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Survival: Items With Multiple Uses |
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These items are most likely to be ignored by majority of people surviving an natural disaster, zombie apocalypse or some other type of doomsday. The reason for that is that people prefer to go after items that they are familiar with and that means those items are the most sought out ones.
For example, many survivors wouldn’t think to go after a bottle of cinnamon oil, cinnamon sticks or its powered form. When someone is dealing with menstrual bleeding and cramps their first thought is to get a pain reliever like ibuprofen to help them. But what they don’t realize is that manufacturer items will run out or expired. Which is why it’s important to know other items that can do the same job – or even better, have multiple uses.
Cinnamon can be used to stopped excess bleeding, especially menstrual bleeding. So while a lot of people will dismiss most of these items listed below as useless when they raid stores, homes and so on for supplies. You can take advantage of that when it gets harder to find the more well known items.
Tabasco Hot Sauce
Is a common staple in many homes. It not only adds flavor to food, but it can be used as an insect repellent. It’s also good in deterring vertebrate pests, such as dogs, squirrels, rabbits and deer. That’s useful when you want them to keep away from your food and garden (which is good when you’re planning for long-term survival and can’t find pesticide). You can even use it as a weapon by spraying the eyes of attackers with a squirt gun full of Tabasco sauce. Another good thing about it is that it doesn’t have to be refrigerated after opening. Once a bottle of sauce is opened, the color may change, but the product won’t spoil. It has a shelf life of 5 years.
Garbage Bags
Plastic garbage bags are one of the most overlooked items when it comes to survival. They are ignored so much because people only think of them as holding garbage. Past their intended use, you can use them to waterproof, as a rain poncho, and even to store food in. Thicker ones can even be used to store water in and for water purification systems.
They can keep your shoes and feet dry. Open a trash bag, step inside and tie or secure with duct tape and it will keep rain and snow at bay. It can keep your clothes, blankets and sleeping bag dry by storing them inside a trash bag or used as a covering for them. It can even be turned into an emergency shelter in mere minutes or as a tarp to provide shade from the sun.
Although not exactly soft, trash bags can be used like thermal underwear under your clothing. Tape or tie pieces of the bag around your legs, arms, and stomach beneath your clothing to prevent body heat from escaping.
Trash bags can also be used as a pressure bandage or a triangle bandage. Or better yet, the bags can simply be used to cover a traditional bandage to help protect the wound from exposure to dirt or from the rain.
You can get clean drinkable water from trees by using clear trash bags. What you do is put a rock in a trash bag and tie the bag over the end of a branch with lots of leaves on it. The sun will draw water from the leaves and it will pool around the rock. It will take a couple of hours. This process doesn’t harm the tree or plant and can be repeated over and over again on different branches. Just be careful over what plant or tree you decide to use this method on because some can be toxic, such as poison ivy, manchineel tree, and so on. This won’t give you a large amount of water so don’t rely on just this method.
A trash bag can be used as a makeshift net, just poke lots of holes in the bag, then stand in the middle of a river and catch fish as they come along. If you need to wash up, fill a trash bag with water and hang it in the sunlight for a few hours. Once the water is warm, poke some holes in the bottom of the bag and you can have a warm shower. Or if your clothing is dirty you can put some water and soap in the bag, shake and scrub the clothes and rinse until they’re ready to be hanged up to dry.
You can also store food inside a trash bag to not only keep bugs out, but it can protect it from bears and many other wild animals. What you do is hang the bag high in a tree so that it can not be reached. There’s many other ways that a trash bag can be useful, but overall storing several trash bags inside a backpack takes up very little space and adds virtually no weight to it.
Baking Soda
Is another staple that is often overlooked by survivalists which is sad because it has so many uses. It deters ants, kills slugs and prevents weeds from growing, which is great way to protect your garden and food storage from them. Instead of wasting water to extinguish the flames, baking soda can do it. Just throw it directly on the flames and it’ll produce carbon dioxide which starves the fire of oxygen. Baking soda can also be used as a soap to clean your tools, clothes, and your body (even fruits and vegetables). Just make a paste with a bit of water to scrub clean. It can even be used to clean your teeth and disinfect your toothbrush. When baking soda is mixed with a little bit of hydrogen peroxide it will whiten your teeth and keep them fresh. It even makes an excellent mouthwash. Just gargling baking soda with a bit of water can help minimize the symptoms of a sore throat or a persistent cough.
