I'm a Hungarian from southwest London. I've been into prepping since last summer, although I had no idea that it is called 'prepping' and didn't really know what to store etc.
But let me tell the story behind my preparations, I'll try to keep it short.
It was just another summer day in August last year. I was at home with our little dog, when all of a sudden a man appeared at the front door telling me that there is a massive gas leak in the building and everybody has to leave immediately. Well, I said, so what? It was a nice afternoon and I planned to go the park with the dog anyway, so I just grabbed my keys and the phone and left in no time. I thought they would fix it in a matter of minutes or so and I could return after that.
After spending an hour in the nearby park I decided to go back home and have a look what is going on. The men were in a big work as they found out that the leak is much worse than they thought first. They told me it could take at least another 5-6 hours before I can go back to the building. That was the point when I began worrying a little bit.
I had only a shirt on me and it was getting cooler, I had no cash or card with me, not even a bottle of water I could drink and I had a dog as well to take care of. About 4 hours later my girlfriend joined me in the park. She used to work only a few yards from our place so she didn't have cash, card etc. with her. Now there were the three of us 'chilling' in the park. All of us thirsty, hungry, cold and moody. Luckily she found a quid in her pocket so we bought a bottle of water in the tesco... at least. That was the moment I promised to myself that this will not happen ever again.
About an other hour later we had a call from the neighbour (who had to leave as well) that it was safe to go back home. I can't put in words how relieved we were when finally we could eat and drink something and took a shower. Later that night we had a chat about this experience and came up with interesting questions, most importantly: What if...? What if it took the whole night to fix that pipe? Where could we meet if we had no phone with us? What could we eat and drink and where could we stay at night?
Many things have happened since, I live on my own now. But I never forget that day. Even though it wasn't a big deal as we are talking about a few hours only out of the comfort zone, it was still a very unpleasant experience which changed my way of thinking. If something more serious (flood, disaster) would've happened, I'd had no idea how to deal with it. It could've been so much easier to grab a bag full with all the necessary stuff and just go...
Well, I have some ideas now, because I began my preparations a few months ago. I still need many things to sort out, particularly my BOB which is 'half ready'. Hopefully I'll get some ideas from this forum how to plan things and move forward.
I live in a tiny one bed flat which makes things a bit difficult, like storing things in a quantity and although my landlady is very helpful, she isn't happy with the idea of harvesting rainwater or to use the garden for growing at least a few bits and bobs of vegetables etc. So it's not easy but I look at it as a challenge.
(she thinks it's mad to keep tinned food and water, because 'you can get fresh from the shop 24/7'...)
I store gallons of water under the sink, my food supplies should be enough for about 4-5 days or a week if necessary. OK, it's not a lot, but I haven't won the lottery and am unemployed right now (I'm studying as well), so I buy an extra tin of something every now and then and build up my supplies in this way. My favourite prepping shop is Lidl where tinned food is cheaper and quality is 'ok-ish' in my opinion and there are some really good bargains in various tools and equipment. A few weeks ago I saw a first aid kit there for only a fiver - and I forgot to buy it at the end of the day, damn it. Maybe next time. I also do my daily shopping in the Sainsbury which I like (tinned fruits for example) and of course, 99p store has some surprises as well.
One more thing I wanted to mention is that from last winter I occasionally do a sort of 'shock test' to keep myself trained for various events. An example: I switched off heating for only one day during the coldest week and had some interesting results. It was quite easy in the morning and the afternoon. I was walking up and down the flat, did some push ups etc. to keep myself warm (and the old cuppa did help as well). The temperature went down only to about 8 degrees in the flat (as the landlady in the flat below didn't turn off hers) but I needed to wear extra clothing on and a hat. The much more interesting period was during the night, when it was unimaginably cold. At one point I couldn't even sleep it was that bad. And remember, it was only about 6-8 degrees, I was protected from wind and rain! So at 1 o'clock in the morning I had to have a quick solution. I put my sleeping bag on the bed, a blanket and all of my slappy t-shirts on top of it... I was in tracksuits, a jumper, wearing a hat and it was still freezing.
I have no idea how those homeless guys deal with this on a daily basis, in rain and gust, well below 0 degree, but it taught me a good lesson. I bought some warm clothing just in case, a better sleeping bag etc. I plan to have a tougher experience this winter, when I'll spend 2-3 nights out in a tent in adverse weather conditions, preferably snow, ice and wind, all of it.
In my opinion, prepping isn't just stuffing the shelves with Heinz's finest, but to be able deal with challenging, unexpected situations at any given time. I also started my prepping blog in Hungarian as I found out it is no online community out there so it's a first.
Thank you for reading, have a good one!
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