New to the site - Sheffield

[Lea_123]

Hello

Just wanted to introduce myself as new to the site!

I'm from Sheffield , single mum of 1

I guess I've been "prepping" a while now, my situation made it 2nd nature having been made redundant twice in the last few years! I have always kept back up supplies but recently have become more pro active.


Would be good to get to know other like minded people and pick up tips and advice !

Lea

[pseudonym]

Hello and welcome to the Forum.

[Deeps]

Welcome to the forum, loads of useful stuff here, dive in.

[itsybitsy]

Welcome to our happy little cyber-corner!

[Lea_123]

Welcome to the forum, loads of useful stuff here, dive in.

Thank you I've been having a good look around and there is soo much information to get through! Just out of interest what sort of thing are most people prepping for on here ? To be honest I'm not sure what I am preparing for only that in my mind I should have a back up plan for different situations some of which I have faced without any preparations and they have caused some difficulty although these things have been turned out to be a brief inconvenience , my thoughts are that ok I didn't expect that! What if these things had lasted longer or been more severe? I have been made redundant 3 times now (yes it happened again last in - first out I guess ! ) ! I got caught out in the floods in 2007 in Sheffield , a 20 min journey took 5 hours to get home non of which felt safe (driving up what felt like a waterfall was a highlight ) then there has been the occasional power cut (I was without so much as a candle or lighter )! Then you see redundancies are a common thing , no matter where you work and I have child care responsibilities to consider , riots - that fortunately didn't hit Sheffield , i live very close to our town centre and I can't imagine how aweful and frightening that was in London and other cities , flats going up In flames... I live on the first floor flat but have one entrance / exit so if my new neighbours downstairs (who I don't think live there - there is a strange smell occasional I can only assume "gardening project" they cause me no bother though so I keep myself to myself but if it went up I would be screwed! , then the bigger things like possible nuclear war (weather over exaggerated or not ).
I have started preparing now but it's a daunting task! I bought a fire ladder which drops out of my window , candles , lighters , torches , started storing tinned food , along with the odd item in case anyone broke in to "deter" them! I got an allotment - that is going to take some work ! It looks like an overgrown field at the moment ! Any advice for someone that feels like there making it up as I they are going along? X

[Britcit]

Hi there.

I always feel like I'm making it as I go along, and I suspect we are not alone in that. But then, everyone's situation is different, so we do have to tailor (make it up) our preps too our own requirements.

Try not to see it as a daunting task. Take things one step at a time, set yourself small easy goals and you will be surprised how quickly things develop. Saying that, I (and others I suspect) do go crazy from time to time and have a prepping shopping frenzy.

I prep mostly for supply chain breakdown. Be that food, electricity, water, it has all happened to use since we moved here. I do also prep with 'Total Society Breakdown' in mind, but I view that as much less likely, so I prioritise prepping for things most likely.

I sounds like you have made great steps so far, but you make no mention of water. Do you some back up water supplies in case a mains bursts? Even a few liters puts you ahead of the game.

Congrats on getting the allotment. There is a good section here covering food and agriculture, lots of tips there.

Have fun

[aldhelm]

I always feel like I'm making it as I go along

Too true. I'm always swapping stuff about and picking different things up depending on where I'm going and what I'm doing. There's no one size fits all bag for me. If I tried to make one up I wouldn't be able to carry it past the front garden. Not only that but I'd soon find that I'd missed something.

I guess food and water are already covered, so personally my next item on the list would be a mini first aid kit for your little one, nothing fancy a couple of different sized plasters some insect bite cream and a sachet of vinegar (for wasp stings). That should cover the most basic of basics and that will give you peace of mind if they should take a tumble. Anything more serious and it's off to A&E (depending on your knowledge of first aid) The kids are after all our most valuable possession. Might be worth chucking a power bank in there so you can call for assistance if needed and your mobile is running out of battery life.

Of course it all depends on the young ones age, remember how you used to take some extra nappies, and a spare bib just in case.

The main thing I think when starting out is small steps, I launched myself into it big time without really thinking it through, read a thread on here thought I like that idea and next thing you know I'm on different sites pricing up a ................ whatever the fad was that day. Do the bits and pieces that will give you peace of mind first, like doing something for the kids, or carrying a power bank for your phone in case the child care needs to get in touch etc etc.

What's most likely to happen? A Power cut or All out nuclear war? In my opinion I'd sort the most likely first, that's if the wife stops tripping over the big box of firesteels I bought on impulse that I only use once in a blue moon.

Good luck with your journey

[Deeps]

Lea, as the others have said, there's no one size fits all, and don't get bogged down with what others are doing either on here or on youtube. Having a nose at what others are doing is great for inspiration but there's no hard and fast rule. It sounds like you're off to a good start, you just need to figure out your own priorities, water, food (something to cook it on too) and shelter are your absolute basics broadly speaking, then its meds/first aid, lighting etc. Do you have alternative places to stay ? You might have to leave your own place for whatever reason so even if you don't have a BOB for the full on zombie apocalypse having a check off list of things to put in a bag if you need or want to leave quickly can be handy.

Resist the temptation to rush out and buy everything NOW, a lot of us have wasted money buying something because we wanted it NOW and end up buying something better later and try and enjoy it if you can, I know not everyone agrees but there is a 'hobby' element to it, we wouldn't do it if we didn't want to. Oh, and feel free to ask questions, sorry for the late reply.

[Lea_123]

Well I do have a store of water already I bought x18 1.5 liter bottles (i have a cat and dog too) not sure if it would be worth getting any more in ?

In my car i have one of those AA ultimate first aid kits (which has already come in useful when my daughter had a fall in the park ) a large fleece blanket and the phone charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter. I have a bag in there now too which i have been adding to today , i have a spare set of clothes, including warm socks/ hats / gloves , waterproof macs , walking boots -for both of us also toiletries, lighter, calpol, paracetamol , iburefen, a pack of new toothbruses, antibacterial gel and i added Vinegar sachets (thanks aldhem i wouldnt have thought of that!)

I also have a few packs of sample size dog food , a collapsable dog bowl, a sample sachet of dog hydration powder and her paw protector dog boots (if its very hot the path can be scorching especially new tarmac) the dog comes along with us alot when we are out so wanted to make sure if we ever got stuck out and there wasnt a pet shop open to get her something it wouldnt be a problem ) there is a website http://www.latestfreestuff.co.uk that have lots of links to free samples of pet food and other bits that are pretty useful! There in the car bag now !

I need a torch for the car so thats on the list (Ii have a few in the house ) , i will put some snacks in there too , is it ok to store bottles of water in the boot ? I read somewhere a while ago you shouldnt drink water thats been left in a car especially if its hot- something to do with the plastic container overheating and contaminating the water ?

As for alternative places to stay i have family and friends all over Sheffield so i guess it would depend whats going on and where i guess !

My daughter is 9 and loves the outdoors / watching bear grylls on tv , we are going on a bushcraft taster session in a few weeks too (with the dog aswell ) she is very excited about that !

[itsybitsy]

Hello and welcome to the site. I'm over in E Yorks, so not to far from your neck of the woods. I hope you find our community helpful.