Do One Thing: Week 10

Week 10:

WARMTH & SHELTER:
waterproof matches (you can make your own by dipping regular wood matched into melted wax and allowing them to dry), ALSO, Adan suggests using clear nail polish as a flammable sealant to the waterproof match and to toss in a throw away mini lighter...just in case. Thanks Adan!
tent
tarp (a thick plastic shower curtain can even be used as a ground cover- I got mine at the $1 store.),
emergency reflective blanket (you can get these at camping stores),
wool blanket/sleeping bag,
poncho,
camp stove, (additional options in a few weeks, but for now, if you have a camp stove, that is your best bet)
fuel,
pan/spoon,
industrial strength garbage bags (check the mm thickness on the packaging; thicker is better! these can be used as ponchos, potties, trash, or insulation among other uses. )
and once again Adan comes up with a great addition to our kit: DUCT TAPE! (why didn't I think of that?) Like he says, " A little duct tape and plastic and your sun shade becomes a very effective all weather shelter." Think of all the other uses for duct tape! (No, you cannot use it to tie down the kids instead of getting a baby sitter!) Ten points to Adan for his great suggestions!

Again, if you don't have these things readily available, check out -either by shopping around or on line- where you can get them cheap! Try the Dollar Stores, discount warehouses or even Army Surplus. We found wool blankets, twin sized, for about $7. Think creatively, Back in the day, I couldn't afford ponchos for everyone, but I could afford plastic shower curtains at a buck a piece.

Last week I was at the Bass Pro Shop, where I picked up a beach shade. This shade is portable (it fits into a sling that you can just carry over your shoulder, very light weight), fits two adult sized chairs or two adults can lay down in it (albeit closely!), has the SPF rating of 50 (rated for 8 hours of protection and recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation), and cost under $25. Granted it is open on one side, however you could use this as a day shelter if you needed to, seriously, this shelter is very small when packed, light, and easy to set up.

We only have two more weeks before our kits will be complete! After that we can begin adding more conveniences to them and making our (emergency) life easier. As far as this category goes, in a few weeks from now, I will show you how to make a "buddy burner". A small container, filled with all the ingredients you will need to make (say it like a cave man) FIRE! All out of things you normally throw away, FREE! You can easily (and safely) store your buddy burners and when you need fire to cook with, tada! there you go, you'll have it!

Now go gather the things for week ten!