Ok i am by no means a pro I was however a buffoon whom is very lucky to be free.
I will attempt to state less obvious things or at least to me they were:
1. Rent a house WITH an attached garage, i made that mistake, thought it was no biggie and i was stuck for months bringing in supplies in full view, having to box shit up which undobtably draws attention from neighboors especially when you moved in months ago
2. Plan on using more supplies than you bagained for, not that you cant get shit later on but you dont need to be making many trips to hardware stores, and grow shops. not that people dont go to these places legitmatly but if your young and living solo or with a buddy it just doesnt look good, especially if your not a contracter or involved in buisesses that would justify this activity
supplies to stock extra:
1. Soil
2.Nutrients
3.Insecticide
4.Invest in a good water purifyer, again i was stupid and i would actually refill gallons upon gallons of water at wal-mart twice a week
5.Light bulbs, especially your large 400w or w/e your using as your main lights
6.Get plenty of 2x4s if your building appartuses for your grow
3. Consider how you'll dispose of ALL incriminating evidence, SOIL IS A BIG ONE, if your going soil and think youll get rid of it in your yard think again, perlite is a dead giveaway to someone who is in the know or is investigating you and besides even miracle grow barely resembles the dirt in most peoples yard. Now i realise it may be very difficult for you if you have no vehicle or are afraid of driving an entire trash bag of evidence, whenever you run an errand fill up a shoping bag with some evidence and dispose of it in a random trash can like the ones you see infront of a supermarket (and yes if you get pulled over and you have a bag of dirt with roots all in it they can at worst test the roots to determine what your growing in a lab or at least you will be investigated); leaves are the biggest concern, if you can burn it if not chop it into unrecognisable mulch and dump away from your house.
-stay up to date on that shit to or your gunna have to get rid of it all at once unless thats what you perfer
-note also never throw it away on the curb thats a no brainer i hope, yet do continue to throw trash out thats non incriminating, its aids you if you are investigated and no evidence is found plus its "odd" if your not throwing away trash, appearing ordinary is the key
4. Probably overlooked by many but, if your growing in a place where you grew up or have many friends, leave leave far enough away to were people wont wonder why there good friend never invites them over, pretty self explanitory it sucks but if your choosing to go beyond a closet grow your actually making a life changing choice you may not realise
5. Also dont let people know where you live, should the police get suspicious or a theif gets wise of you it'll be another "crucial" peice of the puzzle they dont have
Now to elaborate on all these kind folks who say tell no one: not any body and that is quite literal, the cops are probably your main fear, however YOU ARE A TARGET of potentially violent people in fact your prime meat, burglars dont need a search warrant, they'll investigate you too like a cop and wait for you to leave.. IF YOUR LUCKY some mother fuckers will kick your door in and put a gun to your head and unlike a cop they dont fear prosecution what are you gunna do call the police HA and go to jail on top of being tied up and beaten come on now,
Not to get sappy but if you care for the people whom you call friends you must distance them from any foreknowledge, perhaps youd lie to police for your friends and maybe they would for you but why place them in a spot where they too can face charges, perhaps you may look down on those who keep secrets from good friends but thats far preferable to draging them into your shit and possibly ruining their life, be a good friend and keep your grow to yourself.