New Swansea Member

New Members - Introduce yourself, and say a few words
CDT
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2021 9:51 pm

New Swansea Member

Post by CDT »

Hi all. Craig from Swansea. I've listened to loads of podcasts, watched a lot of videos online and done a good bit of reading into different shtf scenarios regarding prepping and finally decided that I am going to start taking prepping a bit more seriously.

Since Covid and the initial supermarket madness that ensued, I have started keeping a small stockpile of food and water (long term storage, eg, tinned foods, dried pasta, etc) which I keep a paper spreadsheet of to rotate dates (pointless on a laptop if you lose power), but I have recently been looking to start to take it a bit more seriously.

My partner is completely sceptical of prepping and still thinks preppers are people who run off to the woods in army gear eating 5 year old tins of spam every time there's a powercut. I've also started a small veg patch in the garden which the missus is happily getting involved with not realising that's all part of the prepping plan haha.

I am starting to look into some more power based preps now, a generator, solar, fuel storage, and may look to change my vehicle to something a bit more capable on different terrains.

I am a complete novice but look forward to reading up on topics here, speaking to all of you and hopefully build a good knowledge base with community of like minded people!
jennyjj01
Posts: 3429
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:09 pm

Re: New Swansea Member

Post by jennyjj01 »

Hi and welcome.

It's good to at least try to get your partner on board. So well done. Also a great start to consider what scenarios you are prepping for. There is no wrong way and no silly questions. Explain to your partner the difference between preppers, survivalists and hoarders, because the latter two give preppers a bad name.

Check out the new starters section and some of the various welcome messages for various introductory tips.

Just a quick comment on your stock rotation sheet: Until the SHTF, you'll be in rotation mode and using a laptop or a tablet will be really useful. Useful for all sorts of analysis, cost, calories, item location, recipes, substitution ideas, gap analysis etc. If/when SHTF, rotation won't be the priority and then it will be of less use.

I suggest using a big marker pen to write BBE dates on your stocks just for rotation purposes, so that they are instantly conspicuous... Not that we preppers worry about BBE dates. :D
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought

Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong
CDT
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2021 9:51 pm

Re: New Swansea Member

Post by CDT »

jennyjj01 wrote: Tue Jul 06, 2021 12:49 pm Hi and welcome.

It's good to at least try to get your partner on board. So well done. Also a great start to consider what scenarios you are prepping for. There is no wrong way and no silly questions. Explain to your partner the difference between preppers, survivalists and hoarders, because the latter two give preppers a bad name.

Check out the new starters section and some of the various welcome messages for various introductory tips.

Just a quick comment on your stock rotation sheet: Until the SHTF, you'll be in rotation mode and using a laptop or a tablet will be really useful. Useful for all sorts of analysis, cost, calories, item location, recipes, substitution ideas, gap analysis etc. If/when SHTF, rotation won't be the priority and then it will be of less use.

I suggest using a big marker pen to write BBE dates on your stocks just for rotation purposes, so that they are instantly conspicuous... Not that we preppers worry about BBE dates. :D
Thanks for the reply! I've tried explaining the differences but she just sees the word prepper and makes the incorrect judgement. She'll come round eventually!

As much as I think EMPs, wars, etc are always distant possibilities, my prepping is based mainly on an economic collapse and major disruptions to freight. No jobs are currently safe, things are constantly increasing in price, getting food here from abroad is starting to strain already, debt on both personal levels for people and as a country on the whole is getting out of control, and I genuinely think the bottom will fall out fairly soon.

Food and water for me are the main areas where I would want to be comfortable, followed by non grid reliant power. I can't see me needing to abandon home and bug out so this isn't something i've prepped for really.

Good shout on the big marker UBD for food 👍
Yorkshire Andy
Posts: 8735
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 4:06 pm

Re: New Swansea Member

Post by Yorkshire Andy »

Welcome from the guy sat wearing cammo pants in his lounge :lol: I live in them :lol: I've even got high vis
cargo yellow ones for work :mrgreen:


On the power front generators are noisy even the quiet ones in a shtf situation when it's dead quiet someone will hear it....


If you've got a driveway look into a pure sine wave inverter thatll give you an amount of mains power but you'll need to leave the car ticking over so either take the wheels off or invest in a decent wheel clamp so it doesn't go walkies


Also look into 12v adaptors for your a kit as a leisure battery / car battery can be used to charge

A decent solar panel of 80+ watts will keep a caravan battery topped up providing your sensible with it

Don't expect the mobile network to stay up in a long term power cut


A couple of decent usb power banks always come in handy

As too would a pile of rechargeable batteries I've got a charger that again will charge AA or AAA batteries in the car
If your roughing it, Your doing it wrong ;)

Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
Jerseyspud
Posts: 397
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2021 5:16 pm

Re: New Swansea Member

Post by Jerseyspud »

Hi from the person who has more food in her bedroom than her kitchen.... :tinfoil
when it comes to catastrophic events, we never know when the day before is the day before. So we prepare for tomorrow

Prepping on a small island
Jerseyspud
Posts: 397
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2021 5:16 pm

Re: New Swansea Member

Post by Jerseyspud »

As for all terrain cars, I drive an old s max and it happily drives round fields...
when it comes to catastrophic events, we never know when the day before is the day before. So we prepare for tomorrow

Prepping on a small island
Arzosah
Posts: 6323
Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2012 4:20 pm

Re: New Swansea Member

Post by Arzosah »

Welcome to the forum :)
CDT wrote: Tue Jul 06, 2021 4:56 pm I've tried explaining the differences but she just sees the word prepper and makes the incorrect judgement. She'll come round eventually!

