How to Find Out If People In Your Community Are Preparing

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I had my carpets cleaned today, and the carpet guy saw my computer and asked if I was ready for Y2K. Because I no longer tell people about my preparations, I told him that I didn't think anything was going to happen, that it was all hype. I asked him what he thought. He told me he was preparing and that almost everyone he meets in the community are preparing. His father is a gun dealer and he can't keep guns or ammo in stock. He said that he has several customers that have stocked food and water for 6 months and that was his goal too. He doesn't live too far from me and he thinks that the herd will make their way here because our area has a lot of wealthy people. I pretty much figured that would happen, but hearing it from someone who cleans 6 homes a day, it at least made me feel a little bit better that there are people quietly preparing. So if you want to find out if people in your community are preparing, have your carpets cleaned.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), September 17, 1999

Answers

or have your chimneys swept.

Not a bad idea even if the sweep doesn't know much about Y2K.

-- Bill P (porterwn@one.net), September 17, 1999.


At this point I don't want to know who is prepared and don't want anyone knowing I'm preparing. April or May that could've been a different story but no body was listening then. Now I feel the best approach is to keep your head down and be quiet.

-- (I'm@just.lurking), September 17, 1999.

There was one more thing that he mentioned about propane. He said his brother works for a propane company in town and they are expecting propane to be $3.50 a gallon. I asked why so high and he said that it will be hard to get, supply in demand.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), September 17, 1999.

No one I know is preparing. All my friends, relatives, and coworkers say, "It's all hype" or "They'll get it fixed". So I just keep quiet about my preparations.

-- No One Cares (apathy@hopeless.com), September 17, 1999.

We are building a home and I talked with 3 propane dealers yesterday about getting a tank put in. All three said that they expect LP cost to be over $1.50 a gallon by January due to restricted supply. They did not give numbers as high as $3.50.

-- George of the Jungle (justhangin@in.there), September 17, 1999.


"All my friends, relatives, and coworkers say, "It's all hype" or "They'll get it fixed"."

Sure, but isn't what exactly what bardou said to his/her carpet cleaner? ("I told him I didn't think anything was going to happen...") I'm the one who's been seeing candles, camp stoves, warm clothing & oil lamps at garage sales all summer. And everyone is still throwing away plastic beverage bottles everywhere. They're perfect for storing water, but the herd is so hopelessly clueless...

-- for you (thirty@nine.cents), September 17, 1999.


I just had carpet taken out and new wood floors laid. The man doing it said his crew has been working seven days a week laying new carpet in the new homes being built in the area. He also laughed and said how were they going to keep those carpets cleaned without electricity in y2k? He was raking in the money to use for his hide-away and preps and as he said "getting the hell out of dodge".

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), September 17, 1999.

bardou,

Dang!! My wife finally hen-pecked me into getting our carpet cleaner out and shampoo all the carpets in the house. It was something I really dread and hate to do, but it doesn't fit my definition of "Woman's Work" (see below). If I had just put her off another week, I would have had a really good excuse to have a service come in and do it.

("Woman's Work"-- Anything SHE is physically capable of that HE would rather not do.)

Gerald

-- Gerald R. Cox (grcox@internetwork.net), September 17, 1999.


The reason I told him that I didn't think anything was going to happen was because I did not want him to know that we were prepared. I basically just acted dumb but wanted to know what others were doing. My husband works for a major gas & electric company and they have been converting homes from propane to natural gas. A year ago, he was only doing maybe 2 a year, but this year he has done over 30. People are coverting because they can't afford propane prices. In regards to yard sales, I haven't purchased anything nor have I seen anything that would be used for Y2K. I use to see kerosene heaters, camping gear, etc., but not this summer. I'm glad I bought all my stuff last year.

Gerald: It was nice having my carpets done by someone else and it wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be. Have fun!

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), September 17, 1999.


(1) Propane here on Kaua'i is still a reasonable $2.19/gallon and holding.

(2) We are definitely easing back on telling people that we have prepared, but are not hiding it from our church leadership and GIs. I will mention Y2K to some people...and will still teach some small business preparedness seminars.

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), September 17, 1999.



