Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) by most accounts was coined by Kelly Johnson (1910-1990) who was a lead engineer at Lockheed. The KISS concept was a principle noted in 1960 by the United States Navy. In essence, it means simple systems work best.
The Russians understood the KISS concept quite well and it is evident by the Mosin-Nagant military rifle. The rifle could be fired by anyone that could hold it. It was designed simply, for one thing and one thing only, to send rounds downrange.
Some of you may have heard of Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) a noted cartoonist who depicted complicated machines designed to perform simple tasks. One notable machine was a sophisticated system designed only to crack an egg. People at times tend to make things more complicated than they need to be.
Technology being what it is today may make people believe things are more complicated than they really are.
The Internet has blogs and thousands of articles on firearms for when the SHTF for example “five best guns for when the SHTF” “myths exposed about the .22-caliber”, “10 guns you cannot live without”, “8 must-have guns” and the list goes on. You may begin to wonder where you went wrong if you do not have basement full of guns.
You need home and self-defense firearms, but it is not complicated. If you have 30 different firearms lying around, and 30 different calibers of ammunition, then it is starting to get complicated at this point.
Purchase ones you can afford, and ones that do what they are designed to do, put rounds downrange and then practice, practice and practice some more, simple. Stock up on ammunition, keep your weapons clean and ready and forget about what everyone else is doing.
Instead of staring glossy eyed at videos on how to start a fire with an orange and a straw, or a piece of ice. Learn how to start a fire with the things you would logically have available like matches, lighters, and magnesium sticks and a Ferro rod along with flint and steel.
Simple works best, and when under stress you want items that do not require much labor, thought or memorization of techniques. It might pay to learn how to make a bow and drill for friction fire starting but there is no need to load your bag up with complicated fire starting methods. Have several simple means that can start a fire in any environment and move on, do not lose any more sleep over it.
Remember waking up in the Amazon with nothing, more than the clothes on your back only happens to Joe, so do not fixate on “what if I’m dropped off a thousand miles from civilization, with nothing on”. Not likely to happen, and the group that gets lost the most in this country is hunters.
You do not walk into the woods naked (or you do not most of the time anyway) so make sure you have something in your pockets besides your hands. You are over thinking it if you believe you are going to wake up some morning lost in the jungles of South America in just your shorts. React and prepare for the likely scenarios, ones you know are more likely to occur.
People have spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars and spent countless hours coming up with complicated hiding places for guns, food and money in their homes. Why, so you cannot get to the items quickly if you have to evacuate or if the home catches on fire, or are you hiding supplies from others.
Obviously, you do not want to leave gold bars or cash on the coffee table if you have people over for coffee. Prevent crimes of opportunity by keeping things out of site, but tearing up the floors and walls to hide things may be going a bit overboard.
Certain people like to rummage through medicine cabinets and drawers and pocket things, so keep this in mind, but as far as keeping guns and valuables out of a determined thief’s hands, they know where to look and will literally tear your home apart looking.
Sometimes You Can Be To Smart for Your Own Good
The new manger’s instructions from the owner were to leave the cash drawers open every night before leaving the restaurant. The manager had completed a degree in business management and had never heard of this before, why leave the cash drawers open. The manager obsessed over this, never bothering to ask why the owner wanted it this way. The manager was a college graduate, but the owner; well he never finished high school. The manager knew all he needed to know.
The gaping drawers did not look right. The manager went along with this for weeks and then one night decided to close the cash drawers, now it looked sleeker and better organized. The manager slept better that night.
The next day the owner called and informed the manager there was a break in and all four registers were smashed open, destroyed. Why would they do that asked the manager there was no money in the drawers. The owner stated, well if you had left the drawers open, the thief might not have smashed the registers open to find out they were empty.
Prepping supplies are valuable and you should have a place for them but do not get obsessed with fake walls in closets and such because it only will make it more difficult for you to gather your supplies in the event of a crisis.
You may be over thinking things if you feel the need to have a handgun hidden in your sofa or favorite chair. If that concerned about the need of instant access to a firearm wear it on your person. Yes, you have seen the movies where the intruders tie up the family and they happen to set the family on the couch with a firearm within reach, but remember its Hollywood coming up with the scenarios.
The “what ifs” can drive you crazy, and you could play the game to infinity. What if a meteorite strikes the house, what if a space satellite drops from the sky what if, what if, what if? The what ifs more relevant might be what if I do not have enough food, water, medical supplies and other necessities on hand, when the power goes out, when the highways flood or when a blizzard or ice storm shuts the area down for a week.