The Preppers Apocalypse Survival Guide to Scavenging Everyday Household Items
By Steve Rayder

© 2015 by Steve Rayder
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without prior permission in writing from the author.

Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

Table of Contents

                                                                                                                                                                                                          Introduction

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Chapstick and Vaseline

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Duct Tape

                                                                                                                                                                                                        Tampons

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Bleach and Iodine

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Bandanas

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Coat Hangers and Wire

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Bin Liners / Trash Bags

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Rope / Cordage

                                                                                                                                                                                                      Empty Drinks Cans

                                                                                                                                                                                                       Drinking Straws

                                                                                                                                                                                                      Zip Ties

                                                                                                                                                                                                      Paperclips

                                                                                                                                                                                                      Tin Foil / Aluminum Foil

                                                                                                                                                                                                      Balloons

                                                                                                                                                                                                      Clingfilm / Plastic Wrap

                                                                                                                                                                                                      Tin Cans

                                                                                                                                                                                                      Computers and Laptops

                                                                                                                                                                                                      Everything Else

                                                                                                                                                                                                     Final Thoughts

Introduction

If the end of the world as we know it were to occur, there would be mass looting and scavenging. Homes, hospitals and shops would be prime targets and would be quickly cleared out. Food and weapons would be top of the list for most looters and would go quickly.

There are however many every day, common items that many looters would leave untouched because they may not realize just how valuable these items are. This book will tell you what these things are and exactly what they can be used for.

For example the cover of this book has broken glass and a teddy bear on it. But a great scavenger would see a knife and some tinder.

This book will not only give you ideas on what you can scavenge, but it could also give you some ideas of some great multi-use items that you can keep in your bug out bag. As many of the items in this book have a whole host of survival uses and applications.

A Quick Note:

Just before we get started, I should also mention that I refer to a few ways of making small lanterns and candles in this book which obviously require some kind of fuel source. So as I don’t want to repeat myself every time when I say to dip something into a liquid fuel source, I am referring to something like oil, liquid/melted tree sap or animal fat.

The oil can be vegetable oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, automotive oil etc. so can be scavenged. Tree sap is easily found dripping from trees throughout wooded areas. Animal fat for use as a fuel can be collected dripping from meat that you are cooking. Anyway, on with the book!

Chapstick and Vaseline

Obviously Chapstick can be used as lip balm and for chapped hands, which is great, but it has many other uses too. All of the things Chapstick can be used for, Vaseline can also be used for.

You can put a small amount onto your glasses or goggles and rub it in. Then wipe the lenses off with a cloth to ensure you can see through them properly only leaving a very thin coasting. This will provide you with anti-fog protection.

Rub some Chapstick or Vaseline into the fibers of cotton wool, dry grass, wood/bark shavings etc. It will greatly extend the burn time making a much better tinder.

You can rub Chapstick or Vaseline onto the thread of a flashlight, or anything else with a thread for that matter, and it will help to waterproof it and also lubricate the thread to extend its operational lifespan.

You can apply some Chapstick or Vaseline to the blade of your knife to protect it from water and any potential oxidization and rusting and help to keep it sharp.

It can also be used for just every day, general lubrication purposes. This is good for a variety of tools and mechanical purposes.

It can also be spread onto zippers for some added water resistance. Simply apply a small amount and run the zipper a few times to spread it about. This will also extend the life of zipper and make it much smoother to use.

You can cut the tip off of a Q-tip, cover it in lip balm and push it into the Chapstick container. Then when you light the end you will have a nice little makeshift candle that will give you a great burn time.

Chapstick and Vaseline can even be used to plug small pin prick holes in tarps or tents. It may not be the most permanent solution in the world but if it’s raining and you need a quick fix this is a good option.

A great use is also for rubbing over areas such as your heels to help prevent blisters. If you’re walking long distances this is a big problem and a bit of lubrication to reduce the friction will help a great deal.

You could even mix it with ash from your fire to make a form of camo face paint. If you don’t have any sunglasses you can put this mixture under your eyes to help prevent debilitating snow blindness.

When your Chapstick is all used up, you can take out the mechanism and use the container to store other things such as tinder or matches.

There have been reports and stories of people eating 2 spoons of Vaseline a day to stay alive when they have no food. I wouldn’t try it or recommend it but if I was dying of starvation then I would definitely give it a go!

Vaseline can also be used for sealing cuts and grazes to help prevent dirt or contaminants getting in to the wound and potentially causing an infection.

Both Chapstick and Vaseline can be used as an insect repellent. They don’t like it as it’s greasy so you can put some on your skin to help fend off mosquitos and cover the areas around food or anywhere else you don’t want bugs landing.

They can also both be used for extra water resistance of fabrics on problematic areas like your boots. Simply rub some into the non-waterproof fabric areas and you will have a water repellent barrier. This works best if left to fully dry out afterwards but can work in the short term too. This will cause the fabric to be less breathable too however which can cause problems with moisture from sweating so only do this if you’re going through really wet terrain and you have no other choice.

Duct Tape

Duct Tape is obviously a great survival item to have at your disposal, if you can find some, for many reasons. It is water resistant and extremely strong, it was actually developed in World War II to seal ammunition cases.

