Hello everyone.

I want to start this by saying I am naturally Type C. The least organised woman about.

I have a three year old son and lately have started to worry that if something happened that caused a big disruption, I would be screwed. I’ve seen somethings written in here lately and government warnings and thought I should try to get some things in order.

This is what I have…

Tinned food- enough for 3 days and buying more all the time.
A gas canister and a decent BBQ.
1 bottle of water (I know I need water and I’m going tomorrow but how much? And how long can I keep shop bought 5L bottles? Sorry if that’s daft.)
First aid kit although not sure I could do much with it tbh. Paracetamol. Ibuprofen.
Extra medication for my son.
Blankets/clothes.
Bleach and anti bacterial wipes.
Batteries

Don’t have a radio or power banks yet.

Thank you for your help. Sorry if it’s been asked.

A thought for anyone tempted to buy a big survival knife for their prepping kit. Why not invest in tools you'll actually use and enjoy in everyday life?

A good hori hori is brilliant for gardening, digging, planting and all sorts of outdoor jobs. A decent set of kitchen knives makes preparing food a pleasure rather than a chore.

I've had both of these for around 10 years, and they've given me a lot of joy over that time. They're tools I genuinely use and appreciate, rather than things sitting in a cupboard waiting for an emergency.

My two recommendations:

🌱 Niwaki Hori Hori: https://www.niwaki.com/hori-hori/#NHH

🍅 Opinel Olive Wood Kitchen Knife Set: https://www.opinel.com/en-gb/couteaux-de-cuisine/les-essentiels-du-cuisinier/olive-4-essentials-knives-box-set

Preparedness doesn't have to mean buying kit for an imaginary apocalypse. Sometimes it's about investing in good tools, learning practical skills and getting more enjoyment out of ordinary life now.

And if you never need them in an emergency? You've still had 10 years of good use and enjoyment out of them.

My prepping list:

Log store = full (our house os heated by log burner and infrared heaters.

Jackery powerbanks (x2) = purchased and charged, with solar panel in wait.

Clothing, blankets etc = ridiculous amounts of through home includng thermal sleeping bags.

Homegrown food- fair proportion of fruit and veggies home grown, but not a lot happening this time of year.

My shortcomings (that I can think of)

Food = currently at standard weekly shop level. This needs to be improved,

Water= hmmmmm. How do we store good quantities of drinking water? Many bought bottles or?

I was looking at buying 1 or 2 1000litre IBC tanks, but I know this won't be drinkable- would be good for washing etc.

Any tips/advice gladly welcomed

Thank you

So acutely aware of the thread I’m posting in, I’m anticipating the responses here. However I’m seeing a few converging threads globally that indicate something is coming and want to get your views on how soon and how big. The threads to support (any more?)

1. Obviously the UK government urging people to prep is the biggest one. If the govt does this you listen
   
2. The emergency services broadcast testing
   
3. Billionaires building bunkers
   
4. AIs going rogue

I saw another comment where it was suggested to fill empty water bottles with tap water to store. Would this option work and how long would it last once bottled with tap water?

Did we get a prepping leaflet/booklet?

I don’t remember one

I live in Central London, south of the river. If the river floods my house is under water.

My husband made fun of me ten years ago when I said I wanted to store an inflatable boat in the loft with an axe to cut through the roof if we needed to get out. Oh the hilarity from him at my expense. Well…

Any way. I’m thinking about meeting places for my family should we be split up or out and about of emergency strikes and comms are down.

Obviously home is number one but what if we can’t get back because our neighbourhood is under water or inaccessible.

Our local landmarks - Tower Bridge, my kid’s school, our local restaurant, friends homes would all likely be inaccessible in the case of flooding.

We would need public transport to get and sat nav to get to other places in our family’s mosaic of places we frequent eg Blackheath. But my kids (13 and 17) wouldn’t be able to navigate that without sat nav.

Thoughts on where a family meeting point plan B could be?

Edit: Thanks everyone. Ive read all your comments and I'm very grateful for the responses. Its reassuring to read that many of you store these in the house. I will dial down my panic alarm...

Hi all, I live in a large urban area and recently got into prepping. Last year we had a number of short power cuts so I figured with all the government advice best to prepare. Because I only have electric means to cook for my kids, I thought a gas stove would be handy if we ever had a large enough power failure.

