What Preps are you doing this week

[dizzydays]

Call me cynical - but if the powers that be are talking warmer weather, I'd be inclined to knit quicker and stock up on thermals and wellies. Sure as eggs are eggs they've got it wrong somewhere....


DD

[FEISTY]

Finally got around to ordering 5 x 20l blue airtight buckets, 20 x 1 gallon 7mil mylar bags with individually sealed oxygen removers and water purifier tablets for 8,000l. Have also ordered some heirloom French squash seeds which are supposed to grow well in Scotland. This will be the first crop to have seed saved for SHTF. The first bucket will be filled with wholegrain rice, which we eat a lot of. Very filling, very nutritious and I love the nutty taste - rest of the family eat it because I won't cook white rice . Finally decided on 1 gallon bags as we are only 4 with relatively small apetites. I'll freeze my rice for a couple of days before I store it (still in rice bags, but with a wee nick to let the oxygen be absorbed out of them) - wonder if I should add silica sachets in case of moisture (although I put the bags of rice in sealed freezer bags first). Tried to find a supplier of large bags of wholegrain rice at a better price than the supermarket, but wholegrain rice seems to still be considered a health food . Please let me know if there's anything I've not though of. I will remember to label them with contents and date of packing . The question is, how long will wholegrain rice stay fresh? Can't really rotate this so easily, as mylar bags, etc, are expensive.

[Arzosah]

With the recent news coming out about the weather and how things are only going to get warmer in the coming years I was wondering what opinions would be on stocking up on sunblock cream or would that be a bit of an over reaction.... I know a prepper using the words over reaction I am sure their is some irony in their somewhere The reason behind this thought process was purely down to last years summer and I remember people complaining within the local town that they couldn't buy electric fans for love nor money even in the larger retail branded shops...

Hi tolerance! I think its quite short term, to be honest - which is fine, it will save money when they try to sting us on price over the summer, if it runs short you'll have some. I wouldn't stock up for long term with it, its got so many highly manufactured chemicals in, I'd be concerned about long term interaction and degradation. Just a personal view, I doubt there's any research done on it.

I'd also think about natural prevention long term, tho - outside work should be done before 11 and after 3, wear sleeves as long as you can bear, wear a hat. And look at natural ointments - I mean, I've no idea if there even *are* any natural ointments (hmm, I can feel a new prep area coming on!).

[FEISTY]

With the recent news coming out about the weather and how things are only going to get warmer in the coming years I was wondering what opinions would be on stocking up on sunblock cream or would that be a bit of an over reaction.... I know a prepper using the words over reaction I am sure their is some irony in their somewhere The reason behind this thought process was purely down to last years summer and I remember people complaining within the local town that they couldn't buy electric fans for love nor money even in the larger retail branded shops...

Hi tolerance! I think its quite short term, to be honest - which is fine, it will save money when they try to sting us on price over the summer, if it runs short you'll have some. I wouldn't stock up for long term with it, its got so many highly manufactured chemicals in, I'd be concerned about long term interaction and degradation. Just a personal view, I doubt there's any research done on it.

I'd also think about natural prevention long term, tho - outside work should be done before 11 and after 3, wear sleeves as long as you can bear, wear a hat. And look at natural ointments - I mean, I've no idea if there even *are* any natural ointments (hmm, I can feel a new prep area coming on!).

Go Outdoors (and, I'm sure, every other outdoor shop) do fab long-sleeved t-shirts that are both Factor 50 in the sun, wick sweat away and dry quickly. Sounds awful wearing a round neck t-shirt with long sleeves in the height of summer, but I bought two for my burns-quickly-to-a-frazzle daughter before she went to the south of France on an outdoor adventure holiday. She ended up wearing them all week with a quick rinse through each time and she was comfortable in all situations, whereas her chums were burnt to a crisp. She also wore Factor 50 hat. She wore a bit of sunscreen on hands, etc, but forgot her feet and came home with a very interesting pattern on her feet from where the sun got through the holes in the water shoes . Personally, I think covering up with the right gear is better and more comfortable than slathering yourself with chemicals. Unfortunately, before 11am and after 3pm is exactly when the midges like to come out to play in Scotland . No chemicals really work for them, so we stocked up on extra fine midge nets .

[jansman]

This week I am keeping on top of my seed sowing, Brassicas mainly. I also have huge amounts of firewood to cut and stack, although I never mind that as it is good exercise and better than money in the bank. Now the clocks have changed I will just check through our 'Hotel Bag'. I am glad Spring is upon us.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Unfortunately, before 11am and after 3pm is exactly when the midges like to come out to play in Scotland . No chemicals really work for them, so we stocked up on extra fine midge nets .

http://avonshop.co.uk/product/skin-so-s ... otion.html

[Haplo2481]

I hate midges, I tend to stay out of Scotland during certain times of the year. I've used the avon cream ant the mozzies left me alone, not tried it on midges

[FEISTY]

Unfortunately, before 11am and after 3pm is exactly when the midges like to come out to play in Scotland . No chemicals really work for them, so we stocked up on extra fine midge nets .

http://avonshop.co.uk/product/skin-so-s ... otion.html

Ah, the wee girl next door to us at our last house sold me a whole heap of this and it did diddly squat for me. I know people swear by it, but it didn't stop the midges biting me at all and it made me itch . Jungle Formula (Tropical) is the one I use, but stop short of rubbing my face and scalp with it - greasy face and hair really isn't a good look, but even that isn't foolproof.

[Arzosah]

Had to pop into town to buy some tacks - I'm constructing a mega-haybox, which will hopefully double as a dehydrator, and triple as a cold smoker - and I checked out Robert Dyas, the "hardware" store. They're usually horrendously expensive, and even their sales only bring their stuff down to the same price as other shops, but I picked up some goodies today. The tacks were £1.99, fair enough, but there was also a beautiful fire poker, with a log roller bit as well, really heavy duty, for £1. Plus a little shovel for the ashes, also at £1. Not as good quality as the poker, but it'd do the job for a while, anyway.

[pseudonym]

Unfortunately, before 11am and after 3pm is exactly when the midges like to come out to play in Scotland . No chemicals really work for them, so we stocked up on extra fine midge nets .

http://avonshop.co.uk/product/skin-so-s ... otion.html

Ah, the wee girl next door to us at our last house sold me a whole heap of this and it did diddly squat for me. I know people swear by it, but it didn't stop the midges biting me at all and it made me itch . Jungle Formula (Tropical) is the one I use, but stop short of rubbing my face and scalp with it - greasy face and hair really isn't a good look, but even that isn't foolproof.

I swear by this stuff:

http://www.woodland-ways.co.uk/buy-onli ... t-113.html