Hi guys :)
What a rotten last few days eh?
We had two powercuts yesterday, one at midnight, lasting until 2:30am and we got home from Leeds to another at about 6:30pm lasting until about 8pm, so really only a few hours, but as they were both when it was dark outside it left me feeling really glad we had filled the flasks and had candles in the house!
Amazingly our house didn't suffer much damage apart fro the power cut, another fence has fallen down, this time on the other side, not the one that had just been fixed (i would NOT have been happy!) and the wheelie bins decided they would like to go on an outing to the bottom of the garden, but that's it, thank goodness.
The whole village has had rather a few broken fences, felled trees and lost roof tiles, but i don't think anyone has been hurt. As we are on a hill we are lucky we haven't been flooded out, unlike the poor souls in Cumbria
The whole village has had rather a few broken fences, felled trees and lost roof tiles, but i don't think anyone has been hurt. As we are on a hill we are lucky we haven't been flooded out, unlike the poor souls in Cumbria
I've made a Pinterest board with general hints and tips on preparing for emergencies etc, most of it is common sense stuff, but handy to know :) So feel free to pop over and have a look
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I am very much a "prepper"
I hate not having something in the house when it is so easy to quickly pick them up on a shopping trip, slowly building up a store so you know you have it there when needed.
I've also made us a little "Emergency kit" this is the first of many that i shall be making over the next few weeks, with various things added such as more candles, torches, solar lights, dried food packet such as Super noodles,pot noodles, cup a soups, mug shots etc
This is the "Drinks" kit, it is filled with tea-bags, coffee mate, dried milk powder, sugar, tea lights, a lighter and some of those "all in one" coffee packets, they were from pound-land, and they actually taste quite nice, and you get a good amount in the pack :)
It all fits quite nicely in the tub, i shall be adding matches to this tub when we next go shopping. I've also added a few Oxo cubes, in case we fancy a change of drink, and i shall be looking for others such as hot chocolate etc
We also have a corded phone, so we can call out in emergencies, and check up on family and friends
Do any of you prepare?
We don't have much choice as we live in a place that loses power quite a lot in winter, according to the locals, due to the high winds.
The thing we didn't bank on was having no heating after the power was restored, for some reason we had hot water but the central heating wasn't working, so we went to bed with hot water bottles and plenty of layers of clothes and blankets.
A phone call from the gas engineer came this morning, and it turned out there is a button you have to press on the thermostat to tell the boiler to fire up, as it's electric it went back to it's usual setting once power was restored, so that's one thing we will have to remember next time haha :)
So, do any of you have any tips? Or ideas on what else to put in an emergency power cut kit?
We also have a corded phone, so we can call out in emergencies, and check up on family and friends
Do any of you prepare?
We don't have much choice as we live in a place that loses power quite a lot in winter, according to the locals, due to the high winds.
The thing we didn't bank on was having no heating after the power was restored, for some reason we had hot water but the central heating wasn't working, so we went to bed with hot water bottles and plenty of layers of clothes and blankets.
A phone call from the gas engineer came this morning, and it turned out there is a button you have to press on the thermostat to tell the boiler to fire up, as it's electric it went back to it's usual setting once power was restored, so that's one thing we will have to remember next time haha :)
So, do any of you have any tips? Or ideas on what else to put in an emergency power cut kit?
We have had several powercuts here in Cheltenham since moving here, but there are always candles around, love your little kit, great idea, x
ReplyDeleteThis is most definitely an "emergency kit" haha you wouldn't want to meet me if i don't have coffee ;) xx
DeleteI would add a small first aid kit to your box, also a pack of cards, something else to consider is with most of us having mobile phones, we use them to store contacts numbers but when they go flat you cant access contacts keep them in a little note book in your box, I have been a prepper for years touch wood I have never had to use preps :-)
ReplyDeleteI do have a first aid kit, but it's in my bag that goes everywhere with me, but i think there a few more things that need to be added, such as more bandages etc
DeleteI never have credit on my phone, and it's slowly dying on me so i actually made copies of all of my numbers the other day haha :) great minds think alike ;) xx
As we have gas as well as electricity and the gas supply can't be cut as easily as electricity, we are fine as although we have an electric oven we have a gas hob and so can make meals on the hob. I always try and leave the kettle filled with water in case water is cut off, but that really is a rarity, but some home were without water for a while in Plymouth last week because of a burst water main. I always have things like plasters and cough mixture and paracetalmol to hand, and keep candles where I know I can find them - I have a gas hob clicker so don't need matches - and a torch in the bedroom. In the case of power cuts, of which we've had several courtesy of Western Power Distribution (or non-distribution as the case may be) neighbours tend to congregate in our Close, asking things like "who is off?" because there are different circuits and not all go off at the same time, or "who has phoned up Western Power?" so that can be quite entertaining - who needs TV!
ReplyDeleteMargaret P
We have a gas cooker but sadly not connected yet as we can't afford it :( which is why i am buying a lot of dried easy to prepare foods for now until we can afford it. I love the sound of everyone congregating, sadly here it is waaayyy too cold to do that haha :)
DeleteI have a few pop bottles full of water in a cupboard, and i have some milk cartons in the freezer, which helps keep things cool in a power cut :) xx
Our son and his partner need a new oven and so we're contributing towards that as their Christmas present, but they say that it will cost £80 for it to be fitted! This seems par for the course these days, sadly.
DeleteMargaret P
Yep. Thats exactly what we got quoted :( extortionate for what is essentially a 10 minute job xx
DeleteThree years ago we we're cut off with no electric for over a week at Christmas, so we saved and have just had a wood burning oven fitted. Now if it goes off and we can't get out because of snow, etc we will be warm and can cook - Yay! That was the worst Christmas.
ReplyDeleteoh goodness! that must have been awful :( i wish we could have a woodburner :( sadly our house is rented so there is no way our housing association would let us have one, but on the up-side, we get repairs done free if it isn't our fault, otherwise we wouldn't be able to afford at the moment on our income
DeleteI think i discovered why it isn't showing up that you are following me, when you follow via google friend connect, you get the option to follow publicly or privately, so you maybe clicked privately instead :) xx