Duct Tape can be doubled up or folded in half to make a strap for a rifle or for anything else for that matter. It can also be used to form a makeshift sheath for a knife or to attach a knife to the end of a long stick to make a hunting spear.

It can be used as a medical binding tape to keep bandages secured tightly over a wound, this also helps to stop the bandage getting wet in the rain. If bandages are wet they actually stop the blood from congealing and promote further bleeding of the wound. You could even tape some sticks to your leg for a makeshift splint and it can even be used to make slings. Or if you don’t have gloves you can wrap it round your hands to help prevent blisters whilst performing labor intensive activates.

If things get bad enough it can even be used to restrain anyone who may be acting hostile towards you. It can also be used to tape the door handles of double doors together to secure a safe area in urban locations.

As it is water resistant and strong it can be used for temporary vehicle repairs, such as sealing broken tubes and fuel leaks. This also makes it great for sealing containers or repairing leaks in shelters, tarps and ponchos.

You could even wrap it around non water resistant parts of boots or shoes to keep your feet dry, which is always important. Doing this will also help to insulate your feet in cold weather.

Duct tape can even be used as flypaper in your shelter or tent. It can also be used to leave messages written in tape to other people or to leave a trail and markers.

You can even use it to make a temporary water container. To do this you will need to double it up and form it into some sort of bowl shape which is easier said than done, but it is possible if you need to do it.

It will also burn quite well, you can roll it into a tube and light the end to make a candle to provide some light that will last a decent amount of time. By rolling it up in the other direction you can also make cordage out of it if you use a longer piece.

I’m sure you will find a million other uses for it too. It really is one of the most versatile and useful things that you can find while scavenging.

Tampons

Tampons make really fantastic survival items. They may not have as many uses as some other items, but they uses they do have are very important.

They are made of cotton, so they make great Tinder for fire starting and will catch a spark easily if you fluff them out a bit. They can even be charred in a char tin (refer to my book on fire starting for more info on char materials) to make it catch a spark much easier. You can also add Vaseline or Chapstick and rub it in to the fibers for a dramatically extended burn time.

Tampons are also sterile making them perfect for medical applications. Simply unroll the tampon and tape or tie over your wound and you have a sterile dressing.

Tampons are also great for use in primitive water filtration systems. Simply unroll and fluff them up and then stuff them into the neck of an upside down bottle with the bottom cut off. Then add some powdered charcoal and some sand if you can find it, and you have a water filter. This removes sediment and gets water cleaner and ready to boil. A little tip for you if your filter is running too fast is to leave the cap on the bottle and pierce a hole in it to slow down the flow.

Tampon wrappers are waterproof and can be used for storing matches or tinder inside. If you need something to secure the end of the tampon packet you can use the string from the tampon to tie the end. Obviously as the wrappers are also waterproof this also means they are airtight so can be used to make floats for fishing.

They can even be used to make slow burning candles. Simply roll some of the fibers into a small wick and dip into some liquid fuel in a small dish, tea light case, metal bottle cap or whatever else you can find and light the end. The string can also be used but will burn quite quickly in comparison.

Bleach and Iodine

Bleach is useful for making water safe to drink without the use of fire. This may sound dangerous as obviously drinking bleach generally isn’t a great idea, but it’s actually not dangerous when it is highly diluted and not done for an extremely extended time period. It will however destroy anything harmful in the water.

To purify water with bleach you need clean the sediment from the water using some kind of water filtration set up. I’m sure most of you will know how to do this with an upturned bottle and layering up some filter media and I described this in the last chapter briefly so I won’t go into that again. Then once your water is free of sediment, add 4 drops of bleach per liter of warm water and leave it to sit for half an hour. If you can’t warm your water in any way then just double the dose but it will taste quite bleachy.

Iodine can also be used in the same way and it’s safer for human consumption than bleach. Side note, it is recommended that you don’t use Iodine for water purification for longer 6 months straight. For those of you worried about a nuclear disaster, Iodine is also absorbed by your thyroid and will protect it against radiation, bonus!

If you don’t like the taste of Iodine you can keep an eye out for some vitamin C tablets on your scavenging missions as they will neutralize the Iodine and make your water taste a lot better.

Bandanas

Obviously these are great survival items, I mean, boy scouts and cowboys don’t just wear them to look cool!

The first and most obvious use is that they can be used as a scarf to keep in body heat and keep the wind out.

You can also wrap them around your neck or head to keep sun off of you and prevent sunburn. Or if you wet them and wrap them around your head they will not only keep the sun off your skin but also evaporate heat away from your head keeping you cool. Short on water? Remember, you can always use urine if you need to!

In wet weather conditions you can wrap one around your forehead to help keep the rain out of your eyes.

In a pinch they can even be used to make a tourniquet by tying them round your arm or leg and then using something like a branch to twist and apply pressure.

Although fairly short they are quite long if you use them diagonally from corner to corner meaning you can use them as an improvised strap to tie items to your pack or belt.

Similarly they can be tied at all four corners and used as a pouch for carrying things. Very useful for when you are foraging for food like berries and mushrooms.

They can also be put over your mouth and nose to help prevent the inhalation of dust or smoke. Or tie them round your face, this will also camouflage you better or even conceal your identity if needs be.

