I've been reading the forums for a week or so and I decided to sign up as I realised there are private sections that probably has "the good stuff" hidden from the general public. Not that the public sections aren't good, they are great! I've found a lot of useful information in them and links to good sites with loads of information. I reckon finding all the time to read all the info I have bookmarked by now will take me a few months
Most other sites are very US orientated and I like the fact this one is UK focused. Things are different here, the weather and gun & knife laws for starters. This means the way people prepare here is going to be different than in the US. Having an UK orientated forum to refer to is invaluable.I've only recently started prepping, mostly spurred by the financial situation in the world (I follow the alternative financial media quite diligently.) The thing that was the most difficult for me is to assimilate the vast amounts of information in very short time and to separate the nonsense from the good sense. I like doing things in a very systematic way so I sat down and made a spreadsheet for it all. The spreadsheet has numerous categories such as Water, Food, Shelter, Heat, Tools, Medicine, Todo, To Learn, etc. each in their own sheet. Related bits of info each goes onto their relevant sheet. Each sheet also has the equipment list relevant to that category. I also created a severity table that's based on the likeliness of an event happening. Level 1 is for a scenario where the electricity, gas and water supplies are cut. Level 2 is food and fuel shortage, Level 3 is more severe, etc. Each item in any equipment list is then assigned to a level. The level tells me what to focus on getting first and what to leave to last. For example: I believe a elec/gas/water disruption (Level 1) is more likely than a Food and Fuel shortage (Level 2) so anything assigned to Level 1 gets done before I start on Level 2 stuff (unless I see a bargain somewhere, I'm flexible.) I hope that makes sense? The important thing is that it makes sense to me. It breaks down everything into small easily managed tasks that ensures I prepare in a logical manner: most likely scenarios are covered first. It keeps me from feeling there's too much to be done or from worrying about what to do next or even from getting something I'll be unlikely to need before I get something I will very likely need.
Thanks for the valuable info collected here on these forums. I hope to contribute something when I can. My background is in IT and electricity and I work for Schneider Electric (3 phase UPS support), perhaps my knowledge can help with matters that involve electricity. My wife is a Chemical Engineer with a Masters degree and her specialty is in water purification, maybe I can provide some answers in regards to that too (I've talked at length to her about this subject.) She's not onboard with the whole prepping thing, but doesn't mind me going about it. I'm trying to get her into growing her own herbs, which she likes the idea of, so she'll soon be prepping without knowing it yet.
Aaaaaanyway, before I bore you all to sleep, I'll stop there