I bought Campingaz stove, which I read was the most reliable, and have about 8 Campingaz canisters. I now dont know where to store these. Ideally, I want to store and forget and really only use for absolute emergencies... I have a small south west facing terrace. Does that classify as a safe outdoor space to store or do I now need to take these canisters to the dump? In the summer, the terrace gets sunshine all day long. What measures would I need to take with these canisters to keep safe them safe?

Im probably too late into the prep game.

I have no land, live in a council flat with a small family, i have nowhere near enough food/ water to last 30 days. I also haven't got the biggest budget.

Needing advice on pretty much everything 😂.

Ive seen different 'off grid'/'survival' books, are these even worth it? (Ive not read any)

Ive been looking into solar generators and solar off grid living but it seems to be way out of price range; is there any cheaper alternatives/other ways of generating electric without a huge cost?

Cam I creat electricity with fire?

Ive also been looking at water collection and storage but seeing so many different things about sterilisation and filtering; could I use tiny amounts of un-scented bleach to kill bacteria/algea? Aswell as plastic being unsuitable for storage due to chemicals getting into water. Is this the case with all plastic? Or will 1000l water tanks be fine?

Are cranked radios worth it? If so what brands are best

Im wanting to get as much as possible before we start losing power grids. I know i can't rely on diesel/fuel.

Any recommendations for good quality radios? Wind up, solar, rechargeable... the more the better.

We just got one from Amazon and it doesn't work properly, it can't find radio stations.

Thank you!

We have bottled water for drinking/cooking (will get more). We've installed 2 connected 200 litre water butts recently, first one is less than ⅓ full. We've got a few new plastic 'jerry cans' that I want to fill from the tap - it will just be for flushing toilet etc... until water butts are full.

How do you keep water, that isn't bottled, from getting slimy for lack of a better term. While it doesn't have to be safe for consumption, we don't want it going 'off' and things growing in it either! I will be looking into something for the water butts to keep them clean*ish* would you use the same stuff for these small containers?

what red flags are you looking out for where you think uh-oh this is it, and you’d start getting ready for something bad?

obviously we are being told by the government to prep due to El Niño but of course there’s Russia and Iran.

so what red flags in the news etc would get you thinking yeh oh something is coming so let’s sort last minute bits and hunker down?

the Fairfield business was one…

Just watched station eleven recently, what else should we be watching!

EDIT: it’s £0.99

In light of recent events.. I managed to get the book for free on Kindle, not sure why but for anyone that has a Kindle you might as well have a look and see if it’s the same for you 👍

My household is pretty well prepared for weather events, power outages and the ‘standard stuff’ we’d face in UK and Ireland.

Recent murmurings of this plague-in-Russia situation have me catching myself on a bit about hitting the panic button any time something hits the news. But it has lead me to wonder what best to do to prep for a situation such as that? The plague is a far stretch from what we experienced 6 years ago, but I don’t really know what else I’d do to keep my household safe bar wrapping my house in clingfilm like something out of Cloverfield.

I’d value any thoughts or advice from the more experienced preppers on here. I want to always be prepared, and never afraid.

Thanks in advance.

I don’t have a lot of savings to spend on a battery unfortunately. I know I need something that I can recharge using solar power although I’m unsure how long it would take to recharge here in the UK wintertime!
Is it worth it? Which one have you got and why? What would you recommend for under £300 including solar panels.
Thank you in advance.

Hey everyone, I’m a UK student doing my final project for DT (no I’m not a bot)
I’m trying to create a powerless radio based on the crystal radio model and make it applicable in a disaster. I just need to gather info on the target market. If anyone could fill in the google doc or ask any questions about the project that would be great!

Thank you

Hi, so I’ve noticed a trend recently in supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl (where I normally do my shop) that the fruit and veg doesn’t last more than a couple days. Same with Asda, but atleast at M&S you’ve got a quality check you can rely on before it hits the shelves - at a cost, which is the pivotal point of this post.

Do you choose to save at the checkout by bagging them from “free range” section in the middle of the aisle so can choose which one (x2 red and x1 green I think we’ll all agree) and compromise on the shelf life, or do you compromise on the selection (red, green and…. Yellow) to get the plastic wrapped-three-in-a-pack for approx. 40p more?

Hi can anyone recommend AA and AAA batteries that come sealed in plastic to protect from damp, with a long shelf life to live in my go bag?

Thinking Lithium

Thanks all