# Help OPSEC COMPROMISED



## justincase (Jul 16, 2011)

In a 4 bedroom house. one bedroom is my pantry. when people come over it is the dogs room where we put our nipping loud barking growling dog. most people are a lil afraid of her. recently babysitter was over with friend and saw my pantry and told friends, parents etc. I explained I am a couponer but now alit of people know I have a lot of food. I do not want to store it under bed etc as it gets very hard to rotate that way. Please any ideas. I do not want to get a storage unti as that will make me nvere get to my food. Worried and do not know what to do. I have to have to have child care and this girl is great with my daughter. I can not leave lil one at babysitters house as sometimes I need child care until very late in evening. Just not feesable to not have sitters here. I am in a HOT climate and can not put things in a barn etc as heat gets over 100 degrees here. HELP any ideas what I can do to unring the bell? Thank You I trust you guyz with this one


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

meh. Tell her that a FEW items in the food are poisonous because of being past dated, but you haven't bothered to remove them yet.


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

Lock the door, there is no reason for her to go in there. Plus I would tell her not to spread my business around.


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## montysky (Aug 21, 2006)

I would just let her know that you believe it is important to keep a 3 month to 12 month supply of food on hand, and maybe she will think it is a good idea and her family will start putting aside to. here it is normal everyone or almost everyone cans, have large gardens, a berry patch and an orchard.

home defense items would be a concern to me if someone comes across then, not food very easy to explain.


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## campfiregirl (Mar 1, 2011)

I would also politely explain to her that it is not good manners to share with others what you have in your home, or that of anyone else she babysits for, whether it is food, a big TV, ATVs, anything. When you babysit for someone, they trust you with their home AND kids.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

I wouldn't freak out over it as that just makes people wonder why you are so paranoid. Do have a quiet discussion with the babysitter about not gossiping. Steer the conversation away from your food though. You do not want to emphasize that and implant it more firmly in her mind. Do explain that if she cannot keep her employers business to herself, that she will have difficulty holding a job in the future and will cause herself all sorts of trouble. Few employers appreciate their employees discussing everything with outsiders.


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## scooter (Mar 31, 2008)

I think she said that it was her babysitter's friend that saw the pantry and blabbed. Tell her no friends at your house when she's babysitting.


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## Rainy (Jan 21, 2010)

I would put a lock on it....but that is just me....


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

I think it's happened to most of us - you are deep in your boxes and a neighbor pops in, a repairman wanders through the house looking for the breaker box, or you have the garage door up and the UPS man suddenly appears. I hate when that happens! Lots of us have a large part of our food storage in our house to keep it climate controlled. There's not much you can do once someone has seen your stuff, but I agree with the people who suggested you tell the babysitter to zip it. She needs to understand that it's not ok to discuss the contents of your house with people. Tell her word gets around and then you get robbed by a friend of a friend. And then you can't afford childcare anymore and she will be out of a job. And put a lock on the door.


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## Saffron (May 24, 2006)

a lock would have been great beforehand


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

Yep- I say put a lock- with a key on the room- 
ughhh that stinks


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Don't lie. Sooner or later people will realize you lied and wonder why.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

I wouldn't worry about it. This is the sort of thing that gets forgotten. Lots of people have pantries and those who were blabbed to most likely would think she was exaggerating. You could tell the babysitter all sorts of things about how you were saving for the charity kitchen, but it's water under the bridge at this point.

What you can do is start boxing up your goods and putting them somewhere else for the time being so that she thinks you have given it away, or are eating it all up. In the meantime, think of a better place to store your stuff. If you don't have a basement, can you put it in the crawl space? Under a porch? Of course, if stored this way everything will have to be in water proof containers. It's a pain, but I think it is necessary that the babysitter (and her friend) believe that you have given away the food or eaten it. It's not necessary that those she blabbed to know, because I believe they will forget about it, don't know where you live, and so on. If something happened these people will need to contact the babysitter for your information, at which time she can tell them that you gave away the food.