Baking soda can neutralizes odors, which is great to keep down the stench of garbage, sanitation and stinky feet. It can be used as a deodorant too if you put some under your arm pits to stay fresh. It can be use to reduce itchiness and redness of bug bites, rashes, and heal sunburns.
Baking soda works as an antacid too. Just make sure that the baking soda you’re using is the pure kind. You just take a small amount of baking soda, about ¼ teaspoon in a glass of water. Thanks to it’s Ph-balancing properties it is not only used as a hangover helper, but it also reduces nausea and upset stomach, indigestion, and dyspepsia. For adults, just add ½ or 1 teaspoon of baking soda to half a glass of water and drink this once every 4 hours (or as per the severity of your problem). This dosage should not exceed 5 teaspoons per day. There are so many other ways that you can use baking soda and I still haven’t list them all.
While baking soda boxes do come stamped with an expiration date, this date is not 100 percent accurate once the box is actually opened. There is a test that can be done to check the potency of the baking soda. Mixing a tablespoon of baking soda with a few tablespoons of vinegar tells someone whether the baking soda has expired. If the soda still bubbles quite a bit in the vinegar, it’s still good.
Soda Can
It’ll be great to come across an untouched soda can, but that’s unlikely to happen since most people would take it or drink it as soon as they come across it. However, that’s fine because the empty can itself is pretty useful. You won’t have a problem finding a lot of discarded soda cans because survivors won’t be concern about littering.
What most people don’t realize is that soda can tabs can be fashioned into crude fishhooks. After pulling the tab off, bend the top to weaken the corner. If you have a knife or rock, take out a small chunk to leave a sharp angle. Then, use your knife or rock to further sharpen the tab’s point. Attach it to a shoelace or a string (such as dental floss or paracord), and you’ve got a fishing line.
The soda can can be turned into a lamp. Draw a big “I” on the side of the can. Cut the lines with a razor or knife. Open it up and put a tea candle inside. Use the tab for a hanger if you want. Or it can be turned into a torch. Just grab an empty can and dip a rolled of paper towel into olive oil. Put some oil into the can and light the paper towel which acts as the fuse.
With a charcloth, bright sun and patience, you can light a fire with the soda can. You can also make a small alcohol (denatured alcohol for fuel which is something that ultralight backpackers would know because it’s lightweight) stove out of two soda cans. It will require a bit of work, but it’s possible to heat up food with it and it’s something to keep in mind if you ever have the time, materials and knowledge to make it.
Also, if you buff the bottom of the soda can with a cloth and aluminum polish, it can be used as a reflector/signaling mirror.
Vinegar
Especially white vinegar is multi-purpose, non-toxic and inexpensive. There are about a million different ways to use it. It’s antimicrobial properties makes it useful for medicinal purposes and can replace almost every cleaning product you currently use. It’s important to have more than one way to clean your tools, food and environment, because it can lead to disease, which in a land without doctors can lead to death.
Using apple cider vinegar can help making descaling fish quicker. Just rub your fish with it for a few minutes before scaling. In addition to helping you with fish, vinegar can marinate beef, venison, ham and poultry as a meat tenderizer. This is the reason commercial marinades contain vinegar. You can make your own marinade. Just use white vinegar and rub a mixture of dry spices, herbs, and seasonings. The process not only adds flavor, but a vinegar wash will kill bacteria and tenderize your meat or poultry simultaneously.
Vinegar is used in pickling because the Ph is highly alkaline. Take a cucumber, add vinegar and soon you’ll have a pickle. It’s so high in alkaline, in fact, that bacteria just can’t grow. So vinegar will keep your produce from turning brown, too because it’s a natural food preservative.
Vinegar is a cure all for bloating, gas, heartburn and indigestion, along with a host of other ailments. Vinegar promotes digestion and Ph balance and supports a healthy immune system. It helps remove toxins in the body and eases urinary tract infections, helping your body to heal itself.
Apple cider vinegar helps diabetics maintain sugar levels. Take two teaspoons
of it in a glass of water daily for diabetic health. Vinegar has acetic acid which slows the digestion of starch and lowers the rise of glucose. Vinegar is also a natural antibacterial and helps a variety of skin conditions from eczema to aging brown spots and even warts. Vinegar can help with skin rashes, athletes foot, sunburn, relieves insect bites/stings, and provides corn and callus relief to feet.
