Good mates and neighbours

[Smiffy]

Despite views to the contrary, I see being on good terms with friends and neighbours as a big asset where my prepping is concerned. Below is a recent example of me benefiting.....

A friend phoned me up yesterday to ask if i wanted a load of 4x2 floor joists he had just removed from a property he is doing up, half an hour later two nice big piles like this were delivered onto my drive



Realising it would take me a month of sundays (and a few gallons of sweat) to cut it all up I borrowed this little beast off a neighbour



2 hours later (with no sweating) this was the result



All bone dry, untreated and ready for the woodburner - and more importantly it was completely free of charge

[Jonas]

Well done Smiffy! It does pay to be on good terms with like-minded folk!

[Rubismardi]

I agree with you Smiffy! Always keep on good terms with your neighbours. I make it a point of letting my neighbours know that they are welcome to borrow tools etc from me. I've often had one knocking who has run out of Garlic/Tomato Paste/Salt halfway through cooking. They are always thankful and will offer and do favours in return.
Having help available when you need to call on it can be a lifesaver.

[Steve]

My neighbours are great, most are at least 400yds away which makes them even better.

[Smiffy]

The way I see it is you can't possibly learn to a high standard every skill you might possibly need, but you can build relationships with a wide range of people and get quite a few of those skills covered.

Having a base knowledge of lots of skills is a good thing, but sometimes you need will expert help. If you haven't got the skill yourself having a friend or neighbour with those skills is the next best thing.

It's a plan that works for me now - and will be even more useful in the event of things going belly up

As someone commented on SD's "Library" post "You dont need to know all the information yourself, you just need to know where to find the information", for me the same thing applies to skills

[Nix]

Good result! There's no doubt about the feel good factor when you are able to form like minded relationships for mutual benefit. I believe you can't totally go it alone without serious and potentially damaging challenges. No man is an island..