Plans to “prepperize” the new manse!
Is “prepperize” an actual word? In any case, we moved in, and now have an ordinary house, instead of the barn like structure we previously owned in the People’s Republic of New Jersey (PRNJ). I am again faced with preparing my home to store my preps, and hopefully the house will be a good place to be in the event SHTF. At least NYC is a long way from here. The likelihood of being in an office high rise that gets hit by Boeing airplanes is much reduced. 😊
The new MAG
When I wrote about my method of creating a MAG in PRNJ, a number of readers objected that this wasn’t a MAG at all. Having annoyed the 3BY readership once, I’ll repeat my methodology here in my new surroundings. If you don’t like it, write an article on how you did it! 😊
Basically, my view is I am not going to be turning away close relatives, or at least close relatives I like, during a SHTF event. Therefore, my MAG consists of the folks I won’t turn away. If I can convince a few of them to prep, great, but if they aren’t preppers, I have to cover their needs, because I am not turning them away. Some of my family members are incredibly nice folks who are extremely helpful in normal times. They will be as helpful in hard times, even if they haven’t gotten the memo yet.
Of course, some of my relatives are jerks, but at least the jerks are now geographically distant jerks, thanks to the move. Not all of those know my new address. 😊 One advantage to this approach is OPSEC. Even the people in the MAG don’t have to know about the prepping I have done.
The MAG
I have a new MAG that again does not know they are in a MAG. One good bit of news is that the numbers are a bit smaller and therefore more manageable. Instead of my original 20 person MAG, I now have a 10 person MAG, consisting of local relatives, who came to the area ahead of us. The number of pets is also way down. I now only need to worry about two dogs. The Jersey Boys are back in the People’s Republic with their respective owners. Unfortunately, one of the Jersey Boys is my dog, who has decided that life is for sleeping, rather than performing the function of a home security system. I’ll probably discuss my new MAG further in future posts. She also likes to tear up paper. ☹
Still no cats!
For now, the smaller number simply extends the life of my consumables, at least those I did not consume before the move, further. What might have been a 3 month supply of pancake mix, is now a 6 month supply of pancake mix. However, if some of the folks who are now 500 miles, or more, away manage to make it to my place, I may still be looking at a crowd.
I also need to restock all the consumables that I used up in order to avoid moving them. For instance, I need to restock the toilet paper inventory. 😊
Prepperize The House
The new house is smaller than the gone, but not lamented, PRNJ home. I am still in a suburban neighborhood of neatly lined up homes, not the oft recommended rural homestead, what my dear spouse refers to as “the middle of nowhere”. However, I have always maintained you can prep anywhere. This should be easier than PRNJ. At least I don’t have to worry about the population of New York City showing up on my doorstep. On the other hand, the loss of square footage will be a handicap.
The new house has the advantage of being partially brick. This reduces the home protection problem. I’ll need to research the hardening possibilities for the windows and doors. I also need a new safe, a new generator, more storage, etc. All of those topics will be covered in future posts, in other words, once I figure out what I am doing. 😊
The house also has a nice masonry fireplace. The PRNJ house had a silly metal box fireplace. This is not a critical need, but surely is a nice to have. Unfortunately, it leaks. ☹
As I previously mentioned, my wife is busy redoing floors and kitchens, while I am dealing with more mundane tasks, like getting the chimney to stop leaking, cleaning all the dust out of the ductwork, and other issues no one will ever see or appreciate.
Getting moved
If you recall, I had a Suburban in process of restoration. It is still in PRNJ, . . . unrestored. ☹ As a result, moving was not made easier by a massive BOV. I will need to find a new restorer to deal with my project cars and then arrange to have them moved. First, I need mechanics for the daily drivers.
We decided to use that ever so convenient moving method, PODS, i.e. store your stuff “in the cloud”. Despite my wife and I changing dates, shipping locations, and other key details repeatedly, PODS delivered our heavily shaken, not stirred, containers to our new home when expected. If you use this method realize that the packing and unpacking has become your problem, and pack as though each item will be dropped down a flight of stairs. This isn’t so much a knock on PODS as an issue with your being responsible for packing, loading, unloading and unpacking, and this is not something you do professionally. I will say that nothing that was in a white 5 gallon bucket was damaged, but then what sort of damage would you expect to a bucket of rice?
Summary
I am now out of PRNJ, except for the project cars, but need to completely rethink my disaster plans, and preps, in light of my new home and circumstances. I am sure I’ll learn a few lessons along the way, which I will be pleased to share with you once I actually figure them out. 😊