Apple cider vinegar is a natural antibacterial. As a mouthwash you’ll clean and whiten your teeth. It also kills bad breath. A mixture of baking soda and vinegar will keep your re-usable water bottles fresh and clean. As a rust remover, vinegar is very effective with lemon juice.
Vinegar’s shelf life is almost indefinite. It does not even require refrigeration. Its acid nature makes vinegar self-preserving. White distilled vinegar will remain virtually unchanged over an extended period of time.
Bandana
Also known as kerchief has some uses in survival situations. It’s not just used for protective or decorative purposes. It can be used as a signal to catch attention, as a sling or as a hat to protect against the sun. It is helpful in both hot and cold conditions because it can cover the neck. A bandana will hold heat in if there is a chill and reduce heat gain when it’s hot. It can be utilized as a filter to aid breathing in dusty or cold conditions, as a tool for straining water and a tourniquet for bandaging a wound. It is an versatile item that’s cheap, light and easy to carry.
Bleach
Nearly everyone has a bottle of bleach either under their kitchen counter or in the laundry room. Bleach is used to whiten white clothing, remove stains from hard non-porous surfaces and to disinfect children’s toys, and in some cases used to sanitize clothing and to make biologically unsafe water potable, or safe for human consumption. It is inexpensive, and a fairly small amount will last quite a long time for most uses.
If you are living in an outdoor area, or somewhere with little protection from insects for a long period of time, it is essential to control them because insects carry and spread disease. Standing water is one of the best places for insects to lay eggs. By adding a small amount of bleach to any standing water it will kill off all insect eggs.
Bleach can also be used to purify water to make it safe to drink. This is good to know when you don’t have access to clean water. You must use pure bleach, not the kind that is perfumed or has other cleaning agents added to it.
According to the CDC 8 teaspoon (or 8 drops; about 0.625 milliliters) of unscented liquid household chlorine (5–6%) bleach for each gallon of clear water (or 2 drops of bleach for each liter or each quart of clear water). Or add ¼ teaspoon (or 16 drops; about 1.50 milliliters) of bleach for each gallon of cloudy water (or 4 drops of bleach for each liter or each quart of cloudy water). Stir the mixture well and wait at least 30 minutes after adding the drops of bleach before drinking.
If you do not have a dropper or teaspoon use a clean piece of paper. Dip a corner of the paper in the bleach and allow it to form drops on the end, shake the drops into the water. As long as you do not exceed 16 drops per gallon (¼ teaspoon) at the 5.25 to 6 percent active ingredient ratio it will not harm you. Most manuals will recommend doubling the amount of drops (up to 16 per gallon) if the water is cloudy or cold, below 60ᵒ F.
Bleach can eliminate mold from a cooler, storage areas or anything else. Simply mix one part bleach with one part water and apply to the moldy area. Bleach is great for sterilizing items which can help to keep everyone healthy and strong. Mix ¾ cups of bleach in a gallon of warm water and soak any item you want to sterilize for about a half hour. Rinse it off well and let it dry.
As for it’s life span, it doesn’t matter whether or not the bleach container has been opened or not. Temperature is the primary factor affecting how long bleach remains active. If it is stored between 50° F and 70 F° and away from sunlight, it will maintain label strength for up to 6 months (at this point hospitals should replace it). After 6 months it starts breaking down into salt and water, but it will still work well for the home cleaning up to a year.
Dental Floss
It takes very little space and is another useful item because it can do more than just keep your teeth clean. Dental floss is a very durability item, especially when it comes to making emergency repairs to clothing and equipment. Unwaxed dental floss is typically the best option for sewing. Floss can also be used as a substitute for sutures as well as for tying off a severed artery or the umbilical cord of a newborn baby. However, it is not a great substitute for a tourniquet because it can cut into the skin instead of effectively stopping bleeding.
You can make a tripwire and an alarm with it. Tie a few tin or aluminum cans and lids to a length of the floss and string it across the perimeter of your camp or outside your home. Just make sure to rub some dirt on the floss to keep it from standing out, though it would probably blend into the environment better if there was snow.
You can use it as a clothesline. String a line of floss between two trees and use it as a makeshift clothesline for your clothes. The floss is probably not going to be strong enough to hold your jeans, but it can certainly hold your unmentionables and some shirts.
