While I hope and pray we never see the worst case scenario where society truly does just collapse, I still think about what it might look like from time to time. It’s a good exercise for seeing possible shortcomings as well as potential dangers. If we do see things melt down, the rules change and you have to be ready to adapt quickly to keep you and yours safe. Today I want to give you some things to consider. Think about how you might make use of them should the need ever arise, while praying to God it never does.
Light Discipline
My neighborhood has underground power lines, so we very rarely lose power. When we do it is usually short lived. The power went out this week shortly after I got up at 06:00. It was still dark outside for the next hour and a half, as we sat in battery powered lamp light. I looked outside a few times and noticed that there were no lights on anywhere, but I could easily see that someone was moving through their home with a flashlight.
If society does fall off the rails, even for a few nights, you need to make sure you’re using as little light inside at night as possible. Now, if you have a room where you have somehow completely blacked out the windows, you might be ok using a candle or battery powered lamp. If you have to move through the house, you might be better off letting your eyes adjust and sticking the flashlight in a cloth to let just a little light escape to guide you.
One option for flashlights is to use colored lenses. They provide less light but it is harder to pick them up at a distance. If you use say a red lens and turn your flashlight on from a dark room, you won’t lose your night vision when you turn it back off.
If I was Joe Dirtbag and was looking for someone who might be home during a meltdown, I would do one of two things; climb to the top of a tall building or water tower and look for light, or walk through people’s backyards looking for signs of light. Keep this in mind, just because there will not be any light visible from the front of your house, doesn’t mean there is no light visible.
Sound Discipline
I live in the burbs, not far from a busy highway. Even so, aside from traffic sound, it still gets quiet here at night. Much to my chagrin, noise travels very well, and on a quiet night we can hear people from a few houses away. Right now, aside from being annoying at times, it isn’t that big of a deal. If things meltdown and Joe Dirtbag starts listening for anything that stands out, it might be a bigger deal.
This can be a much more difficult thing to manage, as I can control when and how lights are on, but I have four dogs and one of them, I joke, barks at gnats farting outside. So this is something I have given some thought to, as should you if you have dogs or young children who may be scared or hungry and unpredictably loud.
I don’t care for the idea of muzzling the dogs for an extended time, so I honestly don’t have a good solution. Bugging out might be the only choice.
Smell Discipline
In a survival situation, I know many of you will be eating those beans and rice, so this might be a lost cause. (LOL, just kidding.) I’m thinking more along the lines of things that smell good and draw attention. Many of us have some food stored. One might think that it is safer to cook at night, as it can hide smoke. While that might be true, you can’t hide the smell very well. It is very easy to tell when someone is grilling in my neighborhood. I bet I could track down the house in a matter of minutes just by smell alone. The smell of something like an MRE might not carry as far as something that is home cooked. This is just something to keep in mind.
Turning to Your Advantage
You can also use these things to your advantage. Let’s say the power wasn’t out and I saw someone moving with a flashlight at my neighbor’s house. Or let’s say that things have gone very bad and everyone in your area is staying put and not making much noise. If you hear yelling or glass breaking it would stand out and should be paid close attention too.
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