Hi

[Gez]

Hi folks I’m Gez 46 based in Birmingham absolute beginner to prepping (I stumbled onto a YouTube video from the MOS) can’t wait to actually get started, anyone in the Birmingham/West Midlands area know of any clubs or whatever any information would be helpful.

[Frnc]

Hi Gez, welcome to the forum. As an absolute beginner, I suggest you assess things like whether you have a home first aid kit and smoke alarms. If you do, you're already a prepper! A fire extinguisher or two, fire blanket, maybe a CO alarm, and fire ladder are all good extras to think about. Have your alarms been tested recently?

After that your priorities are water and food stocks, and some sort of camping stove in case the gas or electicity go down. It's mainly best to buy extra of food you normally eat, that has a long shelf life and takes minimal cooking, eg bags of pasta.

You can read up on water storage, or post a thread. I have 60 litres that should be drinkable. You can survive on one litre a day for short periods.

[Gez]

Thanks for the reply I’ve made a list of what I need to start I’m just slowly working my way through it as it will no doubt change once I start learning more

[pseudonym]

Hello and welcome to the Forum.

[jennyjj01]

Thanks for the reply I’ve made a list of what I need to start I’m just slowly working my way through it as it will no doubt change once I start learning more

Hi Jez,

Welcome from Cheshire.
Standard advice here is to prep so as to cover multiple scenarios with the each prep. E.g. a few £hundred in cash. a spare credit card, a supply of extra food and maybe a camping stove will cover many threats from short term power outage, through pandemic, social unrest or a few other things. Then broaden and deepen your scope. Our preps only buy us a bit of time, but puts us ahead of many of our peers. Like the guy in the jungle said to his friend, if there's a lion chasing us, I don't have to outrun the lion, I only have to outrun you
Keep prepping discrete as come SHTF, you don't want to be known as 'the guy with the stash of food'
And finally, read posts here comparing bug in and bug out situations. Consensus is that we bug in or bug elsewhere in most real situations. Bugging out to the woods is a fantasy for most of us.

[itsybitsy]

Hello and welcome.