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Preppers

Prepping for war

109 replies

Beansandcheesearegood · 02/06/2025 12:39

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?

OP posts:
DyslexicPoster · 20/09/2025 11:09

I think it's just do whatever and ignore what anyone else might think. Your judged for buying food only on the day for your entire family ( well I judge ). Your judged if you didn't need to rush out and panic buy at the first mention of snow. Your judged whatever you do.

But I'm.happy and feel safe knowing I'm ready for snow. For a the first few weeks of a lockdown. For a power cut. For water going off. Neither need I need to look for help in any above situation thesecond it starts. What I do effects no one negatively. If I spent the £500 or so on my candles, torches, water, blankets, food on booze I'd not be judged. I'm not doing this to look good in anyone else's eyes

TheAutumnCrow · 20/09/2025 11:10

Nellieinthebarn · 20/09/2025 11:02

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.

.

Same here, @Nellieinthebarn.

During the first lockdown my elderly near-neighbour had zero toilet rolls and she wasn’t very well either. I was happily able to drop off a nine-pack of bog roll from my cupboard and keep a general eye on her.

If some posters find that comical or insane then more fool them.

BlackeyedSusan · 14/10/2025 22:40

Keeping an eye on the news about Russia/NATO.

Little green men have been spotted by Estonia. Not a good sign as they have already had an air incursion by Russian jets. Russia have a lot of reservist military they can call up.

However, Russia is also under pressure from oil shortages and Ukrainian "sanctions". Front lines are moving slowly with lots of losses for little territory gained.

Hybrid war is ongoing. Infrastructure disruption seems likely across Europe/UK.

DyslexicPoster · 14/10/2025 22:54

I am currently running everything down in prep for Christmas. So if war can wait for the new year please.....

AnneofBohemia · 07/01/2026 16:42

Hi I hope that it ok to post here rather than starting a new thread? I’m slowly starting to make sure we have some large bottles of water and have just bought a wind-up/ solar radio. At least I will be able to know what is going on if our power systems are targeted!

User76745333 · 07/01/2026 20:58

Im upping my preps. The americans are completely out of control and destabilising the world

theotherfossilsister · 07/01/2026 21:15

Are water purifying tablets as good a bottled water? Is filling empty bottles from tap as we finish them (milk bottles) an option or does bottled water need to be sealed?

User76745333 · 07/01/2026 21:18

purifying tablets are a good option if you have water (we are lucky in that we are a rainy country). You can fill empty bottles from the tap but you would need a lid since you would want to shake it to deoxygenate it before drinking. Otherwise it tastes stale.

herefortheclicks · 07/01/2026 21:23

caringcarer · 03/06/2025 23:25

I take a threat seriously. My adult DS scoffs but I know if anything happens he'll be straight over to my house where he knows we have stocked up. I have enough bottled water for about a month if it was restricted to drinking, cleaning teeth and cooking, a cgas camping stove and 4 spare bombs so each one would last over a week, a generator to run freezer, 2 freezers full of food, loads of tins and dried food I rotate, so many batteries and torches, light bulbs that hold charge even in a power cut, about 100 toilet rolls, medications face masks, hand washes, about 24 cartons of long life milks and enough cat and dog food for over a month, a wind up phone charger, and tape that could seal around doors and windows. During COVID my DS came to get paracetamol and toilet rolls for himself and his friends. He knew I'd have plenty of stock. It's something to always have. I've got lots of other useful stuff too but I know many will find me OTT and paranoid. It just makes me feel a bit more secure.

are you sandile's sister in law?😂

DyslexicPoster · 07/01/2026 22:21

DyslexicPoster · 14/10/2025 22:54

I am currently running everything down in prep for Christmas. So if war can wait for the new year please.....

Omg, careful.what you wish for eh? I will run my prep back up, but that does not fit with my low spend for the year! Arghhh.

What I'm going to do is replace all of my batteries as the spares was used up.
Buy a battery tester.
Candles are coming out my ears but I have soya wax and candle making kit ( lots of fun).
Dried pasta to build back up ( gets eaten quite quickly )
Enough long life milk for two weeks to keep on rotation.
Some flour and yeast.
Beans.

These are things we will use anyway. The more real war seems and prepping finally feels sensible. The less I want to do it. I'm never going to prep for all out war.

But I must remember that there are always power cuts. There was local run on bread and milk this week because of snow. Neither events touched me with my very modest and sensible prep. But when my boys wanted some batteries for gaming's and we had run out, the corner shop cost me 4 x what I spend on them normally.

Also got to check basic pain killers again as it's flu season.

DyslexicPoster · 07/01/2026 22:27

Re water we buy a cheap pack of six from lidl every few months and stash under the stairs. The oldest stuff we could wash with and flust the loo. Newest is in date. Only(?!) need about 24 L to last until the run on water stations dies down ( in cases where the water company sets them up). Dispite having a disabled child and being on a at risk register, we have not once had it delivered or managed to get more than the standard two packs at the collection station dispite being a household of six. Then you also have empty bottles to fill up and rotate if your that organised ( I'm not I think it's all off!)

joeninetey · 07/01/2026 22:29

It's all so exciting isn't it ?

User76745333 · 07/01/2026 22:30

joeninetey · 07/01/2026 22:29

It's all so exciting isn't it ?

