In the communities, both offline and online where I frequent, we preparedness minded folks seem to have a common statement that we’ve all heard far too often that drives us a tad bonkers.
“Well, I know where I’m coming to when the crap hits the fan!
You got more than enough.“
The reality, is that you have an individual who without possibly being aware, has stated that not only do they KNOW you have supplies for long term but that when things get difficult, they will be coming to your home with their hand held out. One of the many reasons why loads of preparedness folks no longer put pictures of their stockpiles up on social forums is because of this potential problem with being targeted by friends or family.
So, I’m going to give you the best advice I can give anyone and hope that you heed it and recognize that now while things are not as awful as they could be, you can make your stance very clear to those who are eye ballin’ your family’s supply. Don’t give out your family’s sustenance to those who chose not to prepare themselves!
Recently, I purchased XL bags and began filling them with items and I handed them out to my most immediate and trusted neighbors. Now, notice I didn’t say that I gave them out to all of my neighbors but the ones who I have a trusted relationship with. When I give these bags out to individuals, it’s prefaced with an expectation that it will open up the door a bit more to discuss the importance of being prepared for all situations, whether natural or manmade.
I would recommend that if you have had anyone visit your home, who has made any statement about planning to invade your home when times get tough, that you actually make these bags for them. These are not B.O.B.’s but rather just a random bag of mostly first aid supplies that I had extras of and decided to hand out. You can purchase a box of clear XL storage bags off Amazon and possibly other companies out there fairly easily.
Once you have made up your mind as to what items will be given away, make a phone call to whoever they are going to and set aside somewhere between 15-30 minutes to have a sit-down conversation with them. During this conversation, work hard to come across as kind but firm that this bag of items you are giving them is to start them on their own path to preparing for their own family. If at any point they attempt to guilt you for not being willing to “share” your supplies, you’ll need to firmly remind them that while you are family or close friends, it’s irresponsible of them to not prepare for their own needs. You are not being selfish by refusing to be nanny to any member of your family that refuses to prepare for all contingencies.
The only obligation we have as preparedness people is towards our own spouse and children, as well as our elderly parents. Beyond those individuals, I have no immediate need to provide food nor first aid supplies for. In the Western world we have allowed ourselves to be turned into nannies for everyone and this just isn’t feasible on so many levels.
Let me tell you about a tv series I came across years ago, that I’ve since forgotten the name of (sorries!) to help you understand why you need to develop a bit of a thick skin. In this series, they take a group of individuals who have been kept up for three days and then drop them in a dystopian environment where they will have to gather supplies and rely on their own abilities to survive. In one episode, a pregnant woman and a handful of children come begging at their gate. All they ask is for them to open their large gate, and please let them inside for food, water and security. The crew decides that to do so would reduce their already small food supply and require them to go out in search of replacements much sooner. However, they scavenge a couple of small food items and willingly give them to the pregnant woman and children through the open slats in a much smaller side gate.
When the woman and children seem to believe the people inside have left the viewing area, the woman makes a motion and out comes a handful of men with weapons, and they all walk past the gate and continue on their way down the road. You see, human emotion is an easily manipulated thing and there are those who would wish ill will upon you and those you love.
In another episode, a rag and bone man come calling at their gate and as a group have to decide whether or not they want to trust these individuals. To give you a visual, this group had five men, the one who was obviously the leader was boisterous and four who were dirty, tattooed and very muscular. The crew gathers and decides that half will relocate to a higher vantage point just in case, while the other half will go and barter with the sellers. During the bartering, the seller makes clear that he won’t allow anyone to attempt to steal or deceive him but that he brings them no ill will and just honestly seems like a nice guy. Of course, logic dictates that those big, tattooed men were the enforcers and would deal with anyone that didn’t make a fair trade with the seller or handle anyone who didn’t pay up.
So, you see, there are people who during difficult times will appear innocent but have dark intentions towards your family while those who might not be the most visually appealing are actually pretty tolerable to do business with. While I certainly won’t assume that your family or friends will have ill will towards you during difficult times, you will need to always be mindful for the sake of your family.
Ideally, everyone will want to have some extra supplies for the purpose of bartering or giving out while maintaining the presumption that you have very little supplies to begin with. I would actually recommend that if you have a fairly large stockpile, remove it from common areas of your home and set it up in a spare bedroom or at least underneath the bed area in storage bins. If you have supplies in your garage, either don’t bring people into your home through the garage or relocate supplies to your spare bedroom.
So, what supplies did I give out to my neighbors?
- An empty first aid bag
- Burn cream
- Adult & Children’s bandaids
- Sewing Kit
- Electrolyte Dehydration Powder
- Poison Ivy Salve
- Anti-Itch Cream
- A box of Monistat cream
- 2 bottles of hand sanitizer
- A gauze roll
- Non-stick pads and gauze pads
- A box of Pepto Bismal pills
- A mini medical tool kit (tweezers, scissors, flashlight, etc)
- A pair of full size medical scissors
- Saline Wash
- Petroleum Jelly
- Neosporin
A few other items you could toss into these bags would be things like lighters, a roll of toilet paper, baby wipes, small box of matches, zip ties of varying sizes, tea bags/coffee packs, socks, manuka honey bandages, bar soap, shoe/boot laces, dollar store batteries, toothbrush/toothpaste, duct tape and many other small items.
P.S. A special shout out to anyone who has a relative that passed along this article to them, because they care about you and want what’s best for you and your family. If at any point you find yourself needing direction, check out my main website where I tell you a bit about myself and my fees to serve you and your family.
Suburban & Rural Homesteading Today 