Latest Test Results

A few weeks ago I had an issue with my bathroom leaking. Meant my shower was out so I had a chance to try living without one and to have a updated test run on my preps. It took longer than I anticipated to get the shower fixed, mainly down to the cost and availability of the plumber to do the work. So I had a longer test of my preps than anticipated which was all good.

I decided that I would go without anything from the shops during the test except for items for the kids such as milk. Not having a cow means that I’m stuck for milk if none is available at the shops and is the subject of much thought about what would happen after an event. More on this in another article.

So here I am several weeks later and I found that I managed to live. I’ve saved a fortune actually, partially because of the carrier bag tax, which meant when I went I would only carry what I could carry bag free. No more impulse buying which was one of my major spending habits. lived on what I had and used what I had on me. Cut down on mains gas by turning off the boiler and only used electrickery for work and for watching some DVDs at night. Whaat… That was fine as it was only a test…

Did fine, much better than last time but I did detect a few significant differences this time around.

1) It wasn’t fully winter but I found it was cold. I was able to wrap up at all times but I think my nose felt cold all the time except when I was snuggled up in bed. Rest of me was fine so I should really be looking for a hat for my nose. Balaclavas are OK but not for all day use. Too damn cold and it wasn’t even mid winter yet.

2) I ate well. I lived off pretty much the same things over the time but I don’t tend to get bored with what I eat so it wasn’t an issue. I was surprised how little I actually used and how little variety I chose. Stuck with the basics and it went well.

3) I missed hot water. A nice warm shower was the main thing I missed. I did miss hot water on tap but managed to make do without.

4) Not using electrickery meant I was reliant of battery power mainly. My rechargeable batteries didn’t fare too well with many that had been in storage failing. Luckily I had several Alkaline Batteries that I used and they saved the day. I see batteries as a major issue after an event. Need to do something in this area.

5) I only used the car when I had to for work and necessities. I could have done without it if it had been an event and I would still have had three quarters of a tank plus the 2 jerry cans available when I was finished.

6) Kept myself busy which helped with the warm and getting the house in order. Helped reduce the backlog of work plus I made some plans on what I needed to get ready.

7) I have plenty of toilet paper and kept the water going, keeping track of what I used. If it was real I would have used the chemical toilet until I had dug some holes. Not worth doing that just for a test. I’m going to prepare a composting toilet for the future and see if I can make it portable. Testing is going to be a bitch though. Toilet paper though I found I could do without and not find it too much of an issue. However, it is still a luxury as my bottom will testify.

All in all I found it went well. I identified the following areas that need work;

1) Batteries. What do I need and how do I store them correctly.
2) Hot water. How do I make this work. What can I do here?
3) Need to build a composting toilet. How can I test this without too much hassle?

Beside that I found it was fine. Of course that is just me, no kids involved this time. Next time I might try making it a camping trip in early spring and see how the kids do in the cold.