They could even be used as a makeshift flannel for cleaning yourself. This is great if its cold out and you don’t want to go jumping into a river to get clean. Instead you can heat up some water over the fire and wash yourself off with the bandana.

If you needed to you could cut your bandana into strips and tie the strips to trees or landmarks help to mark a trail either for others to follow or for you to follow back the way you came. This obviously works best with a colored bandana and is a bit of a waste if you ask me! But the option is there.

Now, in a pinch, I’m talking a real pinch. A bandana can come in handy as some back up toilet roll. Now this really is a waste of a good bandana as I’m assuming you’re not going to want to wash that off and use it again, but it can be done. Moving on…

They can also be used to cover a wound, as long as you haven’t previously used it as toilet roll. It’s not recommended that you use a bandana as a dressing however as they’re not sterile, but if you have no other way of stopping the bleeding then they are much better than nothing.

If you have a brightly colored bandana they can also be used for signaling.

Coat Hangers and Wire

Although they’re not quite so common these days, wire coat hangers can still be found. Especially if you’re scavenging round multiple houses or if you manage to come across my nans place.

They can be used to suspend metal canteens over a fire in the same way as mouth spreaders that are used by fishermen. This not only gives you can easy way to suspend your canteen in order to boil your water but it also gives you a handle that makes it easier and safer to remove the canteen from the fire using a stick.

Wire coat hangers can also be used to make thick hooks for larger fish such as pike or sea bass. Simply sharpen one end with a file and bend them into shape. If you have a good multitool you should have a file on there. If not you can use concrete or something similar to grind it down to a good sharp point.

They can also be straightened out with a hook shape on the end for reaching down into small gaps or over ledges. For example, you could use this to lower a container into a fuel storage tank at a gas station to get to the fuel or for lowering a container down a river bank to collect water.

You can even make stands for things like penny stoves out of wire coat hangers. I will explain penny stoves later on in the book if you haven’t heard of them before.

They can also be used for replacement antennas for radios. Or as an antenna extension that you can attach with some tape or by winding it round the existing antenna.

You can also utilize them by making a safety pin style clasp for hanging gear on your bag or jacket or belt, which is always useful. Or you can make hooks for hanging items round camp and for hanging pots over the fire.

Making tent pegs is another use for wire coat hangers. Even if you don’t have a tent they are great for securing tarps for lightweight shelters if you’re on the move.

They can be used for breaking into cars, although this is quite a difficult skill to master and it only works on old cars too.

Let’s not forget the most important use, toasting marshmallows! Ok I’m joking but they can be used to secure food and hold it over fire while it is cooking.

General wire, the kind that you get on a spool also has many very useful applications in a survival situation. Any kind of electrical cables can be scavenged and just keep an open mind when scavenging. For example if you find an old beaten up bicycle that other scavengers may not take a second look it, the brake cables are still good wire that you can take. The spokes can be used instead of coat hangers for all of the things I just mentioned. Also the inner tubes make good tinder for a fire and the chain can be used as a saw to cut through wood. Anyway, I’m getting carried away! Back to wire.

Firstly, it’s great for shelter building purposes. It’s strong enough to be used to bind branches together when making a wooden shelter. This is much safer than just leaning your wood up against a tree and hoping it holds, especially in high winds.

You can use wire to suspend things over your fire especially if your bottle has a lip around the top, the wire can be tied around this and made into a loop. This enables you to boil water directly in your canteen.

Obviously wire can be used to make electrical connections which could come in very handy if your radio breaks for example. 

Bin Liners / Trash Bags

Bin Bags are great items for survival mainly due to their water resistance. This means they can be used for a whole range of things that come in very handy.

Firstly, you can cut a holes in the sealed end of the bag for your arms and head and use it as a makeshift poncho. They can also be used to cover your legs or boots for extra waterproofing or they could even be used as a hood as well as a cover for your bag. Or of course, do all of these things for a full waterproof suit.

You can also cut them open and join them together with some tape to use them as a tarp for a makeshift shelter or wind break. They can also be laid over a wooden frame of a more permanent shelter to help with the waterproofing aspect.

They can also be stuffed with leaves to make a pillow or mattress. Laying directly on the ground will suck heat away from you very quickly. Also, if you don’t have a blanket or sleeping bag you can always cover yourself with a couple of them to help retain heat and stay dry while you are sleeping.

You can also dig a hole and line it with the bag or hammer steaks into the ground to hold the bag open. Both will enable to you catch rain water. To speed this process up, if you have a tarp set up you can angle the tarp to drain the water from your shelter straight into the bag.

Similarly, they can be used to carry water from one location to another. This is very handy if your camp isn’t close to water. Some bags are very strong and will enable you to store and transport fairly large amounts of water.

Obviously they can be used to carry other items too. This will also ensure that sure whatever items you keep in the bag stay dry.

If you’re in a building you can use them to black out the windows, this is hugely important in an urban location as you will most likely want to stay hidden. At night in a post-apocalyptic situation, where there is no power, even a tea light will shine like a beacon out of a window attracting other people to your location. If you tape around the edges, this will also help keep out gas if there is a chemical attack.

