Carrying on with my first baby steps as a prepper ive looked at my first major prioity which is loss of income.
1. I have been more thoughtfull at work in regards to H&S, correct PPE, cut proof gloves instead of flimsy ones that make the work easier etc. Being aware of fire escape routes both at sites and at hotels if im spending a night away. Very very basic and simplistic stuff.
2. I have found a Karate club which I will begin training with this week, this I hope will give me some self deffence skills to help reduce the threat of physical harm from another human.
3. My intnention is to have 6 months wages saved for dire emergencies and to also have at least 1K cash at home in a safe secured safe at home should cash points or debit card software ever go down. Im still looking to source the safe but money wise I have;
a. Audited my accounts and budgeted, cutting out un-necessary waste, im pretty good with bills and switching etc. already.
b. I have started collecting food waste and will begin a home compost heap when I can get hold of some old pallets, the plan is to have some container gardening going on, its not going to produce a massive amount of food and will be very experimental learning curve for the first few years but every little helps.
c. Ive set aside a load of stuff for ebay selling and im always on there and on freecycle looking for stuff that might help me be more prepped.
I have found moneysavingexpert website a gold mine of info so thanks Arzosah for recommending that.
So onto the next threat;
Being burgled
I have been very lax in the past and this is really becoming apparent now. I took a look on the crime stats website, the one with the map and wow! That really opened my eyes, I thought I lived in a quite near crime free neighbourhood – wrong, 8 burglaries in the previous month within a 1 mile radius alone told me that it was only sheer luck that I hadn’t had a scrout visitor yet.
Ive read up on a few threads in this forum and visited a few Police crime prevention websites etc on home security, WMP had a good video presentation on their website which I used as the basis for my plans. I have spoken with the Mrs and we agree we need to be more secure. Simple steps have included;
1. Using the deadlock on the front door.
2. Placing the French window key out of site.
3. I have secured the garden storage box with a strong padlock, even though there is nothing In it worth stealing I don’t want it to be a potential lure.
4. I have secured and fixed a strong unfastenable latch and strong padlock on the side gate.
The next steps are;
1. Construct a set of trellis to give extra height to the walls and the gate, even though flimsy this can help as a prevention measure by nature of them being flimsey and giving no easy climb. They can be very pricey to buy in the DIY stores and garden centres so I will construct my own, both cheaper and more rewarding.
2. Install a camera in the garden to compliment the light already there.
3. Buy and install a secure fixed safe for essential documents and emergency cash.
4. Im toying with the idea of purchasing a couple of cans of Farb Gel Spray to leave a mark for the Police on anyone should they ever consider popping in for a quick visit (and it will be quick) whilst we are in, the UK legal so called 'pepper' element looks like it wouldnt stop and dying moth but the Gel concept I rather like. Obviously planting one on them and dropping the little so & so would be more pleasurable but im no good to my family inside a jail cell. I can also use them to rig up some booby traps in the garden while we are on our winter hols, is that legal? Which also brings to mind a definate future purchase which will be timer sockets for lamps so that it appears as if we are in when we are not.
Being an ex Sapper I could easily turn my garden into an impenetrable fortress for any 70t tank nearby never mind a skinny drug riddled human but in a peace time non-societal breakdown scenario Im near 100% confident that anyone casing my joint will dimiss it as a target instatntly once the work is complete. Cost is obviously an issue as the main aim is to clear all debt and save but im aiming to be squared away in the basic home security stakes by Christmas.
but bought a bookcase with doors so couldn't lift these myself and needed Mr D along for that. I'm going to put this in hallway and fill with my home canned food 
. Downside is the mogsplosh's bed needed a new home 
he's not best pleased he has been moved 
for a cat he is totally anal about these things 
I also got a smaller 3 shelf unit for the bathroom, we had an inset space along one wall that was wasted space, now it will hold extra Loo rolls, washing powders, cleaning materials and similar items. That means more room in the hall cupboard 