How about putting an ad in the Pennysaver offering some free y2k pamphlet or something. People respond and you have unfortunately run out of money to mail out the booklet. What you have in front of you are addresses that might give you some estimate of what areas might be prepared. Put some thought into the "marketing" of this and you might be surprised at the responses.

-- ratt (borderline@marketin.g), September 17, 1999.

Re the carpets: rip them up and put in ceramic tile, linoleum, or vinyl tile. You probably won't be able to vaccuum in 2000, but you WILL be able to sweep and mop. Cleanliness will be important (think disease prevention/insect reduction).

www.y2ksafeminnesota.com

-- MinnesotaSmith (y2ksafeminnesota@hotmail.com), September 17, 1999.


Minnesota Smith: I have thought about doing that, but it's a very expensive project. It would have been several thousand dollars to tile our home. I chose to buy food and supplies instead.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), September 17, 1999.

I have a Fuller Brush carpet sweeper. We have taken it with us in the moter home for years. It does a great job and uses no electricity. They sell now for about $40. I have an extra set of brushes in my preps. My girls love to use it to help grandma clean house. The carpets will be the grandbabies job.

-- Homeschooling Grandma (mlaymon@glenn-co.k12.ca.us), September 18, 1999.

I have one of those too, it works great! I found one for my sister at a thrift store and she uses it all the time. It may not be as good as a vacuum cleaner, but it does a good job picking up lint and hair. I just purchased a "Swisher," at WalMart and it picks up hair and dust from linoleum, tile and wood floors like you wouldn't believe! They say to throw away the rag when you are done, but I save them and when I wash rugs, I toss the used rags in and reuse them. Saves on buying the refills.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), September 18, 1999.


Leave your carpet down. It is good thermal insulation in the room you will probably be living in almost exclusively if Y2K is is a 5 or greater. To protect my new family room carpet I will cover it with 6 mil thick contractor plastic (I bought a 20' x 100' x 6 mil roll at Home Depot last week for about $40) and with a layer of cheap paneling or hardboard (4'x8'x1/4" sheets go for $5 to $10 each at Home Depot) over the plastic.. The plastic will protect the carpet when something gets spilled on the floor and the 4'x8' sheets will protect the plastic. I will use heavy duct tape to keep the 4'x8' sheets in place and reduct if necessary. I may put another layer of the plastic on top of the wood to simplify cleanliness, etc. 6 mil plastic is pretty durable and useful.

I have found many uses for the 6 mil plastic. The neighborhood kids constantly ask me to place a big piece of it on my sloping back lawn with a water sprinkler keeping it wet. The kids run and bellyflop down on it. Some of them get a 30 foot slide out of it. But I only get about a 20' slide. Darn.

The plastic can also be used for cover a damaged roof, as a cistern to capture morning dew water, as a green house to grow plants. I consider my 20' wide plastic rools to be one of my important Y2K resources.

Good luck

-- Ron (judy_sander@hotmail.com), September 18, 1999.


From: Y2K, ` la Carte by Dancr near Monterey, California

It's real uncool to minimize your concerns about Y2K when you're asked for your opinion. Evade answering if you have to, but don't lie. If you're going to lie, tell them you're going to live with your aunt who has a farm, instead. That you're stocking up mightily, but that you've got all your stuff there. If someone is asking for your opinion, then you're in a position to encourage them to prepare. If you tell them that you don't think anything is going to happen, then you're guilty of the "don't worry, be happy" spin that we all decry so much, here.

-- Dancr (addy.available@my.webpage), September 18, 1999.


Since the carpet guy lives close to me, and if I told him I was going to live with my aunt, that leaves my home open to him to come pay a visit if he thinks I'm not at home. Telling him I didn't think anything was going to happen was far better. I really have no idea if anything will or will not happen, I'm preparing as if something will happen, I call it insurance. People have ears and eyes, Y2K is out in the open, it's no longer anyone's duty to inform people, let them decide for themselves. The only thing I am guilty of is looking out for myself and family, everyone else is on their own. If anyone wants me to look out for them, I want to see some $$$$$ and their time. How does that saying go "ass or grass no one rides for free."

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), September 18, 1999.

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