A couple of other creative ways to use the colored bags is to signal your location to other people. You can hoist one up a tree as a flag to help people find you or, in high winds you could even make a kite for long range visibility.

Finally, they can also be used to trap air and therefore used as a buoyancy aid when crossing water.

Rope / Cordage

Now it’s fairly obvious that this is a good survival item and most of it will be looted straight away, but there are various forms of cordage that may be overlooked by other people such as clothes line, light switch string, electric cables, phone chargers, dental floss and string from blinds to name a few.

I think anyone who is into prepping will be familiar with the uses for cordage such as shelter building and climbing but there may be some more uses that you may not have thought of.

If you have some fairly thin cordage then you can actually tie together a makeshift fishing net. If you can find some rocks with holes or grooves in and tie them into the corners of the net, you can weigh it down to a riverbed. Then you can quickly pull it up once in a while and see if you have managed to trap any fish or other things such as crayfish.

Cordage can also be wrapped around handles of tools to improve grip. This way you also have cordage with you wherever you carry your tool. You can also use it to make carry straps for your tools or anything else for that matter.

Even if your rope isn’t that thick, as long as it is strong enough to support your body weight, you can still use it for climbing. As thin rope is near impossible to climb you will have to tie hand/foot loops. It can also be used to pull up and lower gear so you don’t have to climb with it on your back making climbing much safer and easier.

Also a great use for any type of cordage is for suspending gear to stop it getting wet on the ground and to keep items like food out of the reach of animals.

Empty Drinks Cans

Drink cans are easy to find in urban locations and have a range of uses.

As they are made of metal, they can be used to sterilize water in by filling them with water and placing them directly on hot embers from your fire. Then once you have let it boil for 3 minutes (5 at high altitudes) and cool down you can drink directly from the can as the fire would also heat and sterilize the metal.

Due to the reflective inside of the can you can make great lanterns out of them. Simply cut vertically down the center of the can, then cut at the top and bottom to make 2 door shapes and fold them open. Add a candle or make a candle from some sort of wick and some liquid fuel. The light will now be reflected in the direction you want. This means less wasted light and a stronger light in the direction you do want it facing. This also hides light from other directions and means you will be less easily spotted. You can even use the ring pull tab as a hanger if you want to suspend your lantern.

You can also make a basic kind of oil lamp design. Simply make a wick of some kind and fill the can half way with liquid fuel and add the wick then light. The wick will draw up the fuel and burn very slowly. This could potentially work as a mini stove if you make a stand or suspend your cookware above the flame.

The more advanced option is a penny stove. They are a bit harder to make and they require a highly flammable fuel such as lighter fluid or methylated spirits but they work very well. You need to cut the bottom off of two cans. Into one of these sections, you need to add some sort of absorbent material such as cotton wool to hold the fuel, the same as how a zippo works. Then slot the two pieces together and pierce holes as shown in the diagram. The fuel is then poured into the central holes. Then once lit, you throw a coin into the center and you have something that very closely resembles a gas ring from a stove.

You can also make a very crude fishing hook from the ring pull tab. But the hook will be so big it will only be useful for catching larger fish and I therefore doubt the reliability of this as it may bend easily.

The bottom of drinks cans can make excellent signaling mirrors. To do this, all you need to do is to polish the bottom by rubbing in some sand and finish by rubbing with some cloth. The bottom will become very reflective and is great for signaling.

You can even make a fire starter out of a drinks can, it’s not the best method but it does work in strong sunlight. Do the same polishing method as mentioned above on the bottom of the can. On a hot sunny day it is possible, due to the concave shape of the bottom of the can, to hold it at the right angle and focus the reflection into a fine point as you would with a magnifying glass. I haven’t tried this myself yet but I have seen it done so I can confirm it works.

Drinking Straws

The ends of straws can be sealed using fire. The best way to do this is with a multi tool or pliers so that you can crimp down the melted ends for a better waterproof and air tight seal. This means that you can use them for storing various items.

It’s best to do this with transparent straws so you can see the contents, or you could use different colours to colour code the contents. If you’re using the thicker, larger straws you could even label them with a sharpie.

They can be used in this way to keep matches dry for example. If you can find large straws they can even be used as a waterproof casing for ammo.

You can also make small seasoning packets. This may sound strange but trust me, when you’re eating bland food just in order to survive you will appreciate a bit of seasoning on your food more than you realize! This is a good way to store any seasoning or spices you may be able to scavenge in single use, airtight packets. Or you can pre-pack some packets of salt or oil for example.

If you seal them when they are empty and just filled with air they will be buoyant so can be used as a pretty good fishing float.

You can also pack a straw using cotton wool mixed with Vaseline or Chapstick. When lit this will burn very slowly and act as a candle.

Zip Ties

Zip ties have a bit of a reputation for being used to restrain people in post-apocalyptic scenarios. While they can be used for this, in actual fact there are many more great uses for them than you might think. The really great thing about zip ties in my opinion is that that can be tightened using one hand, leaving your other hand free to hold whatever you’re securing.

