10 Household Items for Survival Situations
Undeniably, today’s digital sphere is abundant with articles and blogs discussing ‘essential items for survival…’ or ‘must-haves for emergency kits…’, and so on. More often than not, these narratives tend to repeat the same points, possibly becoming too tiresome. Instead, I have chosen to diverge and share insights about less common but equally vital items for crisis and emergency situations. Join us in this revelation of 10 unconventional household items that are potential life-saving assets during such situations, and perhaps reserve some room for them in your emergency bags.
- Sanitary napkins
- Conventional use: These things are often used by women during their menstrual visit. Sanitary napkins are usually made to absorb huge amount of menstrual fluids and are always sterilized to avoid the genitals from being infected.
- Survival use: This household item can be used as padding for treating wound injuries in the field. Simply patch the napkin like you do with a gauze bandage and it will protect the wound from getting infected.
- Super glue
- Conventional use: This heavy duty adhesive is used mostly for doing house repairs as it can stick to most surfaces like wood, plastic, leather, ceramics, and even glass.
- Survival use: Super glue is actually safe to use for adhering severely wounded areas because of its sterile composition. If you don’t have any strings to use for stitching, simply apply the glue over to the lacerated area and wait for 3 minutes until completely fastened. Just bear in mind, this is a very painful process. So it would help if you can provide more support to the victim so he can bear the hurt with ease.
- Whistle and compact mirror
- Conventional use: Compact mirrors are used mostly by women if they feel the need to do a quick re-touch. On the other hand, a whistle is used to call out the attention of others by making a loud audible sound.
- Survival use: If you are stranded in the wilderness, you can make use of these items to call out the attention of an incoming rescue party. A mirror can be utilized to redirect the rays of the sun to signal rescuers and guide them to your point of location (like an aerial rescue). A whistle can also be a great addition to your survival gear as it can be used to direct the rescue group to find you if any visual indicator is not possible to be seen immediately (like in most jungle or cave-in rescues).
- Charcoal and cheesecloth
- Conventional use: Charcoal is often used for barbequing while cheesecloth is mostly used for wiping excess moisture in meats and for straining.
- Survival use: These 2 household items can be used to purify water. Place lumps of charcoal in the cheesecloth and let the water pass through it like you do with a normal strainer. The coal has the ability to clean the water by trapping microorganisms while the cloth will filter most of the solid impurities that make the water filthy.
- Gunpowder
- Conventional use: To blast ammunition when fired by a gun and for making fireworks.
- Survival use: For cauterizing wounds – This stuff is usually seen in action movies. If ever you are wounded severely and you need to close the wounded area to avoid infection, simply dust equal amounts of gunpowder into the affected area and light it up! Obviously, this will hurt a lot. So it would help if you bite on something to mend the pain a bit while going through the process.
- Chewing gum
- Conventional use: To freshen up breath after meals.
- Survival use: A stick of gum is a good appetite suppressor. The chewing motion of our mouth signals the brain that we are eating something. Thus, we don’t feel hungry right away. This is very helpful especially during an event of emergency when food is scarce and possibly rationed into equal portions to feed all the members of the bug-out group.
- Vinegar
- Conventional use: Good for adding flavor into our salads and is also a great household cleaning agent.
- Survival use: This household item can be used as a replacement for alcohol for sterilizing wounds and prevent any infection from happening.
- Condoms
- Conventional use: Contraceptive.
- Survival use: A strip of condom is flexible and waterproof that you can use it as a waterproof bag for storing water (up to 5 gallons!) and for preventing electronic gadgets from getting wet.
- Harmonica
- Conventional use: For playing harmonious music.
- Survival use: This item is a very helpful tool for coping up with the traumatic situation you are facing. Simply play the harmonica and this will help you relieve all the stress and anxiety you are feeling and learn to face the next day with a renewed hope and a positive vibe that everything will be fine eventually. (Unless of course you are in a situation you need to be silent.)
- Baking soda
- Conventional use: For baking and for household cleaning.
- Survival use: Baking soda can be used to treat stomachaches (just add 1 teaspoon to a glass of water), preserve the flavor of stored drinking water, and for stopping fires from getting out of control.
Pangwakas:
Do you possess other home-based items that could be valuable in emergencies? We encourage you to share your insights in the comments section below.
Publisher’s Note: The information shared in this post is not backed by APN and falls under our general disclaimer. It neither intends to treat nor cure any ailment, illness, or injury. You bear full responsibility for how you utilize or misinterpret this information. Always seek expert advice before putting any of these practices into use.