The Amish Home Defense Manual

I am a seventh-generation farmer in Lancaster County. We have kept our home and barns safe for decades without paying a monthly fee to anyone — using simple, honest prevention you can build with a screwdriver.

This manual is our whole method, written down properly. 382 pages. 166 numbered home-safety methods across 16 zones:

• Part I — The Doctrine: why prevention beats reaction, and the 20-minute walkthrough of your own property

• The Street View · Yard & Perimeter · Lights & Darkness — gravel paths, hedges, motion lights, solar corners

• Doors · Windows & Sliders — the 3-inch screw upgrade, installing a proper deadbolt, window film, the dowel — with fire-escape safety built into every card

• Garage, Barn & Outbuildings — the areas most systems ignore

• The Lived-In Look — timers and light habits for when you travel

• The Night Routine — the calm 90-second lock-up round for the whole family

• Neighbors & the Old Ways · The Renter's Chapter (everything no-drill) · Vehicles & Driveway · Protecting papers & photos

• The Twelve Weekend Projects — full shopping lists and step-by-step builds

• The Plans — the $40 Plan, the $100 Plan, the $250 Plan, the Moving-In Plan, the Living-Alone Plan

• Worry index ("dark backyard" → method numbers) · Cost index (start with the Free list) · Master shopping list with honest 2026 prices

Included: The First-Weekend Road Map (three fixes this Saturday), the printable 20-minute Home Audit checklist, and The Price Book.

Nothing in this book involves weapons, traps, or confronting anyone. It is prevention only — good locks, good light, good habits — the old way: make your home simple to live in and hard to trouble, for pennies, forever, with no subscription and nobody to call. Every measure preserves fire escape routes, and the book always says: people first, property second — if something ever happens, call the authorities.

Keep the old ways. They still work. — Abram