They can be used for attaching items to your bag or belt. If you have something like a knife sheath that has the type of clip that simply slips onto your bag or belt, it may have the potential to come loose. Now obviously you really don’t want to lose your knife or anything else for that matter. So what you can do is use a zip tie around the bottom of the clip and around the rest of the sheath. This will ensure it doesn’t come loose. This does mean you won’t be able to remove it though, so if you want to be able to remove it more easily you can securely fasten a carabineer to the clip using a zip tie, then attach the item using the carabineer making it much less likely to come off. This may not be the most elegant solution but works.

Tip ties also make compacting things like sleeping bags and blankets much easier as they will only tighten and not slip and become looser when you let go. If you only have small zip ties they can be connected together so that they can wrap right round the item you’re tying up. They can even be used to make carry handles for items like this too.

You could potentially use them to secure bandages and dressings over wounds and add pressure but it’s best to pad them out with something like a bandana so they aren’t directly cutting into your skin. Anything too thin will cut off circulation and be dangerous. Similarly they can be used for securing splints, but again, make sure you pad them out.

They can of course be used for securing tarps to trees instead of using rope or something similar. This is much faster than having to tie knots etc. meaning that if it suddenly starts to train you can put up a very stick shelter to keep yourself dry. You can also use them to connect pieces of wood when making a more permanent shelter.

You can make snares out of a long zip tie or you can connect small ones together as long as the end zip tie makes a big enough loop. They are a bit stiffer than standard snares so may not work quite as well but once they are tight they will not come undone.

They can also be used to make loops to hang things around camp like a lantern for example. Or if you’re setting up in an urban location they can be used to lock double door handles together to stop people entering the building.

Another great use for zip ties is to mark trails. Obviously it’s best to use the brightly colored ones for this. By doing this you can leave the loose end pointing in the direction you are moving, so even if you only find one you can still get a better idea of what direction you came from originally making it much easier to find your way back. Or they can be left as a trail for other people to follow.

If you are using a bike and are going across country or snow, you can put zip ties around the wheels with the connector facing outwards for extra tire traction.

Also something that some people don’t realize is the fairly obvious (if you think about it) fact that zip locks are reusable. You don’t have to wedge the locking part open like some people think. If you cut off the section you have used and pull through the used part you can use the rest of the zip tie again. You could prize the tab open, but doing that can seriously decrease its effectiveness.

Paperclips

Even the humble paperclip has a number of uses. They can be used as replacement zipper pulls or even as replacement buttons for your shirt or trousers. They may not look that stylish but they do work.

They can be used to make hooks for reaching into small spaces or for hooking things around camp to keep them off the ground. They can also be used as a safety pin like device that can be used to clip items into your bag or belt. Obviously they aren’t majorly strong used as they are, but if you unravel them and rework them into a clasp like device they will be much stronger and more reliable.

They can be used to seal bags to help keep things dry. They can also be used to secure dual zippers to ensure nothing falls out of your bag, as sometimes when moving through rough terrain zippers can get caught and come undone or after a lot of usage zippers may start to become loose. Using a paperclip to keep dual zipper connected will help with this problem.

If you find that you need one of those very small micro screwdrivers and you don’t have one you can actually flatten the end of a paperclip by hitting it between two rocks or something similar. This will make something close to a mini screwdriver.

If you have 2 of the larger type of paperclips you can make a lock pick kit. To do this, firstly to make the “rake” straighten out the first paperclip leaving a loop on the end as a grip. Now you want to bend an M shape that is about a quarter of an inch long into the tip of the straightened out section. Next you will need a tension wrench, so using the 2nd paper clip fold it completely in half and then bend a right angle in it about an inch from the top of the bent end. It’s that easy, you now have a lock pick set!

To use it, just put the tension wrench into the lock and apply slight pressure to turn the cylinder of the lock like a key would. Then insert the rake and move it backwards and forwards against the top of the key hole. It may take a while but it will work eventually. It might be worth trying this out on your own door and getting a feel for it.

Paperclips can also be used to make connections to repair electrical equipment. They can make a longer length of metal when wound together so you could connect the top and bottom of a battery to a blub for example and make a torch.

Tin Foil / Aluminum Foil

Both Tin Foil and Aluminum Foil are fantastic survival items and serve identical purposes. The first thing I want to mention that hardly anybody seems to realize is that most of the boxes that the foil comes in have tabs at the end that you can push in to keep the foil in place in the box while you tear off the amount you need. So there’s a handy tip for you if you hadn’t realized that before.

You can use foil as a makeshift signaling mirror. Obviously a mirror is better as it is more effective at reflecting light but foil will work too. The advantage of using foil for this purpose is that you can use a very large piece making it more obvious to people passing by.

Foil will also make a great light reflector. This can help stop light shining in a direction that you don’t want it to which is useful for concealing your location. It also amplifies the effectiveness of your flashlight if you point the beam into a curved or angled reflector by spreading the light and giving it more of a lantern effect. A reflector can also of course be used with a camp fire or a candle in exactly the same way.

If you get a forked stick you can actually wrap tin foil over the forked section and cook on the piece of tin foil by holding or wedging it in place over a fire. It’s best to use living, green wood for this task otherwise the stick may catch on fire, break off and drop your food straight into the fire.

You can also simply wrap food in tin foil and place it directly into the embers and use it to make bowls or water containers. This will allow you to boil water to make it sake for drinking.

