Green as grass new member.

[Sammy]

Hello and thank you for allowing me to join the forum. My name is Sammy and I live in Scotland. I have been thinking for a long time that I need to have some sort of emergency plan in place for my family "just in case" things go all Pete tong, but I have been distracted by doing the other things (isn't that always the way) that the world puts in front of us. Anyhoo, about 2 days ago I told my good lady wife that things are going to get way worse before they ever get better (if they ever do) and I feel that the crippling fuel cost rises are just the beginning of troublesome times for us common folks, and we need to have some sort of "Emergency Plan" in place with a good supply of clean water, food, shelter, heat, etc. and to my surprise she didn't roll her eyes and tell me I was daft, like she does with most of my plans but agreed that it wouldn't do any harm to be prepared. This in itself was a real wake up call as my good lady wife is not prone to making on the spot decisions, she is very cool, calm and collected (having 4 kids will help with that) and always likes to think things through before deciding anything and if she says "ok let's do it" with no 3 week debate, it must be worth doing!. So I sat at my kitchen table about an hour or so ago and started writing down lists of items that we would need to see us through, and as I was clicking through the internet and writing down stuff higgildy piggily in a large notebook i thought, "why don't you actually ask for advice from people who are experienced on this kinda subject and stop floundering around in the dark online"....So here I am, throwing myself on your tender mercies and looking for good advice and good people to help me on my merry way and steer me in the right direction. Many thanks in advance.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Very open ended questions you'll get 101 different answers on here

I mean welcome to the forum


Start with the basics a decent stash of water ideally on the floor as you'll soon bend the shelves in a typical kitchen cabinet / food / alternative cooking, extra blankets / sleeping bags , few torches / battery lanterns , bored games to keep the kids entertained

At this point your probably better prepared than 95% of the population ...


Have a look here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... mergencies

With water and food buy a few extra items a week / month to spread the cost 5l supermarket water bottles ,£1.10 ISH extra couple of tins

When it comes to other kit shop about and buy cheap buy twice

[jennyjj01]

So I sat at my kitchen table about an hour or so ago and started writing down lists of items that we would need to see us through, and as I was clicking through the internet and writing down stuff higgildy piggily in a large notebook i thought, "why don't you. ,..

Hi and welcome to the forum.
We all started somewhere and we all have different ideas about prepping. Here's a bit of help finding your way around.

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=17553

You'll find typical welcome messages, often on the same theme: envisage realistic problem events and try to find solutions that help across many events. E.g. a full backup pantry , A torch and some money in a drawer can be a great general start. Then expand out until you feel as secure as you reasonably can be.
Feel free to ask questions here and, even better, contribute your own ideas and answers.
Stay safe
JJ

[Arzosah]

Welcome, Sammy! That's great, and also great that your wife is already on board - tell her there's plenty of women on here too.

The basics are exactly as Yorkshire Andy describes above. If you drift about the forum, you'll see what members are currently working on - that can be a bit deceptive, many members have been working on things for several years, and are a bit ahead of you. But clean water, food, shelter, heat, etc, exactly as you describe in your opening post, are what to focus on, whatever level you're at with it.

One other thing - you followed your intuition in coming here before carrying on with your list, and possibly spending hundreds of pounds on stuff that's not relevant to you, or doesn't do the job in the way you want it done. That was good instinct, right there.

The only thing I'd add is a first aid kit, plus any special medications needed within the family. Cuts, muscle strains, high temperatures, that sort of thing.

Good luck! Keep on posting

[Yorkshire Andy]

The only thing I'd add is a first aid kit, plus any special medications needed within the family. Cuts, muscle strains, high temperatures, that sort of thing.

Good luck! Keep on posting

Definitely the first aid kit mine got opened yesterday afternoon....... Mrs a dropped the Yorkshire pudding tin on her stocking foot and yelped a bit.... I run into the kitchen in my combat boots recreated Bambi on ice and hit the deck due to the slick of lard........ Fortunately the couple of pre Sunday lunch beers with my dad ment I bounced

Burns gell is a great thing

First aid training or at least a up-to-date book is essential especially with ambulance waiting times at the moment

[ukprepperlife]

Hi!

As others have said, a first aid kit is always a really useful thing to have. Don't just buy a first aid kit and stash it away somewhere though. Open it up, look what's in it, read how to use all of the things now. You don't want to be reading instructions when someone's pouring blood everywhere!

The other advice I'd have is to not rush in and buy everything you think you might need immediately, take a little time over it so that you're not spending a lot in one go.

If you're wanting to stock up on food and you buy a couple of months' supply in one go, it'll all expire at similar times and might go to waste. Look at the long life items you have in your normal weekly shop (or whenever you go shopping!) and add a little extra each time. You'll soon build up a good stock. Keep track of expiry dates, use the oldest stuff and add new.

As for water, big water bottles designed for water coolers can be found pretty cheaply, and as long as they're not opened they last a while. Water filters are pretty useful too. I like the Sawyer mini, the Life Straw is also pretty good. Both small, and designed for personal use rather than filtering loads of water for a family.

[pseudonym]

Hello and welcome to the Forum.


Breathe....... in................ and out.

[dizzydays]

Well - for something a bit different than the batteries/torches/candles thing, I've been looking at food. I've been collecting recipes for food that is cheap/healthy and that I can batch cook /freeze. Large parts of the world exist on rice /beans and with a bit of planning for spices/fresh veg that's a starting point to consider. Beans/lentils are great for protein so that the need for meat can be reduced or cut out. Great to store too. Oats are another great thing to have in - god - just remembered you are in Scotland

I'm sure with 4 kids your good lady wife already knows all this - I myself have done this for years, but with the current situation it might bear a bit of a rethink.

DD

[jennyjj01]

... I've been looking at food. I've been collecting recipes for food that is cheap/healthy and that I can batch cook /freeze. Large parts of the world exist on rice /beans and with a bit of planning for spices/fresh veg that's a starting point to consider. Beans/lentils are great for protein so that the need for meat can be reduced or cut out. Great to store too.

Look to Cuba which suffered the loss of cheap imported food when the USSR colapsed. Beans and rice became their core diet, with a smattering of flavourful garlic and herbs to make it tolerable. Now, Cuba can grow rice where we cannot, so we will probably adapt to spuds, root veggies and beans.

With the most extreme austerity and with whatever food shortages we face, the secret has to be to have a supply of flavourings: Any flavourings.

If you are going to store rice, get it now since it's 100% imported and prices are already flying. Probably stock up on Chickpeas and lentils now, too. If it's mostly imported, it's most vulnerable. Sunflower oil has showed us what happens when imports are disrupted.

[jansman]

Welcome. What they said.