My herd of children are usually the ones who let me know when someone pulls into the driveway. Who needs a dog when you have four kids? This time they were busy wreaking havoc elsewhere so I was the one who saw the Fed-Ex man arrive.
Under normal circumstances, I engage in polite chit-chat with the delivery person and sign for my deliveries. This time, however, I was a bit nervous and remained out of sight while the delivery guy brought up the boxes.
Why did I skulk around in my own house? Because I knew the delivery man would soon be hurting. Indeed, by the time he had gotten all of my boxes off his truck and onto the porch, his face was beet red and he was limping. I think my delivery weighed over 225 pounds and the temperature of 105 degrees didn't help matters either.
I'm pretty sure the Fed Ex guy will remember me and he probably noticed the very prominent lettering on these boxes as he cursed their weight. It may also have reminded him of the many other similar deliveries he's brought over the past few months.
That adds up to a breach in OPSEC. OPSEC stands for operational security, which basically means prevention of leaks of information that could be used by others to harm you. The Fed-Ex man is aware that The Harried Homemaker Acres has had several large deliveries from preparedness companies. This is not ideal since I'm trying to keep our preps on the down-low.
I have many more prepping purchases I need to get over the next few months. What should I do to both maintain OPSEC and keep the Fed-Ex man from needing to apply for worker's comp? Ideally, I would purchase things in small amounts with cash from several local stores, transport them myself, and discreetly bring them into my home. That's not easy for a person who lives in a preparedness wasteland. I'm just going to have to continue to do what I've been doing and hope for the best.
I implore companies that specialize in preparedness supplies to remove the prominent lettering from their packaging. Help your customers gather their preparedness materials discreetly.
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What glorious bounty you received!
ReplyDeleteMy E.E. order will be arriving this week. I agree that it's important to keep this prepping thing on the down-low as much as possible (as I mentioned in my e-mail to you).
I appreciate your call to action for shippers to take note of the implications of their packaging. I'll be sure to mention that next time I place an order.
What did you order? Inquiring minds must know! I never received an email from you. :(
ReplyDeleteFunniest thing -- I just walked outside and my *huge* box was waiting on the front patio ... for who knows how long because we don't often use that door! Oh well ... so much for incognito.
ReplyDeleteI got a couple of the 100-hour candles and one 25-gallon water storage kit (those boxes with mylar liners). Not too exciting ... unless you're me! I'm beginning to think I like prepping as much as I like school supplies :-)
I totally agree with the prepping and school supplies. My favorite hobbies! Just a word about the water kit. It took us a while to figure out the tape to seal the boxes. You need to wet the brown side to activate the adhesive. You're probably smarter than we were, but we kept trying to peel the tape apart instead of wetting it.
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