You can obviously use it for a more traditional use and use it to wrap food that you are saving to eat later or to cover containers. You could even use it as a temporary lid for a bottle or canteen.

If you have a flash light or a radio that needs more batteries than you have with you, you can use a ball of tin foil to fill the empty battery space to run it on less batteries.

I have heard that folding up foil and then cutting through it with scissors will sharpen the scissor blades. I’m not 100% convinced on this but it does clean and hone them making them more effective.

It does a good job of cleaning metal objects if you scrub them with crumpled up foil. This is great for using an improvised scouring pad for your mess tins and eating utensils.

Tinder can also be wrapped in tin foil, this is water resistant so will keep your tinder dry but it also means you will have extra tin foil should you need it. As you may have noticed I’m a big fan of all things multi-use so having something that keeps your tinder dry that has all these uses too is great in my opinion.

If you have fishing equipment and no bait, you can wrap a small piece of foil around a hook to make a lure. Most fish will eat fish that are smaller than them and this tin foil could look like a small fish. They will also try eating something if they see it floating through the water to see if it’s edible, at which point your hook is in their mouth which is all you need. Predatory fish like perch will be your main target using this method however as what you will have is practically a lure.

Balloons

The humble balloons elastic and water resistant qualities make it a very useful survival item.

As with a couple of other items in this book they can be used as an emergency tourniquet in the event of a deep wound to restrict blood flow.

A really handy use for a balloon is for sealing water containers if you lose the lid. I see a lot of people saying you can use them as water containers but unless you have a jet of water to fill it with then I’m pretty sure you’re going to find that incredibly hard to do. Imagine trying to inflate a balloon using water in a stream or lake, how would you even begin to do that? I suppose you might be able to make a funnel out of some tin foil and pour water into it in the hope that the weight of the water and the pressure from the water in the funnel would inflate it, but I doubt that would work.

They can however be used as cordage for lashing wood together when building a shelter, although the rubber may degrade over time so this is best for temporary structures. And as with zip ties as I mentioned earlier, they can be used to hold an emergency splint in place.

A clever use for balloon if you have a gun or air rifle is as a rifle barrel cover. It will ensure your gun barrel stays clean and free of dirt and grime. If you’re worried about it meaning you can’t use your gun as quickly, you can always shoot straight through it if you need to.

Balloons are often brightly colored so they make great trail markers. They work extra well if you blow them up as this increases their visibility. They can be used for any sort of marking purposes really and even as a buoy. This is very useful if you have set hooks or a submerged trap. If you only put a bit of air into them they can also be used as a fishing float. They can even be used as a buoyancy aid if you need to cross a stretch of water.

Any items that you may need to keep dry that are fairly small can go inside a balloon. Finally, they can be used as elastic for a makeshift sling shot.

Clingfilm / Plastic Wrap

Due to the fact that you will probably be messing about with fires a lot more than you normally would do in a survival situation, you will probably end up getting burned at some point or other. You can actually use Clingfilm to treat burn wounds.

Clingfilm works well for burns because, other than keeping out anything that could potentially cause the wound to become infected, it also stops the air getting to it and therefore reduces the pain.

To treat a burn wound using Clingfilm you first need to make sure it’s clean, so you can remove the first piece of cling film around the outside of the tube to get to the clean stuff on the inside, or just remember to always use the inner surface. Then just wrap around the wound to secure it in place.

It has some similar qualities to foil and can obviously be used to wrap food that you are saving for a later date and for keeping various items dry.

It can also be used for lining a leaky container or covering the top of a bottle or canteen. It can also help with waterproofing a shelter or in a real pinch it could be used as a way to keep the water off of you by wrapping some overhanging tree limbs when you have no other form of shelter.

When you’re done with your Clingfilm, don’t throw the boxes away, because most Clingfilm boxes have a serrated cutting edge that is surprisingly sharp and can be used for cutting up things like food for example.

Finally, if you scrunch it up into a strip it’s actually surprisingly strong and can be used as cordage.

Tin Cans

If you do manage to find some canned food, don’t throw the cans away as they can be used for many things. Yes that does include the Hollywood movie style camp perimeter alarm wire that you see so often in zombie shows. A tip for this by the way is to add some small stones to the cans to make them rattle louder. But there are a lot more uses that could prove very useful indeed.

You can cut cans diagonally to create a small makeshift shovel. You could also attach a branch with some duct tape to give yourself a handle. Trowels and entrenching tools like this are handy for digging holes to support the frame of your shelter, digging latrines and digging out fire pits.

They can also be used for gravity water filter housing. Just pierce a hole in the bottom and use exactly like a bottle water filter.

They can also be used as a water container. The great thing about tin cans is that, just like drink cans, you can boil the liquid in them directly over the fire or in amongst some embers. You can drink straight from it too as the fire would sterilize the metal but be careful of the sharp edges.

Similarly they can be used to cook food in, this is very handy if you don’t have a mess tin or any cookware. I have seen people out in the wild tipping a can of food into a mess tin to cook it, but what’s the point in doing that? Just take the lid off the can and put the can straight on the fire to save getting your mess tins dirty and having to clean them.

You could also pierce some holes in the can and attach some wire or string for a hanging lantern.