When you bring the food back in, start by bringing in a cabinet. Leave the door open and let her see knick knacks. Bring another cabinet in and do the same thing (garage sales). After that you can trash the knick knacks, fill the cabinets with food and lock them.


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## Usingmyrights (Jan 10, 2011)

How did you find out that it was being spread around? I wouldn't make a big deal out of it. The mkre attention that's brought to it the more of an issue it becomes. I agree that people may think that the claims were exaggerated. I don't think I'd lie either, becauee that may get you more attention than you want if found out. If you fire your babysitter over this, then she'll probably know that was why and then your opsec would really be blown as she'd tell more people.


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

I'd talk to her. Let her know that the food isn't important, but if it happens again she is fired. Let her know if you get robbed because she, or her friend, are telling people what she has in her home she will have a bad reference for future jobs.


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## NamasteMama (Jul 24, 2009)

Tell her you donated it to the food pantry and thats why you coupon. The Extreme Couponers on TV say they do this all the time so its a plausible story. empty the room to the barn temporarily show her the empty room and move stuff back in after she sees the empty room.


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

Not many people would take the gossip of a teenage (?) girl too seriously. The bigger of a deal you make of it, the bigger of a deal it becomes. 

Yeah, I like to keep extra food on hand, so what. Everybody should do this, don't you? And a friendly little talk with her about discretion. You are trusting her in your home because she is so good with the kids. Blabbing your personal business to others breaks that trust. If she sees Prep H in your bathroom, does she go around and blab to everyone you have hemaroids??? Just give her a matter of fact reminder about your expectations. No biggee.


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

Since it was her friend that was the problem, you may have to just not allow her to bring any friends over. But I would still lock the door and remind her that she needs to protect your privacy.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

I don't care who knows that I have food. We're a farm. Of COURSE there is food here. Pretty good food too and nobody who comes to the door looking for some gets turned away hungry, so long as they're polite and don't cause trouble. Cause trouble and you'll get your food to go. Cause too much trouble and we bury you in the compost.

BUT someone, anyone, especially a babysitter spreading my business around about what they saw inside my house will get cut out of my life with no second chances. Loose lips sink ships. What if one of your kids gets a bruise and she spreads some tale about how she thinks that may have happened? 

Talking about the food is a minor problem, but it reveals a whole lot of holes that you need to plug.


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## Wolfy-hound (May 5, 2013)

I'd ignore it. And take the food and store it in cardboard boxes marked things like "old china" "extra sheets" "Kevin's toys" and such, so then it just looks like typical household junk we all have stashed around to be put in the attic or whatever.

People aren't going to care, and IF someone asks you while you're out, don't go all out explaining. Blow it off casually with a "Oh I got into couponing, like those shows on tv? It's way more work than it's worth." Laugh it off and change the subject. The person will shrug and move on, because it's no big deal.

I would have a chat about the babysitter having friends over snooping around your house. If she's been in that room, she's probably gone through your personal stuff and bedroom too.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Wolfy-hound said:


> I would have a chat about the babysitter having friends over snooping around your house. If she's been in that room, she's probably gone through your personal stuff and bedroom too.


Imagine the contents of your nightstand drawer photographed and put up on Facebook.


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## Limon (Aug 25, 2010)

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. If you make a big deal about it, then people will wonder why. If someone were to ever ask, wave them off with a, "We were having a party for X. Who would guess a couple bags of chips and dip would freak out those kids." 

I would be concerned about the fact that the babysitter is letting people snoop around your house. Not only is it an invasion of your privacy, it's a nice way for things to disappear.


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## Wendy (May 10, 2002)

I wouldn't worry about it. Anyone that comes to my house through the back door walks right past my shelves of canned food. It doesn't stop me from inviting people in.