As much as I think EMPs, wars, etc are always distant possibilities, my prepping is based mainly on an economic collapse and major disruptions to freight. No jobs are currently safe, things are constantly increasing in price, getting food here from abroad is starting to strain already, debt on both personal levels for people and as a country on the whole is getting out of control, and I genuinely think the bottom will fall out fairly soon.

Food and water for me are the main areas where I would want to be comfortable, followed by non grid reliant power. I can't see me needing to abandon home and bug out so this isn't something i've prepped for really.
Your partner knows *you*, and if you self identify as a prepper, and you don't do stuff like running off to the woods because of a power cut etc, she'll be much more reconciled to it. Hopefully :D
Yorkshire Andy
Posts: 8735
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 4:06 pm

Re: New Swansea Member

Post by Yorkshire Andy »

It took me a little while to get the now wife on board but it was a very slowly slowly catch the monkey method....

I've always camped everything from wild camping through to luxury camping with mains electricity fridge and heater :lol: so when I moved in my "camping gear" came with ;)

Ok camping = bugging out .... Nah... Alternative cooking stoves , extra sleeping materials to cover a bust boiler... Spare heater and lights cover that along with say a dodgey lighting circuit..

I put a fire blanket up in the kitchen .... She's a qualified chef...... "I've never had a kitchen fire" ... Famous last words within 6 months I was buying a new one having returned from work and she was on the phone to the fire service...... Electric chip pan decided to ignite it's contents whilst she was prepping dinner ... She recognised it over heating as the blue smoke started coming up as she turned it off it ignited took her seconds to smother it ... That gave me free range to increase fire safety in the house got a big compared to the average DIY shop multi foam extinguisher in the kitchen to cover most risks.. plus a big water mist extinguisher in the cupboard under the stairs .. by the front door lives a 2l foam and on the landing a small powder with a 3l foam in the bedroom...

When she was pregnant with little man we lost mains water... And she scrummed in Asda for bottled water. With that I put bottled water and such into stock ;) plus 2 25l barrels I empty and rotate several times a year...

First aid kit .... Well kids ... Injuries or illnesses.... Having stuff to hand usually pays off... We are currently in isolation pending little misses covid results... Calpol kids iboprophen (spl). Cough mixture.. thermometer .. you get the gist

Prepping for the small stuff soon starts covering or getting you well in gear for the bigger things...

Keep your eye on the news I was 2 days ahead of the big bog roll scramble of 2020 saw the Australian panic buying and grabbed extra stocks... Likewise the rumbling of pubs shutting I got enough beer In to preserve my sanity and some home brew kits :lol: . Did get caught by the meat shortage early doors. But whilst most were tutting at the lack of fresh meat farm foods freezers were brimming with frozen chicken / joints of meat and tins where as Tesco was stripped bare .. local farm shop 2 weeks before lock down had 50kg of spuds for £12 :lol:

So we had mash chips boiled and roast plus scollops with the flour I got from the local petrol station ..... Remember petrol stations are mini supermarkets too ;) buy a paper or pint of milk from your local corner shop every week chat with the staff get them to know you as when there's a shortage they do tend to look after the regulars....

We was one of many who took on the local milkman just before bit went bonkers he kept us in milk and bread throughout lockdown we get 6 pints a week at the moment it's not much for a family of 5... And a loaf of bread and a pint of fresh orange costs us about £35 a month but .... We have another supplier of fresh stuff ;) quick text message and we can change / add to our order ;)

The MIL binned him after we begged him to supply her during lockdown #1 as lockdown came off and he as good as told her to go forth and multiply When she tried to get him to back for #2 :lol:
If your roughing it, Your doing it wrong ;)

Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
CDT
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2021 9:51 pm

Re: New Swansea Member

Post by CDT »

Yorkshire Andy wrote: Tue Jul 06, 2021 5:44 pm Welcome from the guy sat wearing cammo pants in his lounge :lol: I live in them :lol: I've even got high vis
cargo yellow ones for work :mrgreen:


On the power front generators are noisy even the quiet ones in a shtf situation when it's dead quiet someone will hear it....


If you've got a driveway look into a pure sine wave inverter thatll give you an amount of mains power but you'll need to leave the car ticking over so either take the wheels off or invest in a decent wheel clamp so it doesn't go walkies


Also look into 12v adaptors for your a kit as a leisure battery / car battery can be used to charge

A decent solar panel of 80+ watts will keep a caravan battery topped up providing your sensible with it

Don't expect the mobile network to stay up in a long term power cut


A couple of decent usb power banks always come in handy

As too would a pile of rechargeable batteries I've got a charger that again will charge AA or AAA batteries in the car
I can't say much I have army surplus gear as my working on the car/working on the van/working on the house clothes.

Yeah i've got a draw full of powerbanks ha, can never have too many! I've got no experience with genrrators to be fair so solar/battert setup may be better!
CDT
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2021 9:51 pm

Re: New Swansea Member

Post by CDT »

Jerseyspud wrote: Tue Jul 06, 2021 8:07 pm As for all terrain cars, I drive an old s max and it happily drives round fields...
I have a Volvo V50 estate, which is super comfy but is really low slung and regularly bottoms out going down bumpy country lanes! I even managed to get beached in a bumpy lane taking a hedgehog to a rescue centre haha