If you find yourself in the woods without a good place to store your food, place it all in a bag and then suspend it in the air from a tree with some floss. Braiding several strands of dental floss together will create a stronger rope that can be used to pull or hold together heavier gear and items.
It can be used as a fishing line (if you don’t have a fishing pole, you can make a quick one out of floss and a branch. Just fashion a hook and tie it to the end of the line, and you’ll be ready to go fishing), to make a snare, a bow, a spear, and a fishing net.
If you don’t have a knife you can wrap dental floss around a hunk of meat or even a large piece of fruit and pull it tight. The floss is fine enough that it can cut through some meats and other food, making it easier for you to divvy up.
Since waxed dental floss burns easily, you can use it to get a fire going. A better method is to use it to tie bundles of kindling together. Or wrap dental floss around a match to significantly increase the burn time. You can also make a bow drill to start a fire, you could use floss as your cordage to spin the stick back and forth.
If need be, it can be used as restraints to detain an attacker. Just wrap several strands of floss around their wrists. Or used for making a a lean-to shelter with a tarp (like a garbage bag) or blanket. Just thread the floss through the holes of the tarp or the corners of the emergency blanket.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is a food that provides many purposes. It is very heat stable, and is low to oxidize, which means that it won’t go rancid as quickly as other oils. It’s a wonderful oil for high-heat cooking. Since no refrigeration required, it’s a very shelf stable oil making it an ideal addition to the pantry.
Coconut oil can last for up to two years, making it one of the top foods with a long shelf life. Most oils have a relatively short expiration date, but coconut oil will last without going rancid, and without the ill-effects of hydrogenated oils.
Because coconut oil has a hardened state and a soft state, it’s an oil that’s a
versatile replacement for so many different kinds of oils that are in your pantry
today. It can be used as a butter for your toast, as a stir fry oil, baking and other uses in cooking.
The extra virgin coconut has 100% less cholesterol than butter because unlike the other saturated fats it is not chemically treated. This makes it healthier to use, it gives you better nutrition and energy. Coconut oil may cleanse the body from toxins and impurities and as it does so, simultaneously decrease hunger and soothes stomach ailments. That is why Datrex food bars are made of coconut, it hydrates and it fills the stomach.
It’s an oil that hardens at room temperature and softens when you heat it up. Because of that you can use the oil as a candle when it’s in a solid state. Just add a wick and you have candle that also smells nice.
Coconut oil may help fight infections. Coconut oil is high in certain fatty acids, which help boost the immune system to protect against harmful bacteria. It can get rid of lice, soothe ulcers, minimize the effects of stretch marks, may relieve hemorrhoids and soothes abrasions and burns; and even relieves itchy bug bites and poison ivy too. If used regularly, coconut oil can aid in the treatment of acne, dry skin, sunburns, cracked heals, frizzy hair, and chapped lips.
Coconut oil mixed with baking soda can make an inexpensive and healthy toothpaste.
Steel Wool
Many people probably have a box of steel wool under their kitchen sink, which is helpful in cleaning their pots and pans. But in a survival situation they can do more than just that. It can be used to clean tools, quiet a motorcycle, sharpen scissors, and remove rust.
Steel wool can be used to start a campfire and there are several ways to do so. One way is to tuck some small pieces of steel wool wrapped around cotton balls and ignite it by rubbing a 9V battery’s (commonly used in walkie talkies, clocks and smoke detectors) leads over it. As it sparks, toss it on your tinder and blow so that you’ll have a fire going in no time.
Other type of batteries can work with this method too. For example, using two D cell batteries complete the circuit (have the positive terminal of both batteries touching each other) with the use of a thin piece of steel wool connecting the ends of the batteries. Don’t do it at the same time, carefully hold one end of the battery with the steel wool connected and slowly connect the other end. That should ignite it. Then place the steel wool in the nest and you’ll have fire.
Some steel wool is capable of igniting spontaneously in air with the use of friction. Using a fire striker or fire steel can do just that. Place the steel wool with other tinder and start a fire by blowing on the steel wool until it’s ignited.
Steel wool is also an inexpensive and easy way to block small holes around baseboards, pipes or other small entryways into your home. Stuff some steel wool into cracks and crevices, and then seal the area with heavy-duty tape. It will keep mice, cockroaches, snakes and other critters out.
