just starting out

[PhilipB]

well I have had a long interest in prepping but never really took any action.

But recent events have worried my wife into stocking up on a few items and I think it would be prudent to have a plan in place.

the avdvice from the form post I have seen seems to be start small and thats what im going to do. we have sarted to build some stocks of tinned food and plan to build a small emergancy pantry.

also I stared to put together a power cut box with a few torches/camping laterns with some spare batteries together with a few candels and means to light them. Anything else I need?

After that the next thing t look at is "what if the water supply gets cut off" for that I was thinking about rain water collection and purification.

anything else I should be considering to start with

[Yorkshire Andy]

Welcome to the forum I deleted your duplicate post your first few posts need moderator approval it keeps the crazies and spammers in check


The what do you need in a power cut box torches torches and more torches you can never have enough torches

If your going to use candles something safe to burn them in / on is a must ideally in little lanterns / deep jars to contact any spill / fire ...

A British standard fire blanket is always handy to have in the house but is also handy for candle fires as they do flare like a chip pan if you try water to put them out if they set the wax puddle alight ...



As for water some storage be it 5l supermarket bottles

Purification takes many means but filtration and puritabs are a good start

[Bijela]

Welcome. As been said cheap bottled water can be found with about 2 years life.

[Yorkshire Andy]

As for anything else ... There's a long list somewhere


But start with a list.... Of what situations your prepping for for example

Flooding

Blackout

House fire

Short term evacuation

Storm

Then a list of kit for each situation

Take flooding..

Insurance / insurance contact details
Change of clothes
Wash bag
Mobile phone and charger
Local Hotel details
Regular medication
Bedding

Then do the same for other situations you'll soon see a pattern of what kit overlaps and start with the overlaping kit

[Yorkshire Andy]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... fnc0u-agx4

A good read

[Arzosah]

Welcome to the forum, Philip, you're spot on that we advise people to start small and carry on from there. Those sorts of preps are amazingly useful in the bigger events too, as has been said.

Flooding is increasing, I think, in the UK - if you wanted to get away from the immediate area, how would you do that? Are you sure that that route is above water (hint: I've just been playing with an elevation finder, it's quite fun ).

How far away do you work, from your house? What's the terrain like, if you had to get home in a hurry?

Do you have a bit of money at home in case your bank and credit card are down? Enough for a taxi, a small shop, that kind of thing?

One of my bugbears is railway crashes of toxic goods - I researched it in relation to the town where I live, and found that although its a really busy rail line, over 95% of the traffic is passengers, so not really a problem for me.

Don't ignore official advice either, even if you want to do more: check out your local resilience forum, the Met Office advice and even what your insurance company and the fire brigade want you to do, or would like you to do. Though Yorkshire Andy, who's already posted on your thread, is incredibly knowledgeable about fire and a lot, lot else.

[jennyjj01]

well I have had a long interest in prepping but never really took any action.

But recent events have worried my wife into stocking up on a few items and I think it would be prudent to have a plan in place.

the avdvice from the form post I have seen seems to be start small and thats what im going to do. we have sarted to build some stocks of tinned food and plan to build a small emergancy pantry.

also I stared to put together a power cut box with a few torches/camping laterns with some spare batteries together with a few candels and means to light them. Anything else I need?

After that the next thing t look at is "what if the water supply gets cut off" for that I was thinking about rain water collection and purification.

anything else I should be considering to start with

Hi and Welcome.
It sounds like you've hit the ground running. Set your own pace. Develop your plans as you progress. Be realistic. A weeks worth of food is a good start. Then a month, then a year

Same advice I always give is to envisage some realistic scenarios and do your preps to give max bang for your buck and max flexibility. E.g. A well stocked pantry and £1000 in the house safe is handy in case of civil unrest, job loss, pandemic, fire, flood etc, but a tent is only good for camping.
Don't try to prep for everything, in that if an asteroid strikes or a nuclear war breaks out, we are all up the creek anyway.

Build reserves by all means, but give thought to your mental preparedness in case you find yourself all stocked up but neighbours, family or looters come a knocking.
Having food isn't everything. A stash of cash, a spare credit card, maybe even a few sovereigns might be useful in some unthinkable situations.
Consider what would happen if you lost Electricity for a few weeks? or lost Internet? or what if ALL the shops closed, or heaven forbid if Deliveroo stopped delivering

We don't talk weapons here, but a few here have the means to kill a rabbit or woodpigeon. Some of us also think home security and fit better locks or lights in case of civil unrest, which is a common concern here. Do you know how insecure Eurolocks are? Search the forum for the full horror.

Just aspire to have a head start over your neighbours and others. Try to prepare mentally for a time when your neighbours are hungry enough to eat you and you may need to repel them Best you prep discreetly as most of us do.

Water: Dead cheap at Aldi in 2L bottles. If you have storage space, worth having a stash, though losing water in the UK shouldnt be an issue. A couple of Sawyer Water straws and a pack of purifying tablets won't cost much, then all water is potable.

Then for food, use common sense. Balance carbs and flavour and eatability. Try to adapt your staple diet now so as to be able to rotate your stock. Evaluate things like for like on price per kilo or price per calorie. E.g. compare canned chicken, luncheon meat, fish etc on value for money per KG. and compare rice/pasta/powdered spuds on price per Cal.

Some say 'stock what you eat' and there is some value in that, but I flip that on its head and 'eat what i stock'. If that means I need to know how to get the family to eat rice or jackfruit, then so be it.

Don't buy rubbish because it's the cheapest. And sample what you buy. The Pandemic lockdowns were a great dress rehearsal. Some of us realised we did not have enough powdered milk and Yorkshire Andy realised he needed another Torch

And don't go nuts buying things like Mountain House freeze dried ration packs. Stupidly expensive compared to pot noodles and Tesco dried ready meals.
Buy some Broad Sharpie marker pens and use them to write expiry dates on food in big visible writing. Eases stock rotation.
Soon you might see value in getting a few prep tools such as a camping stove or dehydrator or vacuum food sealer. Plenty of advice on this forum.

Here's an old food list of mine. See if it reminds you of any gaps
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=15975&p=182262&hil ... st#p182257
and another list of food and what to buy extra of.
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=16949&p=195737&hil ... ge#p195737

Now..... I the spirit of sharing, Please don't be shy here. We all learn from eachother, so let us know how you progress. You may inspire others with your observations and new perspective.

[jansman]

Welcome to the forum. Oh yes,what they all said^^^

[pseudonym]

Hello and welcome to the Forum.

[GillyBee]

Welcome. Wot they all said!