People Who Might Bug-Out To Your Place After SHTF
I’ve touched upon this topic before. It’s time to do it again. A discussion about people who might ‘bug-out’ to your place after SHTF or TEOTWAWKI. It’s best to think about the topic before anything like this happens. To establish a thought-process and hopefully a plan.
“I’m the one with the farm, the river, the perceived endless cornucopia of abundance, and this is where they’ll head.”
“Have I invited anyone, and what are the conditions?”
“What resources do I have, and which am I willing to share?”
“What arrangements am I making/have I made, and for whom?”
~ said someone on the blog
Some of you won’t allow anyone in. Others of you will, with caveats. Each of us have our reasons. I take no sides in this potential argument because all of our situations are unique.
All of us who are ‘prepared’, preparedness-minded, some may call us ‘preppers’. Regardless, we all have a common potential problem. That is, more than likely, others know that we are prepared to one extent or another. I don’t care how much you’ve tried to keep your mouth shut about it, or stay ‘grey’ in this regard, others have a way of finding out.
So if and when the poop hits the fan, some of them (particularly if the situation is becoming desperate) may ‘bug-out’ to your place. Maybe you’ve invited them. Or maybe you didn’t. How in the world are you going to handle this situation?
I present a few considerations…
Extra Food To Feed Others After SHTF
As most of you know, it takes a significant amount of food (don’t forget water!) per person. We’re talking about a lot of calories. For example, one person may consume approximately 1 million calories per person per year. I’ve not defined the SHTF scenario or how long it may last, but if it’s really bad, it could be a long time. And that’s a lot of food calories (which is just one consideration – though exceedingly important).
Have you properly estimated how much food that you have in your long term storage? How many ‘survival days’ will that provide? What if you take in another person? Or two? Or more… Do you have enough extra? This will rapidly cut into your own food inventory. After doing some soul-searching, and if you feel that there’s a possibility that you might take in another specific person (or more) who bug-out to your place, you better prepare for those extra mouths to feed.
Personality and Character Traits Of Those Who May Come To Be Under Your Roof
Do you already know the person? I mean, do you really know their “true” personality and character traits? Even those who you do know, if they are suddenly living in your home environment, this WILL eventually (and maybe quickly) create issues.
Here’s another consideration. When there are more than one “A-type” personalities in a group, there WILL be even more issues. It could be quite challenging to maintain order and discipline, especially as time goes on.
What Might Other People Contribute Towards The Survivability Of The Group
Lets face it. Most people are lazy. Spoiled in today’s modern world. I certainly would not want to feed someone who cannot, or is not willing to contribute in some way to the overall survivability of the household as everyone works through whatever SHTF circumstances there may be.
From my perspective, I would make it exceedingly clear of the expectations of behavior and contribution, in return for ‘food and shelter’. It certainly would not be a ‘free ride’, so to speak. While I don’t have a tyrant gene, and I’m pretty much a nice guy, there would be rules and law-and-order. It would not be a democracy.
Good management skills would be really important in this scenario for whoever is the head of household – while maintaining the peace and utilizing others to the benefit of the group. Unfortunately, in my experience, most people are not good managers.
Establish The Rules
A simple set of common sense rules should be enough. No one wants to live under a tyrant, so keep it simple, clear, and understandable.
We’re talking about a scenario that’s pretty bad (SHTF), and the daily priorities will not be terribly complicated. Survival. Shelter, Water, Food, Security. Build some rules around these priority areas.
Schedules and Routines
It’s probably going to be a lot of work. Physical work. Build schedules and make routines that work for everyone. Things that compliment individual skills. Focus on each person’s attributes and assign ‘jobs’ and schedules that fit towards water, food, shelter, and security.
Handling Disputes
For certain, there will be some turmoil at times. That’s life. But how will it be handled? Some people are better than others at handling or mediating disputes. I can guarantee you that sooner or later there will be issues. When someone else is suddenly living under your roof, and if that person or persons (and you to an extent) are not willing to compromise here and there… it’s going to be difficult. This goes back to the topic of personality and character traits.
The Affects Of Taking Others In
The notion of taking in someone else under your (prepared) roof due to SHTF circumstances – is difficult at best. It’s a tough one. Some people will flat out never do it. Though others may be willing to take someone in, depending…
Most of us kind of already know the personalities and traits of others within our circles of family and friends. Therefore we sort of know how this would likely turn out, based on what we already know about those people.
I bring up this topic again because the other day I had another look at my approximate (very approximate) overall calorie count of my food storage. Although I feel quite satisfied, the cold hard fact is that “if” one were to feed another from your food storage inventory, those ‘survival days’ of food storage gets dented quite rapidly. Especially if there are two others. Or three…
Is it worth it to put such a dent into your own survival-day count? Only you will be able to answer that, based on your own situation. Have you thought about who you might take in and/or who you would not take in – based on your own circles of family / friends? How in the world would you handle that knock on the door if they are on the ‘no’ list?
I believe it’s good food for thought.