IMPROVISATION:
When Plans (Inevitably) Fail

In today's Survival Scout, we'll discuss a principle known as improvisation. You might be familiar with the term as it's used in music or comedy, but it essentially means thinking on your feet.

Improvisation is a natural complement to preparedness. The unfortunate truth is that, no matter how hard you try, you can never be 100% prepared for the unexpected. That's the very nature of the unexpected.

You can come close. It's our mission to help you get 99.9999...% prepared.

However, sometimes our plans will fail us. We may not have enough of a critical item. Or something could break, like your emergency cooking stove or flashlight.

This is why improvisation is so critical-it can turn "useless" items from your surroundings into lifesavers.

The basic key to improvisation is to know your surroundings.

You want to look at everything around you as having the potential to improve your chances of survival, make you more comfortable in a crisis, and so on.

Improvisation can be incredibly useful in the great outdoors where there are lots of natural resources around. Still, there are many everyday items around your home that can be used for emergency survival.

5 Everyday Household Items for Emergency Survival

Floss

Floss is easy to carry and can be used like any strong thread. You can stitch wounds or patch rips in clothing. You can braid it together for the strong fishing line. You can tie down an improvised shelter. These are just a few of the many uses of floss.

 

Bleach
Common household bleach can be used in two particularly important ways in an emergency. First, you can treat water-though you should only do this if filtration or boiling are not options. 8 drops of bleach per gallon is the level recommended to sanitize without any bleach taste. Second, bleach is extremely useful to disinfect surfaces, especially in the event of an epidemic.

 

Toilet Paper
Besides its intended use (which should not be overlooked in a survival situation), toilet paper can be used to dress wounds, it can be used as a fire starter, a wick for an oil candle and much more.

 

Duct Tape
Duct tape has countless uses, not only every day, but it's also essential in an emergency situation. You can seal drafts in your home with a few layers of duct tape. Duct tape can be made into a sling for a sprained or broken limb.

 

Garbage
It might sound gross, but in a survival situation, you need to be willing to use everything at your disposal.

 

Tin cans can be used in a variety of ways: you can make candles with them or use them as a pot for cooking.

The tabs from beer or soda cans can be used to make fishing hooks.

Leftover cooking oil or bacon fat can be used as candle fuel. If you can repurpose garbage, you can be confident in your survival improvisation skills at home.

These are only five items, but there are probably hundreds of items around your home you can use if the need arises.

What are your favorite household items for survival?

I hope you found today's article inspirational.

Now get out there and practice your survival improv skills!

In Liberty,

Grant Miller
Preparedness Advisor