8 Items to Produce at Home During Crisis

Sometimes disasters are unpredictable. When they strike, it is usually the unprepared that fare the worst. Even after the disaster has passed, most people still continue to grapple with the effects. Some communities are located in areas that predispose them to the most risk in crisis periods. While there is really nothing you can do about your location, there is a lot that can be done to help get you prepared for the inevitable.

When the hurricane Katrina zapped its way across New Orleans, it left the unprepared struggling just to survive. Now is the time to begin to prepare for crisis periods. It may not always be possible to predict these disasters years before they happen, but we can begin by doing at home special items that will come in handy when crisis strikes.

1. Water Filter

With no access to conventional water filters, you can easily produce an emergency filter by making use of your clean white stocking. Pour your water into this sock and allow it to drip slowly into your container. Soon enough you will have filtered water in your hands.

2. Emergency Food

Preparing your batch of emergency foods will save you lots of trouble. While you may not have access to eateries and high class restaurants, you can still enjoy healthy foods by calling on your food reserves. Moreover, canning and preserving can be useful and fun at the same time.

3. Food Preservatives

It will be doubly hard to use conventional methods to preserve your food in emergency situations. You can however, produce an emergency preservative in your home during a crisis. The most common homemade preservatives to use are salt, lime and oil.

In the absence of electricity you can easily preserve your opened tined tomatoes by pouring oils over it.

This prevents spoilage from setting in. Common oils to use are olive oil, groundnut oil, cotton seed oil, vegetable oil and palm oil.

4. Home-made First Aid Kit

First aid kits can be easily bought but you can also prepare you own emergency first aid kit in your home. In addition to bandaids, gauze and other typical items, some of the non-traditional but extremely useful items that should go into your first aid kit are clean pieces of cloth, ginger, garlic cloves, and honey, gauze, and rosemary leaves.

These items can be gotten from your kitchen. They help you treat common ailments that may arise during emergency situations. Honey can be used for burns, infections, insect stings and other injuries. The same goes for other items in the list; they have many awesome uses.

5 & 6. Soap and Facial Cleansers

Even in emergency situations, you need to keep clean for optimum health. This goes a long way in helping you prevent common diseases and avoid becoming sick from contact with germs.

While it may be advisable to always have a good quantity of soap available in the home, sometimes crisis situations can catch you unawares or can last longer than what you prepare for.

It is important to learn the basic art of soap making. While your homemade soap may be basic, at least you are sure of keeping clean and healthy.

The three most important items for soap making are vegetable or animal oil (any type of oil may do), caustic soda (lye) and water. These items can be found in most grocery stores. When crisis strikes, you can whip these items together and make soap.

If maintaining a healthy skin during emergencies is paramount to you, then fruits like cucumber, lemon, honey and lime will easily come in handy. Cucumber will clear the dark circles around your eye areas, while lime and lemon will remove dirt from your face and allow it breathe.

7.  Dental Supplies

In emergency situations when you don’t have access to toothpastes, you can easily make do with common items in your home. Salt is a very good replacement for toothpaste in case of emergencies. Brushing your teeth with a little quantity of salt is enough to maintain dental hygiene. Remember to rinse your mouth thoroughly after each wash.

The baking soda on your kitchen shelf can be used as toothpaste just like salt can. The good thing about baking soda is that it also prevents mouth odours. If you are lacking toothbrushes, you can always revert to the ancient practice of brushing with chewing sticks made from antibacterial woods such as tea tree till the crisis abates.  made from antibacterial woods such as tea tree. If you don’t have access to specific twigs like that, any will do as long as the wood isn’t poisonous. Dip your chewing stick into salt or baking soda to increase efficacy.

8.  Emergency Cups

Plastic bottles in your home can always take the place of proper cups in crisis situations. This is especially true when no glass cup is readily available. Cut your plastic cans in two and the lower portion can be your cup for as long as the emergency lasts.

What items do you make yourself at home during crisis? Share your experience with us using the comment form below.

This article has been written by Joy Tochi for Survivopedia.

Photo sources: 123RF.com.