Tales of a patchy prepper - what I’m doing in response to government readiness messages

[bellinisurge]

I used to be on here a lot. I stepped away from it because of life stuff. Nothing major but enough to make my focus on preparedness get blurred. Too much “here and now”stuff to deal with.
So I still have some useful kit, I still have some knowledge, my prepper garden went to shit 🤣 and I probably lost my prepper merit badge.
But with all the talk now about “three days”, I thought I’d come back on MN. Life stuff has calmed down.
and I have a dd in halls in uni who rolls her eyes at my attempts to help her get a buffer of food/water in - a useful thread on that topic here caught my eye so … I’m back.
Back with any “don’t panic/keep it simple” advice if anyone wants it.
My previously sceptical husband is now grateful for our little camping stove etc.
On that note, if you have a Go Outdoors near you, members (£5 a year) can buy a one ring gas camping stove for £15. You can get it online but you need to get gas canisters in store. I’m a bit uncertain about what the right gas canister is so double/triple check before buying gas canisters on Amazon.
Hi, everyone

I remember you! I have head torches and milk bottles with water in ( iykyk!) and a wind up radio already thanks to you.

Welcome back.

Having read the insanity on some of the three day threads, I was hoping that your sensible voice would be back.

@NoisyStreet, I replaced my battered old milk bottle and checked my head torch only yesterday

Anyone wondering wtf the bottle thing is, it’s this. A cleaned out two litre bottle of milk, filled with water, head torch put on it and turned in. Makes a portable and not scary light which is particularly helpful if you have kids. Or just don’t like torch beams and don’t want to risk candles

Here

I’ve done some very basic prepping which I now think is just being sensible. I won’t survive the zombie apocalypse for years but I’ll be okay in a power cut or minor disruption of food chain supplies for a few days. I already knew about the milk bottle and head torch but don’t actually have a milk bottle filled yet which I’ll now do today!

@REDB99Sensible approach. don’t worry about a zombie apocalypse. We’re all fucked if the zombies show up. I try to focus on realistic scenarios- power cut, weather stuff. Assume staying home rather than running away to fuck knows where. My “go bag” is for A&E trips and I’ve used it more than once over the years

I swear a lot. Sorry to anyone who hasn’t interacted with me before

I’ve recently come off the ‘crisis what crisis’ thread as it was all getting a little hysterical.
I’ve looked at our food cupboards and we’ve around 10 days minimum in tins and packets. A half full freezer which might need to be cooked. Root veg in the garden.
To be absolutely honest, if conflict crisis went on longer, do we really want to worry about water sterilisation and the like long term?
If it was weather crisis we’ve our own water supply with generator to pump, shotguns and rifles to shoot rabbit, game and deer, and a land rover to get places.

I’m very aware that’s luckier than many.
Let’s stay sensible.

I bought my camping stove from Argos. They also sell the correct sized canisters and you can buy either the one ring or double. Why make life complicated by buying the cooker and canisters from different places especially when this store is everywhere. Sure it's just over a tenner more but sometimes ease (and peace of mind over correct cannisters) over money is worth that extra tenner for a lot of people.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9543788?clickPR=plp:14:30

However I do like your bottle/torch combo, that's very clever.

Good point @INeedAnotherNamesadly that stove is now £35 according to the link

Hello @bellinisurge, I remember you, in fact your posts years ago now really helped me get my head round the whole prepping thing, so thank you!
I've booked a trip with DH to our nearest Go Outdoors store on your recommendation because I've held off buying a camping stove because every time I look on Amazon I get overwhelmed with choice. Never having camped. I want to see them in the flesh and ask questions etc.
Turns out we've got a Go Outdoors less than 2 miles away. So thank you again! 😂

This is my attitude, too. I'm able to try and prep for a longer period than 2 days, but not Armegedon. I have set a goal of two weeks with no power or water in a cold winter.

When we lived in Argyll I got a taste of it during Hurricane Bawbag. It was only for a couple of days, but I had three very young children and while I don't remember food being an issue and I was able to flush the loo with sea water, what I do remember is how dull and chilly my house was, full of useless appliances and gadgets.

So I am thinking about heating and lighting and morale boosters.

I have a camping stove, an indoor butane heater, rechargeable LED lanterns, food safe jerry cans for 200l of water, a bountiful supply of rain water for flushing and washing, a camping toilet with liners if that's not working (sewage issues unlikely as we are on a hill above town) and actually tasty food with a decent shelf life. I need another calor bottle if I want 2 weeks of heating, but at least I can stay toasty for one week.

The kids are grown and only one still at home so I don't have to worry about entertaining and managing them.

Anything beyond two weeks would be damn near enough Armegedon and I just don't see the point of thinking about that. That way madness lies.

On the gas canister question for one-ring stoves: most of the "lunchbox" style portable stoves take the long thin butane cartridges that clip in sideways, while small hiking stoves usually take round screw-thread canisters. They aren't interchangeable, so match whatever the stove's manual specifies. Butane also works poorly near freezing, so a canister kept somewhere frosty may struggle in a cold snap. Worth doing a test brew-up before you actually need it, too.

Three days is both a lot to get your head round and not much when it actually comes to it. Drinking and water is the worst.

For everyday stuff buy the next bottle/item when you start it rather than waiting until it's running out. That's most likely cover three days. (Apart from teenage boys and Lynx or cereal.)

What would your minimum requirements be for equipment?

I agree that after a week or so it's not worth worrying too much because people stronger than me will come and take my stuff anyway. No reason to believe people will just stay home and suffer when they think others have stuff. Or even just to loot.

@BlackeyedSusan minimum requirements for someone who has never thought about this before? I would say follow the government’s suggestion and include treats to keep morale going. I also recommend my milk bottle light which is less grim.
For beyond that, I think some way of heating food - I have a wood burning stove and have been exploring the idea of “hobo” cooking in foil parcels. Or sitting pans of food on top. I also have a camping stove.
i have wood for the stove.
i think more water than recommended but there’s only so much you can do- I have a rainwater butt although I wouldn’t use it for food or drink. I’d do a hard boil of it anyway before any use and probably pour it through some fabric before then to get any bits out.
i have water purification tablets which I distrust less than filters.
I have a camping loo thing somewhere in my garage and would make do with bags.
i live on a hill in a 1930s house so am less concerned about using grey water to flush my loo but I’d listen to local advice on that.
I have a 30w solar panel which would probably do very little really, maybe put some charge in power banks (I have a few).
If my Baavet wool duvet counts as equipment I would definitely include that. It keeps us sooo warm.
Those are probably my basic extra equipment unless I’ve forgotten anything

When we bought our wood stove, I was adamant that it had to have a flat top so I could cook on it if necessary. It was only later I found out about https://chillipenguin.co.uk/chilli_products/hungry-penguin-cooking-stove-and-oven/, which I don’t think is available in Australia, and I told dh he had had a lucky escape. My dream is this https://www.marinestove.com/halibutinfo.htm. Sooo cute.

I was looking to replace my water purification tablets but it looks like that's a minefield. Plus lots seem to be close to expiry dates which I presume is no good?