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## justincase (Jul 16, 2011)

thnax everyone I feel much better. I just was really worried. It took me off guard. I can not really fore her, she is a very good friend of the family. But I will tell her not to have her friends all over the house. I could tell her the dog could have bit the gorl cuz she did not know her (plausible) I told her I am a crazy coupon lady and well it is true I amone because if I did not coupon well we would starve. she lives next door and her family goes to the store every night for dinner so no waaaaay will they ever prep. we had a hurricane last year and they forgot water and needed some from me.. they have well I have city.....we have a 15000 gallons of drinking water as back up, they just wil not prep. oh well not my issue. Thanx again I feel sooooo much better


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## 78Parrothead (Apr 6, 2013)

I'd be more worried about the friend being over when you are paying this person to babysit, not visit friends. I'd have a talk about appropriate behavior when caring for my child. 

Finding the food is secondary to all this. Truthfully you should have a lock on the door and it secured when non-family is nine house.


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

Put rules in place about friends.

Have a talk with her about talking to others about what you have or don't have.

If her folks go to the store daily, two bags of chips and an extra jar of peanut butter is a lot of food. Also, if they got water from you they know you keep extra around.

All of these things could be cause for concern. I would most be concerned with the friend and the loose talk about what you have.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

justincase said:


> thnax everyone I feel much better. I just was really worried. It took me off guard. I can not really fore her, she is a very good friend of the family. But I will tell her not to have her friends all over the house. I could tell her the dog could have bit the gorl cuz she did not know her (plausible) I told her I am a crazy coupon lady and well it is true I amone because if I did not coupon well we would starve. she lives next door and her family goes to the store every night for dinner so no waaaaay will they ever prep. we had a hurricane last year and they forgot water and needed some from me.. they have well I have city.....we have a 15000 gallons of drinking water as back up, they just wil not prep.* oh well not my issue.* Thanx again I feel sooooo much better


I have to differ on your statement I bolded, due to the portion of your post I put in purple. Since they know they can get from you, and now they know what you have - don't think they'll hesitate to be begging anytime they cannot get to the store each night.

I think you have a potential larger situation; unless you are good with them not prepping except to the extent of having you for a neighbor to beg off of.


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## Usingmyrights (Jan 10, 2011)

How do you 15000 gallons of water? Unless you have a pool that youre counting.


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## Limon (Aug 25, 2010)

Usingmyrights said:


> How do you 15000 gallons of water? Unless you have a pool that youre counting.


Or a pond maybe?


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## Usingmyrights (Jan 10, 2011)

It could be a pond. I'd love to have more stored water myself.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Usingmyrights said:


> It could be a pond. I'd love to have more stored water myself.


The pond is our water storage, for the most part. The roof catchment tanks will hold 3500 gallons but I've never seen them full.

The pond, on the other hand, holds 1.8 million gallons of water when it's full (which hasn't been since last year).

AND it's like money in the bank because it pays a dividend of frogs and swimming.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

I second the idea of putting a lock on the bedroom door.

If you make a big deal about discussing your food stores with her, she will then know it is a big deal. Is she smart enough to honor your wishes and shut up? Who knows? If she is talking about it, it probably impressed her. If she lives in a home where food isn't kept handy, she has probably missed meals or gone hungry because someone couldn't make it to the store. She may be unhappy with the state of preparedness in her own home. If that was the case, your bedroom/pantry probably looks like heaven to her. My inclination would be to discuss the importance of keeping food on hand. Discuss stocking up when things are on sale, buying in bulk, rotating, etc. but then tell her that you need her to not discuss your pantry with others. She may wind up being a positive influence on her own family. She will take it to heart for when she has her own home and family.

When I was a teenager, I visited a friend's house. The country kitchen was beautiful and homey, and extremely well stocked. There were built in bins for storing potatoes and onions. Built in bins with glass fronts for flour and sugar. And my friend's mom was baking a huge, mile high apple pie, so the place smelled heavenly! My own poor beleaguered Mom was working full time to try to support us after Dad found himself off work (again) because of yet another famous Boeing lay-off. Our pantry was not well designed. It was nearly impossible to keep stocked because of money, five ravenous teenagers, precious little time that my parents just didn't have for shopping. My sister and I were doing most, if not all of the cooking by then. so there was a hot meal whem Mom dragged home from a hard day at work, and Dad dragged home from another day of job hunting. And the task of shopping was falling to either my sister or myself once we were old enough to drive. Anyway, my friend's kitchen, and her Mom and that pie had left quite an impression on me. So I went on and on about it over dinner that night. 

