Preppers’ PING!!
It is best if you really have to trade for nothing. Prepare well. Trading requires you out and vulnerable.
If you go outside your house, blend in with the same type clothing others are wearing, don't look out of place with spiffy, well pressed clothes if there is no power.
Here's another tip from Selco from some time ago. It was meaningful to me because I hadn't thought of it. He said if you need to go outside after dark, even in your yard, you don't want others to know you are there, so have a tiny light you turn on and off only when you need to know where you are in the yard or area where you are.
I had great flashlights that would light up a large area, but had no tiny light. I fixed that by buying cheap pen lights like doctors/nurses have to check tracking of the eye. There is a clip on these pen lights and when you press that clip, the tiny light is there; take your finger off the clip, the light is gone.
One press on the clip gives a weak light but you will know where you are with just that quick bit of light. These are sold several on a card at Amazon and they are inexpensive.
This weekend, The Bride and I were out at one of our local veterans retreats.
Even though the moonlight was 80%, it was still dark, but we had a solution: a dozen or so of those landscaping solar lights! After a few hours in intense sunlight, they burned all night and provided just enough illumination to see about a 2-3 foot circle.
Saved several sprained ankles that The Bride didn’t have to treat...