I hear ya! in terms of being rubbed the wrong way I know exactly where you’re coming from🤐😅 ! 

Hey Barb Well done on taking your own steps. I always have great admiration for those who have to bug out with  large animals just thinking back to my own childhood and my sisters horse who would happily walk into a horse box but not a towing trailer!  Are there other more local resources for your area than just Red Cross? Although I was amazed at how basic my local government guidance was! 

Lol Jonnie  I understand where you’re coming from – I really cba with discord! I have enough IT systems to get my head around I think my poor GenX brain has gone on strike – just another drain on my already limited time. Every now and then I’ll pop on here to see if there’s anything new but that’s it really and not as often as I used to – the forum was a great space to learn from others experiences 

‘He said the law prohibits people from upgrading their windows to modern, heat insulating models’ Lol that makes it sound really bad – I suspect his home is subject to a preservation order or is a listed building (ie of historic significance)  The reality of living in such a property doesn’t quite match the portrayal of a hallmark movie.  I suspect the people ‘lying in the streets’ he referred to are the protest group ‘insulate Britain’ who have blocked roads in the past to raise awareness of the issue.  If he’s loosing that much heat he’d be as well focusing on ‘heating the person not the room’ or prioritising which rooms he heats especially if electricity prices are rising again in January.  Edited: to show the part of Hardened’s comment I was replying to 

I suspect it sounds more organised than it is! The reason for separation of categories was really to be able to see where my gaps are.  For example, once I’d got my 2 weeks supply organised I decided to prioritise my car kit as I was travelling for work to quite remote areas. I was able to use the list to see what items I thought would be useful to have and then use that to repurpose items I already had like a spare fleece blanket and a water bottle. I could then prioritise the other items, as it was summer I wasn’t likely to need traction boards so they were at the end of the list.  It’s not so much about focusing on 1 particular area more about identifying the easy wins and I admit I haven’t stuck to the order as if I see an item on the list at a good offer price I might just get that instead as in the long run it will save me money. 

Hi Forager I use my own spreadsheet that I refer to as ‘The List’ for items I think I need for prepping.  I built it based on recommendations from this site for items I considered it was probably a good idea to have.  The List is divided into categories (eg home, first aid, car, get home back etc) the items for each category are then listed in order of priority and a £ listed against it.  The idea was originally to have a weekly budget that I could spend on prepping and the items were split into weeks according to the cost. In other words if something could be purchased for less than the weekly budget I get to use the change to pick up additional small items or I could carry it forward towards a week when I was saving up for a more expensive item!  It’s not as complicated as it sounds – write a list of things you want – assign them a priority – re-write the list in priority order!  I’ve completed my car kit which was a big priority for me as I now drive further for work and with more risk of getting stuck! Currently working on my GHB/BOB and then I’ll work through beefing up the first aid kit. My plan was to have a reasonable baseline of consumables then focus on ‘buy once’ items. My next plan is to work on the gaps in my knowledge but at the moment I don’t have a ton of free time to get good consolidated learning in. 

Sometimes with large entities it can feel like such a slog to get any kind of progress can’t it? it’s frustrating! Hopefully if enough people feedback you can make progress at the next event (and hopefully that is also a training scenario!) 

Hi Alicia thanks for sharing your experiences! Interesting to hear you did use your own personal plan re contacting your husband. Although you mentioned that you felt this was a missed opportunity I think you’ve got great feedback there to return on outcome of the exercise could the route to the assembly point be way marked to make it clearer if it’s not intuitive? Exactly how are you going to try and check-in with people who are working from home? Do you need to? Do you assume those WAH are ok unless you hear otherwise? Or do you assume they’re not until you hear from them given the possible communication issues?  Where each building is assembling in the same space could numbered spaces be allocated (or coloured zones). We had something like this at high school each register class had a number I also think it is worth asking management to think about what does happen afterwards, like you say if your not allowed back in for your car keys you’re going to want to take them every time you leave your desk – how long are you going to have to wait for the parking lot to be inspected – etc this may have a bearing on what else should be planned for!  The point of these exercises is not just to practice but to improve things – if you do submit your feedback it would be interesting to see if things improve for the next practice run!

Hi Henry  welcome and well done on taking steps towards being prepared! my advice would be read through the beginners guide (if you haven’t already) then the guides on water filters. Can you trust a handheld water filter – well that’s going to depend on what your water source is and what the contamination is! For example I have a stream near my house that runs on my neighbors property! Great 😁 (was my initial reaction) then having explored a bit more I realised this runs alongside the road for about 1/4 mile and the road drains into it so now I’m no longer thinking ‘fresh water’ but ‘diesel/tyre dust/motor oil’ now I’m fairly certain my handheld filters are not going to get these contaminants out so would I risk drinking it even if filtered? No. Would I use a bucket of this to flush my toilet if my water supply was interrupted? Yes. Would I drink the filtered water if I sourced it from further up stream before it was road contaminated? Yes So think about what your risks are; then what the equipment limitations are; then make a plan; then PRACTICE! Given that you’ve identified hurricanes and floods I would also suggest reading Lessons from Katrina  when you have time – it’s a long read but may give you some insights – the author bugged out not in so not helpful for dealing with the aftermath but has some useful tips gained from loved experience Good luck! 

