Many Uses for Common Household Items

There are a few common household items that I would suggest you keep around because of their multitude of uses, including aluminum foil, large trash bags, and aluminum foil…

Many Uses for Aluminum Foil

When reading recommendations for survival gear, people often suggest aluminum foil. Besides it’s usefulness in cooking food for everyday use, here are a few other reasons to stock such a useful item…

According to Doug Ritter from Equipped To Survive (one of my more favorite sites by the way), “Plenty of heavy duty (not standard weight) aluminum foil will come in real handy and is among the most versatile of supplies, while weighing next to nothing. It makes a superb heat reflector, provides a fireproof base when needed, can be formed into cups, pots or pans and has numerous other cooking uses and it can be used in various ways for signaling, just to name a few of its many possible functions.”

I might also add that in a pinch you could use it for electrical repairs such as to gap blown fuses (remember that fuses are there for a reason so this should ONLY be done if absolutely necessary), to sharpen scissors, and even creating a make-shift solar oven.

Aluminum foil is simply a must-have item. You can buy a few rolls and store it away for years without a second thought. Be sure to get the heavy-duty rolls for sturdiness.

Many Uses for Trash Bags

Large trash bags are another very useful item that one can never have enough of. Buy a box of 33-gallon heavy-duty trash bags and stash them away. It would also be prudent to keep a few in your 72 hour bag (I do) and even in your vehicle kit as well since they can be: turned into lightweight make-shift rain gear, used to carry water, used as a weather-barrier (to close off a broken window, for instance)… the uses are endless.

Explains how to use large trash bags as a make-shift NBC suit, water storage, rain gear, etc.

I should also point out that smaller 13-gallon trash bags placed inside a 5-gallon bucket would be useful to dispose of porta-potty waste in the event that your plumbing stops working; make sure they are heavy-duty or double-up bags.

Brief 30 second video about using a large trash bag for rain gear:

Many Uses for Petroleum Jelly

Petroleum jelly (vaseline) is another wonderful product. You can use it to seal skin cuts, for chapped lips, rashes, protect skin from cold weather, grease tight fits, as corrosion protection, and so on. It seems to last forever and I suggest keeping a few jars of it stashed away should you ever need it. In particular, a small jar kept in your 72 hour and vehicle kits would be a good idea.

You can also combine things that take a spark and petroleum jelly to make a very effective fire starter (such as a cotton ball) since petroleum jelly burns for a long period of time: