I’m Coming to YOUR House! Not So Fast…

Lately, I’ve been a popular person among friends and family since they all know I’m a prepper. Surprisingly, I’ve yet to hear anyone say that they’re “coming to my house” for this coronavirus pandemic, especially since so many have said those very words to me in the past.

It used to be that I wouldn’t appreciate hearing people say that to me. In fact, it would upset me quite a bit. After all, when a person says that they’re “coming to my house,” it means that they don’t want to spend the time, money, or effort to prepare themselves and, instead, expect me to do it for them simply because we know each other.

Over the years–especially of late–I’ve come to soften my stance on this issue. I know some preppers say that they’ll never let anyone who isn’t immediate family into their home post-SHTF, which I completely get, but from a personal perspective I can say that:

1. I’m getting older, my back tends to give out on occasion, and I could surely use the help. No doubt, there will be some downtime, but there will also be a lot of manual work that needs done, from chopping wood and keeping fires going to treating water and meal prep. Honestly, I don’t see my immediately family getting it all done day after day, even if I can get my teenagers to be of more use than normal. I would like to believe that anyone who chooses to show up at my doorstep will want to put in their fair share of effort, all things considered. And if they don’t want to, they can always leave.
2. I’d rather be trying to survive the apocalypse WITH friends and family than without them. Granted, there are some people who I wouldn’t want to show up and who may be less useful or desirable than I’d prefer. Even so, my wife and I do care about many people and we would hate to see bad things happen to them if we could have possibly helped.
3. There is only so much room in the house and supplies that I have to share. Maybe I should learn to take the beneficial people with the less-than-helpful, I suppose? I’d suspect my reaction to who shows up will largely depend on the disaster scenario and length of time they would be here.

Regardless of my personal feelings, what I really started to think about with regards to other people coming to my house after a disaster were the reasons why they may not be able to get to my house, even if I were to welcome them with open arms. In my opinion, choosing to rely on someone else completely for your very survival is clearly a BAD plan for the following reasons:

1. The roads may be impassable due to damage or packed full of abandoned vehicles. In addition, I’m afraid people don’t fully realize just how susceptible our roadways are to things like earthquakes, flooding, and downed trees, to name a few concerns. Besides, most vehicles aren’t capable of any off-road driving–even most SUVs–and wouldn’t make it very far if roads are anything but clear. Moreover, it may take weeks or longer for workers to clear debris and/or vehicles. Can you wait that long if you have nothing to start with?
2. Someone in your family may be seriously injured. It could be that they were injured during the disaster or perhaps they already have a serious condition that precludes them from being moved; whatever the reason, it’s surely plausible that someone is injured badly enough that the best course of action is to stay put. Now what?
3. Authorities may not allow people to move freely, such as during a quarantine. I would’ve thought this less likely until recently, but with the recent government edicts and pleas to self-quarantine, I wouldn’t be surprised if local governments (or even the CDC) begin to force people to stay at home. And if you don’t already have the supplies you need when they do then you’re going to have to do without.
4. My house may be worse off than your house! I’m sure we all want to believe that our homes (and ourselves) will come away from a disaster unscathed, but the truth is that this may not be so. It may be that a disaster has completely destroyed my house or damaged my supplies, and now you show up with nothing to rely upon. Plus, now I’m wishing YOU had something so we can go to YOUR house. 🙂
5. I may have already evacuated with all of my survival supplies. There’s no guarantee that I’ll stay put after a disaster. I’d prefer to, but I may be forced to leave or simply decide it’s a better course of action and, if I can manage to do so, I plan on taking a good majority of my survival gear and supplies with me.
6. I may change my mind after you show up. I’m not saying this to be mean or to anyone specifically but, as friendly as I can be when times are good, it’s possible that I (or even my wife, for that matter) may have a complete change of heart and decide that you’re simply not worthy of our generosity anymore. After all, people do act very differently–even highly irrationally–when times get tough, and there’s no reason to expect that I would continue to be the angel everyone expects me to be.

I’m sure there are other good reasons beyond those I’ve shared above as to why you should prepare yourself rather than choosing to rely on others to do it for you.

At the very least, I would encourage you to have the bare minimum of supplies on hand. Let’s say a few weeks would be a good start; a month or two is better. That is, ensure you have shelf-stable food, medications you may need to life, personal hygiene items (e.g., toothpaste, soap, toilet paper), paper products so you don’t have to do dishes… you get the idea.

If you want to be more prepared, such as if the power goes out for an extended period of time, ensure you have a way to cook food (and fuel to make that happen), stored water (as well as ways to procure and treat collected water), a way to heat your house, ideas to protect your family, and so on.

None of this is super difficult IF you buy the supplies you need now and take the time to sit down and think about what you’re doing. If you would like my help, I’ve created an entire survival course on the topic.