Hello

New Members - Introduce yourself, and say a few words
Vega-J
Posts: 31
Joined: Sun May 22, 2022 7:05 pm

Hello

Post by Vega-J »

Hello. I thought it was about time I started to prep. Everything is going up in price and it's worrying. I have been looking through the forum but I'm unsure where to start. My partner and I grow a lot of our own food but no other prep. Any help would be appreciated :D
pseudonym
Posts: 4550
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:11 am
Location: East Midlands

Re: Hello

Post by pseudonym »

Hello and welcome to the Forum. :D
Two is one and one is none, but three is even better.
jennyjj01
Posts: 3429
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:09 pm

Re: Hello

Post by jennyjj01 »

Vega-J wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 7:11 pm Hello. I thought it was about time I started to prep. Everything is going up in price and it's worrying. I have been looking through the forum but I'm unsure where to start. My partner and I grow a lot of our own food but no other prep. Any help would be appreciated :D
Hi and welcome to the forum.

We each have our own way, depending on our own situations.

I'll message you my way... War and peace version...

Here's the TLDR version.
We need about 2,000 calories per person per day. So buy a mix of Rice, Pasta, Dried Mash, Oats, Flour, sugar/honey and cooking oil.
That can be super cheap base to your stockpile.

Then augment with flavours. Tinned tomatoes, Baked Beans, Casserole mixes, cooking sauces, stock cubes, herbs and spices etc.

Add in some ready to eat tinned meals and soups.

Add in some tinned meat and fish and some tinned or dried veg.

Augment with Tea/coffee/ Milk powder/Alcohol/Honey/Fruit/Jam

Then treat your stock pile as your grocers shop and treat your proper supermarket as your wholesaler. Thus rotating your reserves into your regular diet.
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
Vega-J
Posts: 31
Joined: Sun May 22, 2022 7:05 pm

Re: Hello

Post by Vega-J »

jennyjj01 wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 8:05 pm
Vega-J wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 7:11 pm Hello. I thought it was about time I started to prep. Everything is going up in price and it's worrying. I have been looking through the forum but I'm unsure where to start. My partner and I grow a lot of our own food but no other prep. Any help would be appreciated :D
Hi and welcome to the forum.

We each have our own way, depending on our own situations.

I'll message you my way... War and peace version...

Here's the TLDR version.
We need about 2,000 calories per person per day. So buy a mix of Rice, Pasta, Dried Mash, Oats, Flour, sugar/honey and cooking oil.
That can be super cheap base to your stockpile.

Then augment with flavours. Tinned tomatoes, Baked Beans, Casserole mixes, cooking sauces, stock cubes, herbs and spices etc.

Add in some ready to eat tinned meals and soups.

Add in some tinned meat and fish and some tinned or dried veg.

Augment with Tea/coffee/ Milk powder/Alcohol/Honey/Fruit/Jam

Then treat your stock pile as your grocers shop and treat your proper supermarket as your wholesaler. Thus rotating your reserves into your regular diet.

Thank you very much! That's the sort of answer I was looking for. Hopefully I will have enough time/money before next winter to get some preps ready. This inflation and the future energy price rise is worrying.
Arzosah
Posts: 6323
Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2012 4:20 pm

Re: Hello

Post by Arzosah »

Welcome to the forum, Vega - everything that Jenny's written is spot on, as usual. I'd add in ways to heat up that food - so, a little camping stove, and enough cartridges to last a few days - along with water - what if there's a burst water main and there's no water in the taps when you get home? - and a first aid kit - a burn in the kitchen, a pounding headache, foot blisters, an eye infection, all that sort of DIY first aid thing, there's a lot you can get in in advance.

It's great that you grow a lot of your own food! And really, just read through the forum headings at first, if you don't know where to start, whatever takes your fancy, and go from there.
jennyjj01
Posts: 3429
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:09 pm

Re: Hello

Post by jennyjj01 »

Vega-J wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 7:11 pm Hello. I thought it was about time I started to prep. Everything is going up in price and it's worrying. I have been looking through the forum but I'm unsure where to start. My partner and I grow a lot of our own food but no other prep. Any help would be appreciated :D
Hi again,
I hope you'll contribute to helping the useless gardeners amongst us :)
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
Frnc
Posts: 3182
Joined: Sat Mar 12, 2022 1:54 pm

Re: Hello

Post by Frnc »

Hi welcome to prepping, and the forum.

I have a kitchen cupboard and half a shelving unit for food. Most is stuff I normally buy that has a couple of years shelf life. When it gets near it's date I use it. I keep pasta, tins or plastic pots of tuna, oats, instant mash, baked beans, tinned tomatoes, stuff like that. You need carbs, protein and fat. Watch the date on oils, they don't last forever.

Other priorities are a decent first aid kit, torch(es), a bag of tealight candles, some containers of water. Water must be in food grade containers and you need to change it every 6 months to a year. Keep it covered with bin bags as light encourages mould or bacteria.

A camping stove and fuel is useful for if power or gas goes down. Gas cannister is the easiest type. You might want a camping pot to use with it, as a household one might be a bit big or unstable due to the handle. Of course if you ever needed to evacuate, these kinds of things come in handy for that as well. I use the back packing style cannisters and a small burner/stove that screws in the top of the cylinder. Most cylinders and stoves are universal, but make sure they are compatible (test one out). I think there is a bit of variation in canisters. They re-seal when you unscrew the stove. There are also different types of gas, but again, most are suitable. They use an Isobutane/Propane mix, eg Coleman Performance, MSR, Primus Power Gas. Soto (who make quality burners/stoves) say NEVER use 100% Propane. You can also get stoves that sit to the side and connect via a tube. These are a bit more stable. I use a plastic base with cannisters.

Another useful thing to have is plenty of warm clothing, in case of no power in winter.

Basic tools, gaffa/duct tape, paracord, sewing kit.

A bicycle can be useful if there's no petrol or your car isn't working.

Smoke alarms. Maybe also a carbon monoxide alarm near a boiler.
Frnc
Posts: 3182
Joined: Sat Mar 12, 2022 1:54 pm

Re: Hello

Post by Frnc »

Re first aid kits, St John's Ambulance do some good ones. You can buy them direct or on Amazon. I got the F30660 Small Zenith Workplace First Aid Kit BS 8599-1: 2019, which is about £25. There is a shelf life on some items eg sterile dressings, not on others. After a few years you can replace individual items.

As well of this I have:
Sterile saline solution eye wash pods, a bag of eye wash baths.
Box of plasters and tube of antiseptic for everyday cuts so I don't have to raid the main first aid kit.
Disposable gloves
Sterile wipes (alcohol and/or saline) (of course the first aid kit already has some)
ForgeCorvus
Posts: 3035
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2013 11:32 pm

Re: Hello

Post by ForgeCorvus »

First of all..... Breathe.

Now read stuff, theres loads on here
Ask questions, as the only stupid question is the one you don't ask.
Work out what problems you are most likely to have.
Decide how much time and money you can afford to put in.
Don't put together a 110lb backpack for spending three days squatting in the countryside :lol:
jennyjj01 wrote:"I'm not in the least bit worried because I'm prepared: Are you?"
Londonpreppy wrote: At its core all prepping is, is making sure you're not down to your last sheet of loo roll when you really need a poo.
"All Things Strive" Gd Tak 'Gar
jansman
Posts: 13623
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:16 pm

Re: Hello

Post by jansman »

Welcome. What they all said! Have you got a couple of torches and spare batteries? Do you have a portable radio and batteries? In a crisis,information is king,and the internet may not be working.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

Me.