No. It isn't even vaguely exciting. You're clearly on the wrong board.

User76745333 · 07/01/2026 22:48

I've just done a big online shop for long lasting stuff like washing powder, shampoo, pet food, things we use often like tins of beans, coffee and meat for the freezer. We are lucky in that we have a large pantry. It's sensible to stock up if you can to take the pressure off if things escalate or even for bad weather reasons.

SmotYci · 07/01/2026 22:55

I have the preps that I put into mylar bags to last a ling time, and a reasonable amount of tins/dried food for emergencies. I also have plenty of tea/porridge but not enough sugar. Plenty of dairy farms locally - though without electricity would probably need to milk them ourselves!

I have bottled water, minus the water used when we were without water for a day before Christmas. I need to top up, but do have purifying tablets for an emergency.

I dont have any spare money at all at the moment. Which in a way I am pleased about, as I am itching to buy and probably would have spent a fortune with everything that is going on. My anxiety levels rise and prepping helps, but need to avoid impulsive spending.

I have loads of candles, trangia x 2 and fuel. I have also bought seeds for next year, and enough for my sister and her family. She keeps lots of her seeds, so between us we have that covered.

User76745333 · 07/01/2026 23:10

seeds are a really good thing to have. Anything you can grow at home is helpful and extremely beneficial for the environment having zero food miles.

HarryVanderspeigle · 08/01/2026 15:50

We recently had a few days without water and it is amazing how quickly you get through it. One toilet cistern alone is 6 litres. We were also told to boil it when it came back on and that purification tablets were not enough. I recently changed from laundry powder to sheets for environmental reasons, but an added bonus is they take up a lot less space. I am determined that this year I will learn to make bread, but I think it say that every year!

Thebookofcarolagain · 08/01/2026 16:03

SpottedDonkey · 02/06/2025 20:40

Prepping for war is a complete waste of time, for two reasons.

1, We have nukes, so nobody is going to attack us. Deterrence works. It kept us safe throughout the Cold War (yes, I’m old enough to remember) and will do the same through this era. Putin may be evil, but he absolutely isn’t stupid. Trump may be stupid, but he’s trying to end wars, not fight more.

2, If deterrence fails, no amount of prepping is going to make the slightest bit of difference. The best any of us can hope for is for us and all our loved ones to be obliterated on the first day, because there will be nothing left worth surviving for.

Trump is threatening Canada, Greenland, Panama, Cuba, Colombia to come take whatever he wants by using force if necessary and you think he is trying to stop wars? Keep up!

User76745333 · 08/01/2026 19:19

Thebookofcarolagain · 08/01/2026 16:03

Trump is threatening Canada, Greenland, Panama, Cuba, Colombia to come take whatever he wants by using force if necessary and you think he is trying to stop wars? Keep up!

To be fair I think that post was from June. Surely nobody now thinks he's anything other than an out of control wannabe dictator

BlackeyedSusan · 10/01/2026 22:30

The country gets more resilient the more people stock up and try to be self reliant. This is the message put out by lots of different governments (eg: Sweden) Individually we benefit from having our own back up plans.

We, as a country are not self reliant for food. Haven't been for over a century. Having the means to grow your own/a stockpile to supplement rations, makes life more bearable. (Granddad had ferrets to catch rabbits)

We are more likely to suffer from hybrid war from our more traditional enemies. (Power cuts, infra structure being sabotaged, cyber attacks etc) Probably fuel shortages if a blockade.

Likely to have food shortages (like COVID with no pasta) or increase in prices depending on which countries go to war, where. (Fish imports if around Greenland, coffee, bananas, fruit from SA/Caribbean) Throw in a natural disaster or two. (Volcano, earthquake, hurricane) And other supply lines could be disrupted.

If Trump Invades Greenland we could be dragged into war. NATO would be weakened and we become an easier target for none NATO countries. China might take advantage of America being busy and persue some of their goals disrupting supply lines from Asia.

We can not stockpile enough to get through a whole war/nuclear winter but you can make life easier for the lesser disruptions.

User76745333 · 16/01/2026 16:07

If Trump invades Greenland the world changes. Nato moves against the US. The US are required to leave the US bases in Nato countries and becomes an isolated state. The dollar crashes, supply chains fall apart. Everything changes.

But lets hope that never happens.

On a different note there is an interesting podcast on BBC sounds about prepping and resilience.

SmotYci · 16/01/2026 21:39

@User76745333 the podcast sounds interesting, what is it called? Thanks

User76745333 · 17/01/2026 23:27

The one I listened to was called “are you ready”. There is also one called “prepper” but I haven’t listened to that yet. Both on bbc sounds

User76745333 · 17/01/2026 23:38

User76745333 · 17/01/2026 23:27

The one I listened to was called “are you ready”. There is also one called “prepper” but I haven’t listened to that yet. Both on bbc sounds

Actually don’t bother with the one called Prepper - it’s just taking the piss. Plus it’s extremely annoying to listen to since they take it in turns saying about five words each. I’ve just listened to a bit.

Snowinsummer · 18/01/2026 11:27

Can someone kindly recommend an inexpensive water container & good water purification tablets from Amazon (I am immunocompromised)

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