Duck Tape
While most people will be focus on food, water and weapons they might not think to pick up duck tape. At least, not until the thought crosses their mind when they have a need for it. Most people already know that duct tape is strong, durable and inexpensive. It’s even water resistant. However, very few realize just how useful it can be.
Duct tape can be used as survival arrow fletching. The fletching is the portion of the arrow that stabilizes the weapon aerodynamically. Cut or tear off several 5-inch long strips of duct tape. Add a long edge of one of the strips to the arrow shaft (can be a straight piece of wood stripped with a knife) then repeat this same process at least two more times until a typical “feathered” fletching look is achieved. Trim away any tape ravels and the survival arrow is ready to capture dinner.
You can repair tents and tarps with duct tape to keep out water and wind. Use duct tape to make butterfly sutures by cutting two small strips and placing them on top of the wound. Cut or tear another yet smaller strip and place it across the centers of the two initial pieces of tape.
Stabilize a broken or sprained ankle or leg with duct tape. Use two small yet sturdy branches or similar piece of wood as the brace for the splint. If the victim is not wearing pants, carefully place some cloth around the leg to reduce friction and to keep from making the wound worse. Tape the splints around the leg snugly. Use whatever cloth is handy to pad the inner point of a forked branch and craft a crutch to aid the victim while walking to safety.
Duct tape can be used as a makeshift set of handcuffs. If the need arises to subdue a bad guy, or even a person from your own group who is panicked or otherwise needs a time out – simply have another hold the individual’s hands together and wrap duct tape multiple times around their wrists.
You can make a spear for hunting or self-defense by taping a knife to the end of a sturdy branch or pipe. Or make a sheath for your knife. As a sheath, duct tape will spare you from undue injury. If possible, start with some cardboard and wrap the cardboard around the knife followed by the duct tape.
You can improvise a candle from duct tape if you need it. Duct tape will ignite, so if you roll it into a makeshift candle around a stick and you’ll have a torch of
sorts.
Socks
Socks keep our feet warm and dry, but in a survival situation they can do more. Socks can help collect and filter water which is crucial to survival. Socks won’t purify water, but filtering it through fabric can help remove the more visible sediment and creepy-crawlers. And if you’ve managed to build a fire, you can boil the water, making it safer to drink.
Pour water through the sock and into a container. Allow the water to settle so any remaining sediment can fall to the bottom of the container. If you happen to have any iodine (or whatever else), use a few drops to purify the water. Add the iodine, and let the solution sit for 30 minutes before drinking it.
Cotton socks can also provide you with a source of fire-starting tinder. Rub or pick off as much lint as you can. The resulting pile of fuzz will quickly catch a spark when you’re trying to light a fire.
Honey
Is known as the only food that truly lasts forever, thanks to its chemistry and the handiwork of bees. Which is why it’s quite saddening to hear that it’s possible that honeybees could become extinct this century. There are many speculations as to why, but no one is exactly sure which is the cause for their decline, but whatever it is, honey, especially raw honey is valuable.
Most honey found in grocery stories is “commercial” which means it has been heated and filtered so it looks clean and smooth. Unfortunately, when honey is heated it loses much of its nutritional value, so try to stock up on raw honey, although even commercial honey is good for you. You’ll know it’s raw from the tiny pieces of pollen and honeycomb, or by simply checking the label. Although it will crystallize into a thick, butter-like consistency after a few months, all you have to do is warm it up with a little water to rehydrate it.
The list of health benefits seems endless with honey. The glucose in honey gives you an immediate energy boost, while the fructose keeps your energy level high for longer. So when you don’t have coffee, a spoonful of honey and water can help give you an energy boost.
Honey is full of antioxidants and has many anti-bacterial properties so it can also strengthen your immune system. When applied to wounds, honey can keep them clean and free of infections, reduce pain and swelling, and help them heal faster. Manuka honey is believed to be the best type of honey for this. Honey is great for the walls of the throat and its antimicrobial properties help kill the bacteria causing the infection. And studies have shown that buckwheat honey is as good for nighttime coughs as medicines like NyQuil. It can help with insomnia. Mix a teaspoon of honey with a glass of warm milk (or powered milk) before you go to bed.
Honey can relieve nausea, which helps those with a hangover and those with morning sickness. Just mix honey with ginger and lemon to create an elixir that should help relieve nausea.