Don’t forget the paper labels on the cans, they can be used for tinder or toilet roll. Obviously as they are they aren’t great for toilet roll as they are but if you scrunch them up into a tight ball and straighten them out a few times it will make them a bit rougher and more textured.

They can also be used to make a great, portable mini stove. Simply cut a hole for access to the fire that you will make in the can and pierce some holes for ventilation. Then you can place your mess tin or canteen straight on top of the can and you’re cooking.

The sharp lids can be folded in half and bound to a stick to make a crude knife. It may not be the most elegant knife in the world and it won’t give you the neatest cut, but they do work very well. This can act as a backup knife that you use for all the messy work or the things that may blunt your primary knife.

Computers and Laptops

You may think a computer or a laptop is useless in a survival situation, and so will almost everyone else probably meaning they will mainly be left untouched. But apart from the cables, wire and components that can be used to repair other electric devices, the hard drives inside computers contain strong magnets that can be used for many things. These are a very rare type of magnet called Neodymium Magnets or “rare earth” magnets and are incredibly strong.

You can use these magnets to attach things together for easy removal. For example you can put one inside your bag and another in a pouch and then when you put them together they will stick. Then to remove the pouch there is no untying or unclipping. Of course, you could potentially lose your gear this way so I wouldn’t attach anything heavy, but if it’s light enough, due to the strength of these magnets it’s pretty unlikely to fall off.

You can also use these magnets to make a compass. The only problem is that you need to work out what end is north and what end is south before doing this. An easy way to find this out is to tie your magnet to a length of string and let it hang to see what way it faces. Then look at the position of the sun, if its morning then the sun will be to the left side of the magnet as its facing north. If its evening time the sun will be on the right side of the magnet as its facing north. You can then mark the magnets north end for future reference.

If you have a needle from a sewing kit or another thin piece of metal such as a safety pin or bobby pin this will work well for the compass needle. If your piece of metal doesn’t have a clear front and back you can mark one end with a permanent marker. All you need to do now is stroke the north end of the magnet along the top half of the needle about 30times. Then float the needle on the water using a leaf, a plastic bottle cap or a piece of bark for example. It may sway back and forth a bit but when it settles it will be pointing north.

Everything Else

Oil

Oil such as vegetable oil, sunflower oil and olive oil makes great fuel for oil lamps. It can be also used as lubrication for mechanical devices from car engines to multi tools. Of course oil is also great for cooking and something that you really miss when you don’t have it.

As a food supplement oil is fantastic for adding calories to your diet. When food is in short supply you need to keep your energy levels up by keeping your calorie intake nice and high. Having a couple of spoons of oil a day will give you a nice calorie boost. On a slightly more personal note, when you’re not eating well you could encounter the problem of slightly stubborn bowel movements, this can be helped a great deal by consuming some oil with your food.

Batteries

Batteries are obviously going to be a valuable commodity in a survival situation so they may be very hard to come by. But what a lot of people don’t realize is that if you have the wrong size of battery, you can actually open them up and take the smaller cells contained inside and use them instead.

For example, if you have a 9 volt battery but your flashlight takes AAA batteries, open up the 9volt and inside there is a set of smaller cylindrical batteries. They are slightly smaller than typical AAAs but you can easily add some balls of tin foil to take up the extra space and make the connection.

Flashlights

This may be an obvious one but what some people may not have considered is that you can use a flashlight even if you only have a battery that is completely the wrong size. All you have to do is take out the bulb and some of the wire then you can use some tape to connect the wire up to each end of the battery that you have and this will give you a light source.

Bottles and containers

Water storage and transportation is very important. So any kind of container or bottles you can find are going to be valuable. If you’re traveling by car then it’s going to pay to have multiple containers because if you find some abandoned vehicles, you will need something to siphon fuel into.

Fruit netting bags

Any kind of netting will be useful, net curtains for example could also be used for some of the same things as fruit netting.

This kind of material can be used for fishing nets fairly easily. To make a frame for your net all you need is a forked stick and you can tape or zip tie the netting into place, or make some cuts in the wood and wedge the netting into them.

You can also use netting by attaching it to your bag or belt as an extra section for foraging or holding extra items. Fruit bags can also be used to scrub out mess tins and pans and generally clean gear.

Newspapers, Books and Paper

Obviously paper can be used as tinder and this would probably be most people’s first thought. But only do this if you need to, I would prefer to use natural materials for tinder that are more readily available in order to save the paper for other uses.

Paper and cardboard are good insulators. As I have said before, laying on the ground is a really fast way of losing heat. You need something to keep you off the ground and help keep you insulated. So paper can be put down as bedding if you have enough of it and you do need to sleep on the ground.

Something I mentioned earlier is that paper can be used as toilet roll even if it’s smooth and doesn’t seem like it would be much use, all you have to do is scrunch up and unravel it a few times to soften it up and make it more absorbent and soft.

Ceramic Mugs

Now obviously mugs can be used to drink out of but there is another surprising use for ceramic mugs. You may have heard of ceramic knife sharpeners, ceramics are great for refining blades. Many ceramic mugs have a rough rim on the bottom, this is the ceramic without the glaze that the rest of the mug has and is great for sharpening your knives.

