New Member, where to go for information as a newbie?

[BenPatten]

Hi, I've just joined and am quite new to the concept of prepping, but it appeals to me more and more. I liven London and experiences of the pandemic and the various protests that we see here all the time are really making me think now about being prepared. I wouldn't say I'm at the stage of worrying about apocalypse, but survival in the face of the unpredictable seems to be getting very important. At least I think abut it every time I watch the news.

Do any more experienced amongst you have any suggestions for a newbie? Just thinking about what I can read on prepping, beyond what a Google search throws up.

Thanks, Ben.

[pseudonym]

Hello and welcome to the Forum.

First of all.... Breathe.

The fact that you are thinking of prepping has put you way ahead of most of the population.

[GillyBee]

Hi and Welcome!
Have a good look around the site. The basics tend to me the same to start for everyone. What would you need for you & yours to cope for 3 days without shops, electricity, gas, water? Do you have enough funds for family emergencies?
Once you have that sorted, you can move onto the more complex stuff and this short list will get you through a LOT of common UK problems without spending a fortune.

[Arzosah]

Welcome to the forum, Ben, I'm glad you've reached out and joined. I'm just seconding GillyBee's advice - food, water, utilities. The forum is divided into sections, and there's a lot in each. Just buy long life versions of what you normally eat - tins (savoury and sweet) dried (mostly fruit) a little camping stove to get yourself a hot drink. A way of keeping warm, at this time of year (I'm reminded of that very forcefully as today is the day I had my central heating fixed after 2 weeks on the blink ).

That's great that you're aware of how the pandemic affected you - there are a few issues on the horizon that *might* become problematic, it's as well to do some research now, when it's not desperate.

Whether or not you're a home-owner, have a look at what insurance companies recommend - that'll give you an idea of what the normal run of things is. And since you live in London, and the Thames is a big old river, check out the safety pages of the RNLI, I've just been having that conversation too.

[PPrep]

Welcome to the forum. There's little I can add to what has already been said; just take time to build up your preps and enjoy the journey! There are lots of videos on Youtube. It's best to follow UK people if you can; Americans like defensive tools which are illegal here, but they have great ideas all the same.

[jennyjj01]

Hi, I've just joined and am quite new to the concept of prepping, but it appeals to me more and more. I liven London and experiences of the pandemic and the various protests that we see here all the time are really making me think now about being prepared. I wouldn't say I'm at the stage of worrying about apocalypse, but survival in the face of the unpredictable seems to be getting very important. At least I think abut it every time I watch the news.

Do any more experienced amongst you have any suggestions for a newbie? Just thinking about what I can read on prepping, beyond what a Google search throws up.

Thanks, Ben.

Hi Ben and welcome from the NorthWest
I suggest you take steps that cover a multitude of scenarios. A weeks worth of groceries and a few hundred pounds under the bed will cover a fair variety.
Many of us prep for some sort of breakdown of society or inability to pop to the shops. Maybe loss of utilities, so you are sat at home in the cold with no heating, light, internet, phone, or cooking facilities.
Thus a stash of easy to prepare food, plus maybe a torch and a camping stove, is a good start.

A couple of useful lists : Swiss preparation advice 'shopping list calculator' https://www.notvorratsrechner.bwl.admin.ch/en

Maybe look at what a foodbank would supply to feed a couple for a week...
https://www.uk-preppers.co.uk/forum/vie ... hp?t=19197

Covid was our dress rehearsal, so think back to what made that easier to deal with.

Prepping is about buying time while our non-preping neighbours struggle and maybe even starve.

We do tend to keep our prepping discreet as a friend in need is a PITA

[Arzosah]

A couple of useful lists : Swiss preparation advice 'shopping list calculator' https://www.notvorratsrechner.bwl.admin.ch/en

This is a recent find by forum members, and its absolutely brilliant, fairly versatile in terms of numbers, and modern in terms of what to stock - gluten free, veggie, all that.

[korolev]

Welcome aboard.

As a start, identify places where you could store stuff (food/water etc). Behind kickboards in the kitchen, adding extra shelves at the top of cupboards, things like that.