One vital skill that is needed in most survival settings is the ability to meld in with your surroundings – this avoids attention, which in almost every case, regardless of the one paying attention – is a bad thing.

Melding with you environment, however, requires active planning; her are some suggestions.

Don’t Wear Your Wealth

The last thing on earth you want to do in a disaster scenario is to broadcast your wealth. Once a mob mentality kicks in, otherwise law-abiding people begin to see disaster situations as an excuse for robbing and looting. Don’t give them any reason to think they’d have a lot to gain by holding you up.

Don’t Wear Bright Colors

Even if you are wearing cheap, unremarkable clothing that says nothing about how well-off you are, you will still want to avoid wearing bright colors for the simple fact that bright colors draw attention, and drawing attention in a disaster situation isn’t a good thing.

Hide Your Supplies

If you’re fortunate enough to have a stockpile of supplies, make sure you keep them well-hidden. Don’t talk about them, and definitely don’t store them in a place where they can be seen. If you do, you’re inviting robbery.

Avoid Responding with Violence

Violence incites more violence, and it should always be a last resort. Sometimes, you may be left with no other option but to defend yourself. If possible, though, you should always try and deescalate the situation. Not only is de-escalation usually safer, it also helps you keep a low profile.

Stick to Crowds

To avoid standing out from the crowd, figuratively speaking, don’t stand out from the crowd, literally speaking. Predator instinct is to pick off the stragglers, and standing off on your own away from the crowd is a sure-fire way to make yourself a target.

Move at an Average, Normal Pace

In a disaster situation, your adrenaline will be running high, and you may be tempted to move at a rapid pace. Don’t. Moving at a rapid pace will only draw the attention of everyone around you. It may cause you to be seen as a threat, or it may cause people to think that you’ve got somewhere better to be than where you currently are—in which case they’ll follow you.

Hide Your Lights

In a disaster situation where the electricity is out, lights coming from the windows in your home not only make you stand out, it also shows that you have some kind of alternate power source that many people may want to steal. Especially at night, you’ll want to hide the lights in your home either by blacking out your windows or hanging up a blanket. Just be sure to take the blanket down when the sun rises, or else people will notice it, and, once again, you’ll stand out.

Most of this advice is just common sense – if it chaos outside of your bug-in location or if you are navigating through chaos, not drawing attention to yourself is as good as avoiding trouble.

It is easy, however, to overlook aspects of this advice and inadvertently draw attention to yourself; that is why you must actively plan and execute a strategy to remain “hidden in plain sight” to the greatest extent possible.

To learn other tips and advice for melding with your environment, check out the Urban Survival Site.