I can’t read the article but I think we have lost the skill of knowing when food is past its best and so people have come to rely on the dates. Some people are obsessed by it and won’t eat something past it’s best before others are less risk adverse. Personally this is how I read them: ‘Use by’ for fresh products – if it’s beyond this by more than a day be wary! ‘Best before’ for shelf stable foods – it’s going to be past its best – taste and texture may not be as good – but it’s probably still usable, for instance I was date checking my pantry and found 3 tins of carrots that were a month or so out of date (we don’t tend to eat tinned veg but keep for ‘emergency’) tins weren’t showing any issues so I used them in the soup I was making and will replace when I’m next at the shop. I admit though I grew up before these dates were really a thing and we would often be asked by grandparents to touch, smell and taste (usually milk) to see if things were off but I realise my teen locust’s probably don’t share this skill because the way we buy food now is greatly changed from when I was growing up. My grandmother always used to say ‘if in doubt, cast out’! 

If you want to keep your account open but don’t trust yourself not to spend on the card – put the card in a plastic tub fill with water and freeze it – that way if you need to use the card you still have it but your going to want to REALLY need it! (Tip from a money saving forum – obvs you need to not have the details stored on your devices)

At the risk of sounding really old fashioned – could you just use a jug and bowl or put the plug in the sink? I realise the best advice is to use running water but in this situation that’s probably what I would do to conserve as much water as possible. Although I suppose it does depend what you’ve been handling in which case having a second pair of hands or as you say a pump dispenser may well be the order of the day!!

There are lots of lists out there but I would say point out that kids develop at different  speeds. Something one can do at 5 another may not master until they’re 8. I trust that my kids would not play matches or lighters but there were others they’re in school with who I wouldn’t trust.  You are the expert in what your child can manage/understand. Think about skills you want them to have and start working towards teaching them. If it’s something you don’t know you can learn together.  Scouts is a good place for them to learn alongside peers if this is an option.  Resilience is the ability to adapt quickly to changing situations. I think this comes from allowing children to build confidence by allowing them to navigate risks and learn from mistakes.  Encourage a growth mindset so they see failing as an opportunity to learn and grow rather than an ‘I’m useless I’m not even going to try’ mentality.  Confidence comes from familiarity; help children to practice skills starting with simple things and build complexity as they gain confidence. For example if your cooking, get them to fetch ingredients and measure for you, when they are confident doing this, get them peeling vegetables and then chopping. When you’re confident they can do so safely start teaching them to use the cooker/oven etc, progress to using a grill/camp stove/fire. When you’re going a trip get them looking at maps and reading road signs etc. Think about your own plans, do they know how to get to your designated meeting points? Without you? Can they use a phone to call your designated contact? My kids were taught to use a pay phone in pre-school. Things don’t have to be scary unless you teach them this is only going to be something you do in a scary situation. 

Well that was not how I expected this post to pan out!! (There seems to be a lot of noise about banks at the moment in some places) I have always tried to keep some cash on hand but following the lead of a couple of forum members earlier in the year I increased what I keep. My theory is enough to fill the tank, buy a weeks worth of food and in a worst case scenario pay over the odds for accommodation should we ever need to evacuate!! I may need to adjust again due to inflation though.  On the subject of going cashless, in a previous life I was a cashier at that time (in the UK) cash was the only ‘legal tender’ – the definition of which was (basically) it could not be refused if offered in settlement of a debt! So if someone owed money and offered to settle by card/cheque/payment in kind they called all be refused but if the debtor offered to pay in cash it HAD to be accepted (although you didn’t have to give change if given too much 😅) – with all the talk of going cashless I’m wondering if this law will be changed or re-written (or if it has been already!!) 

’energy bills could increase ahead of the expected rise in October,‘ this isn’t really the case – it’s a bit misleading! The prices for DOMESTIC users will not go up until the price cap is reviewed in October, but the way it is calculated means it will go up. Direct debit is simply a payment system and companies have to give you written notice if they are planning to increase how much you pay each month (unless you’ve agreed to a variable DD). It’s not the prices being increased in August it’s potentially the payment (Sorry I’m being pedantic!) But yes we’re expecting bills to rise to ridiculous prices. A knock on effect of this is that as domestic fuel prices rise there is a increase demand on food banks as people try to balance their budgets. Some food banks in are concerned that they may run out of food if donations continue to decline as demand rises – I found this to be a warning bell for the coming months.

Absolutely we buy ‘working hands’ cream in bulk 😅! Teen 1 just started first job as a dishwasher – he is first learning the importance of skin care!