Prepping With Chuckles-Are You Ready For Winter?

As you all know, I've been a big believer in being ready for challenging situations. I'm not talking about nuclear warfare as frankly, if you don't have an underground bunker, you're pretty much screwed. I'm talking about being ready for six months of unexpected unemployment, being ready for pandemics and winter flu, being ready for prolonged storm damage and power cuts. 

In the UK we are carefully trying to open up shops and businesses while maintaining social distancing and using masks so a second wave is our big worry right now. I'm looking at what we can do NOW to get through the coming months of Covid 19. 

In my last post (which you can find here) https://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2020/07/prepping-with-chuckles-pandemic-planner.html I was looking at what I was doing NOW to get ready for winter or a second wave of Covid 19. This is a follow up post of what I've been doing since then. 

It might seem strange to be planning for winter but when the pandemic started, no amount of reassurance from the government stopped the panic buying from beginning. If a second wave hits or a bad flu comes in the winter, the panic buying could begin again so I urge you all to be ready for that. If you live in the UK a no deal brexit is probably coming into force at the end of December which again could spark a silly wave of panic buying. I suggest getting caught up with the essentials well before you need them.

FOOD/DRINK 
1) I mentioned that I was getting Asda food deliveries to the house. It's become easier to get slots online as queues ease at the supermarket. I'm moving to one big shop per month to restock and replace only what I use and a smaller shop halfway through each month just for the perishable essentials we run out of in between. I hope to set this up as recurring deliveries so I don't need to keep selecting the next date of delivery. 

2) Bread powder and bakery products were next on my list so I can get a bit of practice in now. Then I'll get a bigger supply of things like the bread powder (maybe more than one variety), flour, sugar, icing, marzipan, icing sugar and so on. I'll be using all my kitchen gadgets to make treats through the winter as we won't be venturing out.  

3) SimplyCook send me a box every month to make the base flavour of four meals (you add the fresh veg and meat yourself). I've very much enjoyed the ones I've made so far and I'll be getting them once a month right through winter to add to my freezer and cupboard stock. I can also pause the deliveries, and options are there for extra boxes and more frequent deliveries. It does the hard work for you by making the spice mixes, base flavours and curry pastes for you which means each meal is about 20 minutes to cook and so simple even I can do it. 

4) I'm now re-stocking my packet cup-a-soups so we have a nice winter supply, an extra jar or two of hot chocolate, replacing a few tins we used recently. Anything you use on a regular basis with good use by dates, from soup to dried pasta, it's a good idea to get a few extra in for winter just in case restrictions or outbreaks cause panic buying as winter gets nearer. 

MEDICINE
1) Cough sweets can often be overlooked in the rush to get cough bottles. My dad and I like Halls Soothers with the liquid centres so I've bought boxes of them online to store away in old chocolate boxes so we have them for now and for the winter.

2) Don't forget boxes of paper hankies if you use them! I got four boxes in last week to replace what I used over the summer with the hayfever! We do also has a couple of sets of actual fabric hankies too which go in the wash after use!

OTHER
1) Batteries & Bulbs. I use three different varieties-AA, AAA and D so I always have extra of these. It's a good idea to get things like watch batteries as you don't want to have to hike out in the cold winter just for a relacement! Think about what you need for clocks, alarm clocks, maybe a spare for a mobile phone, camera etc and get a few in now. Over the last few weeks I've also got in bulbs. I have LED spares for my lamps, the big energy saving ones for overhead lights, and a weird one for the light and fan in the bathroom.

2) I have three humidifiers in my bedroom as it always heats up in warm weather so I've made sure to stock up on a full shelf of the refills so I'm not caught short in winter, and the gel room fresheners I use throughout the house. I stocked them up over the summer and will restock one more time before the autumn kicks in!

3) Puzzle books. I've grabbed a few puzzle books with each Asda delivery. I like wordsearches, crosswords, those arrow-word things. My dad likes those suduko things. I'm getting a few extra in just for another option for winter entertainment and another potential lockdown. I'm also grabbing the odd magazine on different subjects that interest me so I can have a small supply there when I feel like reading them.

4) My gel and ballpoint pens arrived over the weekend, my correction fluid and craft glue are due this week, along with a few extra scrapbooks so I don't run out. This lets me do my scrapbooks and maybe start doing a bit more with my colouring books this winter!