

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