PowerSwitch

UK smart meter policy is not complete. DECC is publishing its proposed policies as consultations. They are all here , fill your boots. A few specific points on the proposals (which incidentally only apply to Gas & Electricity): Meters will have the ability to switch between credit and pre-pay ta...

This winter - my first at trying to revive a derelict coppice - my test area of ~ 1/2 an acre took me around 2 weeks to clear on my own with 3/4 of time being spent hacking up brash with a billhook. I piled up as much brash as I could to create habitat and corridors but as it's already rammed full o...

In a fit of extravagance I bought some Fjallraven trousers around 3 years ago (not sure of the model but they were around £70). An absolutely fantastic purchase, not only do they dry in record time - initially they come wax covered but (obviously) when you wash them that is gone unless you re-wax - ...

We're about to move and there's a bit of oil left in the tank so I've got a hand pump and was planning to fill up at least one 20L jerry can with it. Seems to burn OK in an oil lamp

@LastDrop congratulations on being mortgage free. If you already had a pension pot then I'd say convert into land, it's what I did anyway. If not and assuming that your worldview is inline with most on here then I'd echo a lot of the comments regarding buying certain asset types (tools, make your ho...

Useful, but there's a fair amount of log handling when you've finished cutting. http://flyingshavings.co.uk/2009/08/27/splitter/ shows the Buckingham woodstation. There are 3 sizes available at http://www.jocemetal.co.uk/page2.htm. Dearer than the oregon, but if you have lots of wood to deal with i...

Consider inviting colleagues along to help on the build, and learn. They can camp. Especially if it's not mid-winter. Cool, are you offering? :) Seriously we're full steam ahead with the planning app right now and I can't really allow myself to think we might actually pull this off until I get that...

My best advice if anyone was interested, would be to find a local club (go to the RSGB website) and pop along for a couple of evenings. Most clubs offer foundation license training and assessment, and the members are usually very forthcoming at getting newcomers going and into the hobby. My son and...

In fact I had a discussion with my mother a few months ago and she reminded me how concerned I was as a teenager and young adult about nuclear war back in the late 70s and early 80s I was at secondary school in the 80s and I clearly recall being considerably concerned about the same. War Games? Two...

I'll admit to having 'get 2 CBs' on my TFH list but it's way down the priority and will probably only happen if I happen to see one dirt cheap at a car boot. I did look briefly at Packet Radio as a serious alternative for long distance data sharing but it looked far to geeky and required too much ki...

Most important one is get rid of your TV. This is our 4th year without. We had quite a bit of pushback from the 2 eldest (they were 5 at the time) but it's OK now. With young kids it's a tad more challenging but we allow a few DVDs a week and occasionally we'll let them watch some iPlayer, e/g a Dr...

Thanks for The Empty Raincoat recommendations, added to reading list.

I'd echo most of the advice on this thread, basically slow down, de-clutter and reduce your 'needs'. I'm not there, yet, but I'm working towards at a rate where I can see definite year-on-year progress. Buying food in bulk is a no-brainer - check out approved foods for cheap, sell-by-date stuff - as...

I'll admit that I have to occasionally remind myself that we're already on The Long Descent and that I need to retain focus on longer term resilience goals. So, as per the OP, our 2012 reskilling/prep/todo list contains: - Get residential planning permission. Enough renting and moving house every 18...

We got a favourable response this week from the Shrops planning dept for our roundwood-frame-strawbale-but-in-a-town pre-planning application.

Does that count as prep?