Newbie describing my initial steps

[jennyjj01]

Hi folks,
In the post trump era, I figured its time to start prepping.

What for? Well who knows, but with a comfortable bank balance and home, I didn't fear unemployment, so I figured on one general scenario: Economic collapse, followed by societal collapse. Loss of utilities and lots of unrest. Nearest I can compare with is power cuts in the UK in the 70's, civil war in Yugoslavia and current day Ukraiane. Clearly there would be a fantastic societal shock if the UK lost it's power grid or oil supplies for a month. Assume banks would close, currency, stock and shares would be iliquid, pensions etc would stop and all those folk who live from benefits payout to benefits payout or paycheck to paycheck would be screwed. MacDonalds and KFC closed down.

So, what to stockpile?

Well, I figured that , let's say a nuclear war kicked off somewhere in Asia, there would be panic buying here in the UK. Inevitably Tesco's etc would either run empty within a week, or stocks would be rationed. I Don't want to be in that queue. Also, anticipate petrol/ diesel/ calor gas suddenly being the new gold.

So, here's my thinking as a starting stash:-

Maintain near full petrol tank on my economical car and learn to drive super frugally.
Immediately buy:-
Camping stove and a BIG bottle of gas.
Lots of batteries, many rechargeable
Tray of clipper lighters,
A few water filter straws
A solar powered/windup radio
A few dozen tins of soup/ready meals/fruit cocktail
A few KG of powdered milk
Lots of calories, split between rice/pasta/dried potatoes/flour/sugar
A few dozen litres of bottled water. ( Long term, the filters would have to cover that need )
Several KG of coffee and tea ( Impossible to import )
Several litres of whiskey and beer. (Damn it. Need some morale)
A few KG of chocolate. ( Ditto )

So far, I've drawn up a spreadsheet where a key column is cost per 1000 calories and I've worked my early purchasing around that. Surprisingly, £1000 should buy me about a years essntial nourishment.

I looked at classic survival food like mountain house and thought, sod the 25 year shelf life, it's stupidly dear. My stuff should be good for a yaer and tinned stuff much longer. Best/Worst case scenario is I give it to a foodbank or risk the odd blown tin.

So far, key purchases have been fro Tesco smartprice and ASDA everyday value ranges. I've sampled before buying and so far have spent a few hundred pounds.
Here are a few key purchases...

Tesco Everyday Value Spaghetti 500G at 20p per pack

Tesco Bolognese Pasta Sauce Jar 500G at 75p a jar. lots of other flavours

ASDA Smart Price Instant Mashed Potato 120g at 28p per satchet

ASDA Smart Price Milk Chocolate Bar 100g bar for 30p

Tray of tins of corned beef

Lots of princes and smart price tinned fruit

Some assorted Tins of fish from Tesco's value ranges.

A few hundred bin bags from HomeBargain

Several dozen nice loo rolls from Makro

Good manual tin opener, obviously

I figure that from when the shops shut down, I could survive with an acceptably mixed diet based on the above.

I invite comments on my approach.

Storing and securing this in staccked banana boxes, but storage temperature and security is soon going to be an issue.

JJ

[pseudonym]

Hello and welcome to the Forum.

[Arzosah]

Sounds good to me!

Interesting that you raise driving frugally - I don't recall a discussion by preppers on that issue though I've seen it on moneysaving sites.

Agree on the importance of batteries - and leading on from that, making sure that your devices just have a few types of battery, not half a dozen. Don't forget the charger(s) either

It's not just a regional nuclear war, either - if we had another winter like 1962/63, you'd be glad of your supplies, or even a bad dose of winter flu in the family.

Good post!

[jennyjj01]

[Arzosah]

Not sure about the error notice, Jenny, but in any case your first ten posts will be sent into moderation, you won't be able to post directly - one of the mods (who are all volunteers) will be along at some stage - the people with their names in green.

Stay with it!


ETA - I can't remember the detail of joining protocols, but maybe even the moderated access has to be switched on manually? Don't know because its a big open forum, its often first port of call (it was for me) and there's a lot of stuff that the mods have to take care of behind the scenes ...

They'll sort it.

[jennyjj01]

Sounds good to me!

Interesting that you raise driving frugally - I don't recall a discussion by preppers on that issue though I've seen it on moneysaving sites.

Well, I guess it's not classic prepping advise, but if one of the first things to become unavailable is fuel for transport, then that last tank of fuel might be what gets you to the only Food distribution point that remains open, or to an alternative long term home. Having the last fuelled up car in your street is an enviable position. Being able to drive it 500 miles instead of 300 might mean life or death.
And yes, driving frugally now might save you some money towards today's stockpiling efforts.

[Arzosah]

It's not classic, but its incredibly important - the only reason I haven't blogged about it is that I'm not a driver right now. When you've got your ten posts (outside the New Members Section) under your belt, you could start a thread, like Mayesey starte a thread on home upgrades.

[XRS001]

Pearl barley is an excellent grain to stockpile as are oat groats.

Pearl barley because you can make barley water- a nutritious drink wicj can be flavoured with fresh strained fruit puree.

You can use it to thicken soups and add it to stews.

I also grow barley in the garden for the grain. Barley has changed little over the centuries unlike wheat. Barley is likely to be a climate resilient crop. It was grown in ancient Egypt.

Oat groats can be cooked over night or all day in a wide neck thermos if you are travelling cross country your carbs can be cooking in your back pack as you travel, or over night as you sleep..

[jennyjj01]

Pearl barley is an excellent grain to stockpile as are oat groats.

Pearl barley because you can make barley water- a nutritious drink wicj can be flavoured with fresh strained fruit puree.

You can use it to thicken soups and add it to stews.

I also grow barley in the garden for the grain. Barley has changed little over the centuries unlike wheat. Barley is likely to be a climate resilient crop. It was grown in ancient Egypt.

Oat groats can be cooked over night or all day in a wide neck thermos if you are travelling cross country your carbs can be cooking in your back pack as you travel, or over night as you sleep..

Thanks,
I have some couple of kg of pearl barley for broth making, but I tend to stash what I can use in my staple diet and modify the latter to assist that. I don't have the space nor the skill to grow meaningful quantities.
I don't even know what oat groats are, but I store porridge oats and you might like to look out my recipe for Staffs Oatcakes, A fantastic and simple bread substitute.
viewtopic.php?p=183026#p183026

[XRS001]

https://thesurvivalmom.com/oat-groats-how-to-use-them/