Post you best multiple use item that is in your preps Altoids tins I have multiple small kits in these fire starter kit fishing kit vitamins soaps game piece like dice and monopoly pieces I even put jewelry in them when traveling (think riot at TSA) spice kit lots of uses Benonite Clay I use clay for toothpaste, deodorant, face masks, detox for feet, poltice for boils etc. reduce itching for mosquito bites, consumed orally in moderation kills parasites (there is research going on now for combining magnesium and bentonite clay to purity water as bentonite clay removes fluoride in water) What are your best multi use items in your preps? It can be perishable, non perishable, medicinal, anything that you use multiple ways.
What do you use bullets for other than shooting? What do you use whisky for other than drinking? @ochit
Just to explain if you have a neutral spirit like vodka unflavored brandy or rum you can use flavorings to taste like any flavored liquor you may like, without having to keep all types. A drum of cheap 80 to 100 proof clear alcohol can be almost anything scotch, bourbon, tequila, and some liquors. here is a link to one supplier of flavorings. ( a few liquors are less than 80 proof so knowing how much to dilute gives the proper strength and extends your stock) Flavorings Alcohol Flavoring Essence - Liquor Flavor by Liquor Quik alcohol % by volume Alcohol by Volume for Popular Whiskeys, Vodka, Gin, and Rum
I am surprised that anyone would ask but here it is. Alcohol is a pain killer and people like to drink it is also easily traded for most anything. A lot of ethanol ( drinkable liquor ) has methanol mixed in to make it toxic / poison for sale as rubbing alcohol or else who would pay 10 bucks for ( methanol ) undrinkable rubbing alcohol. Bullets can be used for trade ask anyone in Venezuela. if you have anything if you cannot defend it you won't have it long. Whatever excess you hunt can be traded for goods that others have, before corporate farming all meat and fish was grown netted trapped or hunted by individuals bartering of services like sewing of clothing tarps or boot saddle making / repair trading for lumber shingles mechanic work there is no end to what food will trade for if no other but to defend protect or sustain yourself. the old saying God didn't make all men equal Sam Colt did has merit a small framed woman or child cannot hope to defend themselves from one or more powerful people that are experienced in violence without a firearm.
Don't drink alcohol, but it and vinegar are favorites. Grain alcohol can be used as a fire starter, a preservative, an antiseptic, to make tonics, infusions for medicinal herbs, fuel for some automobiles and to extend gasoline in many cases, and will probably be a good trade good. Lots of the old timers in USAF used to buy close to 200 proof alcohol mix it with beer, orange juice, grape juice, etc, as a cheap drink. Vinegar can be used in cooking, as a food preservative, for a disinfectant, as a food supplement, etc. Good belt axe, with a handle closer to a hawk if possible, can be used an effective weapon, to cut , trim, split wood, for fire, to prepare shelters, to carve and shape wood, with wooden wedges you can split out shakes or shingles, rough out bows, to remove flesh from hides in tanning, to crush nuts and herbs etc for cooking,etc. Knives of course are always multiple purpose as are good cooking pots and parachute cord. Have a neighbor, Henri Vaillancourt, who with a crooked knife and an axe can build birch bark canoes, snow shoes, toboggans, traps, shelters, tan hides, make drying racks for fish, jerky, etc and containers to store it in. Look him up on net, his canoes and snow shoes are things of beauty.
The liquor can also be a sterilizer on wounds. The bullets can be used for starting fires , booby traps , cortorizing wounds , and if fitted with the right weapon , can protect you , and get you just about anything you'll need in a rough situation.
I made a hollow staff which can hold a fly rod, or a bow and a few arrows, it makes a great tent stake for a emergency shelter, and with lashing, can even be used to cook with. It holds a small first aid kit in the base, and other needful things, and it floats! Beyond all that, it can be used for defensive uses, and with a bayonet lashed to one end, can be used as a hunting Speer or a lasted pike! Pretty damn useful tool if I do say so my self!
I have a substance that is an antibiotic and I make it my self and no bacteria can with stand it . Colloidal silver. Made with distilled water it has an indefinite shelf life and I have yet to find a medical emergency it does not excel , both internally and externally . Modern medicine doesn't like it because they don't make any money on it. A compass has more uses than knowing north . Because it is magnetically responsive ,and moving electricity makes a magnetic field one can use a compass to see if the alternator is charging .or if a power supply is working and a few other things. testing for steel or iron deposits in the earth. Don't let ignorance prevent you from testing things for your self. The difference between those that survive and those that don't, is , those that took the time to learn things others were afraid to learn.
Baking soda.- Cooking (bread, biscuits, etc) Tooth care (not quite toothpaste, but...) Medical uses (chafe, rash and so on) Laundry - add to soap to freshen up your cloths. In the fridge to control order Salt - Cooking Pickling - not just cukes, but cabbage (Kraut) meat preservation green hide treatment (with urine) Sugar- Canning Cooking (like cakes or even rock candy) First aid, used for control of bleeding from minor surface abrasions with water, attract & feeding birds because everyone needs a little color in their life. the limit is your imagination.....