jennyjj01 wrote:"I'm not in the least bit worried because I'm prepared: Are you?"
"All Things Strive" Gd Tak 'GarLondonpreppy wrote: At its core all prepping is, is making sure you're not down to your last sheet of loo roll when you really need a poo.
NiceDecaff wrote:A fiesta, small I know but perfectly sized for my needs, cheap to tax, insure and run.Fozzie wrote:Congrats on the new carDecaff wrote:Picked my new car up this afternoon and received first delivery of batteries which are now hidden awayWhat is it ?
Fozzie wrote: I used to run a Toyota Yaris years back. It's suprising how capable the smaller lighter weight cars are in the snow. Throw on some all-season tyres and you should be good for anything winter can throw at you (unless you're in the Highlands ofcourse)
When I was a teenager my Dad was made redundant and our washing machine chose that moment to break down. It was 6 months before we could afford to buy a new one. So for 6 months EVERYTHING was hand washed. Small stuff in the kitchen sink, large stuff in the bath. Everyone had to pitch in. We dug my grandmother's washing dolly and mangle out of the shed: the former invaluable for swishing the large stuff in the bath, the latter absolutely vital for things like towels and bedding. These things were invented for a reason! If you look at photos of "washer women" of yore, they are rather well-built - have you ever tried to squeeze the water out of a family's worth of towels enough so that they can be hung up? It's absolutely exhausting - and you have to do it several times for each stage of the washing! Those six months made me vow that I would try never , ever, ever, to be without a washing machine. Even now whenever I've done a washing load (i.e. bunged it in the drum and added some detergent) I have a sense of achievement! The invention of the washing machine is second only to the wheel in my books. Ironically when I moved into my current house there was a small mangle, the sort that clips onto the side of a tub washing machine, in one of the sheds...it wasn't thrown out with the rest of the junk in there! And on my list of long-term preps is a 12v washing machine. Quite happy to forego charging my Kindle and other electrical goodies to get just 1 hour of washing done automatically!!izzy_mack wrote:Did a "hone a skill prep", laundry! Yes I know that's usually fires, skinning rabbits etc. but I thought I'd try practising doing laundry with no electricity. HARD work! Surprising how long it takes and how much water you use, how long it takes to heat enough on a camp fire. One tip if you're using rain water you need less soap or you'll have foam everywhere. Worst thing to wash - socks- they take as much scrubbing as jeans with little to show for it and sooo fiddily, got a wooden hard nail brush for that job, the soft ones are no use. Cheap tesco soap ok but hard household soap better, powder easier to use than liquid detergent. Also takes a long time to dry and can only really be hung outside as the water drips out for ages, sore on the wrists wringing out by hand. I really appreciate running water especially the hot tap and my "gone up in my estimation" washing machine now
. If we extend, I will definitely get one. The disaster that was the twin tub, which followed my early teenage years had me forbidding my Mum to wash my jumpers - you'd have needed gibbon arms to fit them after they'd been around the spinner . For a few years, I would hand wash all my own tights, jumpers and anything else that was "delicate". I didn't find that too bad, but I wouldn't have liked to have to do the same with sheets and blankets! If I didn't have my automatic, I'd invest in one of those drums you turn with a handle. I hear they work really well. When I was in my 20s and had my own place for the first time, I travelled home every week and did my washing at my Mums and, later when my machine broke down, I used the launderette .