It’s good for those with high cholesterol or type 2 diabetes. In a series of experiences, scientists have been able to show that natural honey, taken daily, can lower cholesterol and causes a much lower rise in blood sugar than refined sugars.
It also goes great with cinnamon. This mixture is good for things like arthritis, hair loss, toothaches, upset stomachs and more. There are even more benefits than the ones listed here, but you get the idea. Honey doesn’t more than just add a little sweet flavor to food and drinks.
Safety Pins
There are a multitude of survival uses for safety pins. They’re incredibly lightweight, compact, malleable, while still remaining quite durable which makes them such a great survival tool.
You can use a safety pin to go fishing, by turning it into a fishing hook. You won’t be successful reeling in big fish, but for smaller fish it won’t be an issue.
If you have a tarp, plastic bag or something else, safety pins can be used to secure them. The idea is that you would use the safety pins to pin together several materials and then use it as a covering on an improvised shelter. You could even use a safety pin to “pin” pine boughs together or other kinds of foliage and shrubbery.
Safety pins can be used to improvise an bandage to help block the flow of blood. What you’ll want to do is tear off a piece of clothing which is long enough and wide enough to totally cover the wound site. Once you’ve created the bandage covering then you’ll secure it with the safety pins to keep it firmly in place. One safety pin will suffice, but ultimately you’ll want to use three for the most secure wound covering.
In an emergency, safety pins can be used as sutures/staples. If you have a large gaping wound you can use safety pins (ideally you’ll use the small ½ inch safety pins in this case) to close a wound. Use as many as you need to bring the wound closed. However, do some research on field dressing wounds so you have better knowledge on how to do this safely and effectively.
Using a safety pin or two (the larger ones are more bendable) you can quickly pick many lock types. But the same principle applies for bobby pins and paper clips.
The sharp end of the safety pin is ideal for removing splinters and tick, but they’re especially helpful at getting rid of ticks. To use a safety pin your best bet is to clip both ends of the safety pin so they’re even. Sharpen them so they can grasp the tick and then using them just like tweezers to remove the tick. Don’t try gauging it out or stabbing it off, just use the safety pin like you would a pair of tweezers. Last thing you want is to squeeze, crush, or puncture the body of the tick, since its bodily fluids may contain infection-causing organisms (like lyme disease).
Using a safety pin and a 9 volt battery you can start a fire.
Salt
It has been used for centuries as a tool for preserving other foods (or bodies) because it removes moisture. The salt in your cupboard may not last forever, though. Morton Salt points out that adding iodine to table salt reduces the shelf life, so if your container says iodized salt, expect it to only last about 5 years.
Either way, it has a pretty decent lifespan and many people today still use it. From salt cures to pickling and preserves, salt is useful as a food preservative. Salt does this by inhibiting growth of germs in a process of osmosis where the salt pushes water out of the microbial cells. For pickling, use only pickling salt because it has no additives. It’s pure salt. Pure canning and pickling salt has no additives or anti-caking ingredients to darken pickles or cloud pickling liquid.
Salt can be used to test the freshness of your eggs. Mix two cups of water with four teaspoons salt until the salt dissolves, then place the egg in question in the solution. A fresh egg sinks; conversely, a bad egg floats.
It can be used as a pest control since salt drives ants away, and is a cruel death for slugs.
Adding salt to water makes the water boil faster, which often reduces cooking time and saves valuable fuel. Adding salt to pasta also will help reduce the gelatin starch in the pasta. And you can never add too much salt to pasta because pasta has a limit to salt absorption.
Water will only make a grease fire worse. Salt on a grease fire; however can effectively help you smother the flames.
Salt will certainly help clear the icy roads. Those living in cold regions know that salt will help dry your clothes in winter. Use salt in the final laundry rinse if you are hanging your clothes on the line outside.
Salt eases dental problems, which is why dentists recommend swishing with a warm salt water solution. Salt acts as an isotonic. It also soothes sore throats.
Nowadays people, especially Americans get more than enough sodium and salt in their diet (thanks in part to the commercially processed foods available), which is probably why they take salt for granted. In a world living off the grid; however, salt becomes increasingly important to maintain life.
Bobby Pins
Bobby pins are great for pinning down flyaway bangs, but they’re also great for pushing up the unused gel in a tube of toothpaste, marking the end of a transparent tape roll, opening the plastic seal in food jars, and even removing the pits from ripe cherries or olives.