Crayons

If you melt a crayon down to the paper and then stand it in the hot wax that you have melted off of the crayon, it will slowly burn down and act as a candle. If you find a box of crayons then you essentially have a box of candles that will last you a very long time.

You can also use the wax for waterproofing purposes such as coating regular matches to make then waterproof.

Light bulbs

The small ones can be rigged up to a battery using wire or paper clips to make an improvised torch. The bigger bulbs however, can be used to make an oil burning lamp. Just break off the bottom of the metal fixing and add some kind of liquid fuel. For the wick you can use, rolled up paper towels or napkins, rope, paracord, a strip of cotton fabric etc. If the hole in the top of the bulb is too big for the wick it may ignite the fuel inside. For this you can close up the hole using tin foil or even use a metal washer to provide you with a smaller hole.

Lighters

You are quite unlikely to find a lighter with gas in it as they are a bit of an obvious thing to take. But you may find used up lighters that don’t have gas, or even broken lighters that are smashed up. They can in fact still be used to make a spark that can ignite flammable substances and good quality tinder.

Magnifying Glasses

I think most people know that a magnifying glass can be used to start a fire. If it’s sunny they are actually very effective and it saves you having to use up your matches or the gas in your lighter.

They are also great for removing splinters. Splinters are actually quite a big problem in survival situations and can become infected and sore easily.

Baking Powder

Baking powder is great for cleaning things as it is a mild abrasive. You could even use it to brush your teeth if you don’t have toothpaste. It’s also a good odor absorber so can be handy to keep you smelling a bit fresher.

Bicarbonate of Soda

Bicarbonate of Soda is also a mild abrasive but it has a medical use. It is great for neutralizing stomach acid. I get indigestion quite a lot and so I have put it to the test personally. It doesn’t taste great, it’s quite salty, but it’s hands down the best indigestion remedy I have ever taken. Even with really bad, persistent indigestion, heart burn or acid reflux just take half a tea spoon with some water and it will remedy it almost instantly.

Zip Lock Bags

These bags are great, obviously the ability to open and close them quickly and easily is a big bonus. The use is fairly obvious, they are great for keeping things dry such as a fire kit, tinder, clothing or storing food. They can also be used for water transportation and storage if needed.

Shoe Laces

If you find some old shoes and they don’t fit you so you can’t use them as a backup, at least take the laces. They can be used as backup laces and also you can never have enough cordage.

Dust Masks

If you can find any of those cheap disposable dust masks, make sure you take them. Apart from the obvious use of helping protect you against dust and smoke, they can also be used to line a makeshift water filter and they make good tinder too.

Drop Cloth

Garages may contain decorating equipment such as drop cloths that are used to keep paint off of carpets and furniture when painting. They can be used as a tarp or ground sheet, although they are fairly flimsy they will definitely be helpful. You can also use them to cover your bag so gear doesn’t get wet or you can use them to create a makeshift poncho.

They are also great for rain collection, and if you find a clear one, you can even use it for solar water distillation.

Towels

Personal hygiene should be high on your list of priorities in any survival situation as medical attention could be a long way off and skin infections can become very problematic. Towels will help keep you dry after washing, but they can also be used as a blanket to keep you warm if you don’t have anything else.

Tea Bags

Aside from making morale boosting hot drinks, tea bags contain tannic acid which is an anti-inflammatory. So if you wet your tea bag with some warm water and use it as a wet compress on an inflamed wound or tooth ache for example, it will help reduce the swelling.

Listerine

Listerine is a good disinfectant, other alcohol based mouth washes will also do a good job. You can use it to wash your hands, clean a wound, help sterilize cooking, eating and drinking equipment and of course, for dental hygiene.

High Proof Alcohol

Any type of high proof alcohol can be used to help get a fire going, fuel for makeshift lamps or penny stoves and as a surface disinfectant. Do not use it for disinfecting a wound though. You can only use rubbing alcohol for this purpose and be warned, it hurts. A lot. But it’s better than getting an infected wound.

Hammocks

Garden hammocks will more than likely be left stored away or left hanging up seeing as most people in a disaster situation wouldn’t think, “Oh hold on, I better grab my hammock before we leave.”

Hammocks are actually a really great item to have. If you have a tarp or something to keep the rain off of you, then you can put a hammock up under it and this will keep you off the cold wet ground while sleeping.

Or if you have your shelter already taken care of, the mesh that hammocks are made of can be used as a really decent sized fishing net. You could even drag this up a stream to heard fish into a trap.

Final Thoughts

Well I think I covered all of the important items in this book. I obviously didn’t cover the very obvious things because, there’s no point. Everyone already knows to take, medical supplies, food and good quality warm, waterproof clothing for example.

If you have any suggestions for what books I should write next in the book series, you can leave them in the discussion on my Amazon author page @ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Steve-Rayder/e/B00U0U3Z3E/ or by going to the Amazon listing for this book and clicking on my profile in the “More about the Author” section.

If you did get some value or learned something from this book I would really appreciate it if you could leave an honest review for this book on Amazon.

I really hope you found the information in this interesting and helpful. If you did then I have some other books about Prepping and survival out that are viewable on my author page via the link above.

Thanks for reading!