I didn't realize that Mom was listening, until her first day off after the discussion, when I came home in time to see Mom taking a home made apple pie out if the oven. The oven rack hadn't been properly slid onto the oven grooves, and the rack tipped forward and dumped that beautiful pie onto the floor! Poor Mom! She went off to have a good cry. I never wanted yo make her feel bad or inadequate,. i was just so impressed withthe well designed, well stocked kitchen. and i happened to be there when my friend's Mom was baking. Anyway, Mom started doing a better job of keeping food stocked once Dad got back to work and the income was there. In fact, Mom got chickens and planted a big garden! So teenage girls can make a difference in a household. And this girl might be able to start changing her own home with whatever influence she has.

Years ago, we hired a sitter to watch the kids while hubby and I attended a seminar. I locked my bedroom door. When I got home, the bedroom door was open, and the sitter explained that my daughter had cut herself, and the first aid supplies were locked in my bedroom. So my daughter helped the sitter break in to get what they needed to patch my daughter up. It was a bad oversight on my part. I should have left those supplies in the family bathroom, rather than the master bath. I kept them in my bathroom because my son would go through a box of bandaids every other day for a single cut. He was going through a phase of fascination with bandaids and looked for any excuse to use them, and any excuse to change it many times per day.

But I locked my bedroom door because of the prescription medications, my jewelry box, etc. I just wasn't thinking. Having the first aid supplies handy is far more important than any possessions. And the sitter was a remarkable young woman who wanted to become an EMT. She was already certified in First Aid and CPR. So they broke into my room and patched my daughter up. I didn't make a fuss.

So if you do lock your pantry, be sure to leave things out that might be needed by the kids or the sitter while you are away.


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## CottageLife (Jul 20, 2009)

With your update on how they don't keep ANY food/water in the house, I suggest when they start asking for things so NO. If you give them an inch they'll try to take a mile it sounds like.


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## ladybug (Aug 18, 2002)

I would put in a locking doorknob and in the meantime just try for damage control, I tell everyone I use a lot of coupons but we don't have very much stored as we have zero room (3 Br house with 2 families here-5 kids in all!) and my brother is a BIG eater lol!


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## fransean (Dec 21, 2002)

If you suddenly put a lock on the door that might call more attention to the value of the food preps.
I would talk to her about having friends visit while she is working - never a good idea. Tell her you were uncomfortable with her friend talking about what was in your home, even if it was just food , because what you have in your home is not anyone else's business. You might want to add a comment about how you are glad that she is not one to talk about other people's business.


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

I used to wonder if I was too paranoid for keeping my storage room locked. Now I'm glad I always keep it locked, even when I don't expect company. You never know when someone might drop by and see things you don't want seen.


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

I've had the medicine/toiletries closet in our bathroom locked for years - but mainly to keep my kids out. We have one kid who can't go a day without a bandaid, visine, the heating pad, Chloroseptic throat spray, calamine lotion, another bandaid, me checking her ears with the otoscope, some cough drops, some Tums, and at least one bottle of hair conditioner.  I have some medical things in the kitchen drawer for actual injuries, but now I know exactly what's in that closet at all times, and evaluate any "illnesses" and treat accordingly. Hubby and one other kid know where I keep the key just in case they need to get in there. If I could lock the garage and keep kids out of the food I'd do the same thing. I throw massive fits when I pick up a box of X and find it empty, sitting on the shelf.

I say lock up whatever you can, and keep it safe from snoops and predators of all kinds. :grumble:


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## Marilyn (Aug 2, 2006)

If you set the ruler of_* no friends over when she is babysitting*_, you will be protecting your child and your preps.


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