Like the almighty paper clip, bobby pins are also great for securing the loose end of your extra-long belt, temporarily hemming your pants, hanging Christmas ornaments, and pushing the tiny reset button in your small electronic devices.
In a survival situation bobby pins can be turned into a makeshift fishing hook. It can be used to pick a lock. If you don’t have a screwdriver handy but need to get something unscrewed, a bobby pin will do the job (not quickly, but it’ll work).
They can also be used as a clothespin, but it works better for smaller garments, such as socks, washcloths and shirts.
Most people have accidentally hit their finger with a hammer so they know how much this hurts. To avoid this, slip a nail in between the sides of the bobby pin. Hold the bottom of the pin, and then start hammering the nail into the wall or whatever it is.
Tampons
The tampon is actually regulated in the US by the Food & Drug Administration as a Class II Medical Device. There is some research that indicate that tampons were used as early as the 19th century as battle dressings to plug bullet holes. There are even accounts of tampons being used as wound plugs in modern warfare. Regardless of intended use, the common tampon has many practical survival uses.
Opening a tampon up and using the cotton material inside it, could be used as tinder, as dressing for a wound, it can be used to filter water before making it potable with a tablet, potassium permanganate crystals or whatever else you have. After filtering it leave the water exposed to sunlight UV in a clear bag (or bottle) as to kill most of the bugs in it.
Tearing one or two tampons up and throwing it in the gas tank of an enemy;s vehicle is a way to sabotage them. The fuel pump and filter won’t like it one bit. Tampons have been used many times in gun shot wounds with a fair amount of success, expanding and stopping the hemorrhage. They are after all designed to contain bleeding. Even the little piece of string can be used for cordage. A word of caution about gun shot wounds and tampons; be careful of sucking chest wounds that the tampon doesn’t get sucked into the lung. Also in the feminine hygiene department, pads are supposed to be good for dressing wound as well.
Olive Oil
Olive oil when it is opened it goes bad faster than most oils, lasting only about 2 months. However, it will last for at least 1-2 years or more if it’s left unopened and stored in a cool dark place. That means that as long as you cycle through your stock regularly you can keep a year’s worth of the oil stocked up in case things get bad. Olive oil is better for much more than cooking, and can do just about everything from medical uses to making a candle.
It can work as an natural moisturizer, so you can use it as body lotion, hand cream and even as hair conditioner. It will soften dry skin and help scratches heal faster. If it`s freezing outside, applying some olive oil to exposed skin before going outside will protect it against the cold. Remember, something as simple as cracked skin can lead to an infection that you might not have antibiotics for. With it’s moisturizing effects, it is also good for your leather shoes and jackets. Apply a thin layer of olive oil on your leather to keep it in good condition. Olive oil helps them preserve their shine longer, saving you from spending money on new shoes. Just makes sure to wipe the dust off your jacket or shoes before applying the oil.
You won’t have cans of shaving cream, but olive oil can do the job just as well. So it will work as a shaving lotion, cutting down on razor burn and cuts. Just rub some over your face and shave normally. You’ll get a close shave and soft skin, too.
Olive oil can be used as a lubricant. Even expired olive oil can worked too. Instead of tossing out of date olive oil, use it to lube and protect metal objects like hinges and tools.
If you’re in need of a candle, olive oil works pretty well. This is great for long-term survival. All you need is olive oil (expired or not, doesn’t matter), mason jar, wick (any fabric string, including strings, shoelaces, or mop strings), and paperclip or ornament holder.
Pantyhose
They can be used for a number of purposes such as pre-filtering water, as cordage, a tourniquet, improvised vehicle fan belt, pretty good fishing net, cover your scopes lens to avoid reflection, cover your face when you want to avoid detection or freak someone out. Many hikers, hunters and athletes actually wear them too because they keep their legs warmer, and more importantly they stop ticks.
There are still many items that can be very useful in survival situations. I also haven’t written all of the possible uses of each and every items I’ve listed. But with a bit more research you can easily find out more. It is pretty surprising and incredible how simple things that most people will most likely dismiss in an apocalypse as useless isn’t really. You can use that to your advantage when the most common/sought out items are harder to find. Using other alternatives or just knowing what items have multiple uses is important for survival.
 DamnBlackHeart · Mon Oct 10, 2016 @ 04:35am · 0 Comments |
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