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The apocalypse could strike without warning, making it essential to be ready. This list highlights a variety of clever techniques and tools that transform ordinary household items into essential survival resources, whether for defense or practical use.
These methods provide alternative, inventive uses for common items. By applying the information in this guide, you’ll be equipped to endure the apocalypse or any other survival challenge that comes your way.
10. Toilet Paper
In an apocalypse where factories may cease production of medical supplies, it's critical to know what alternatives can serve as bandages—our most commonly used medical aid. Surprisingly, toilet paper, paper towels, and tissue paper can function as makeshift bandages in emergency situations.
However, caution is essential when using these items to treat open wounds. Any paper product will disintegrate and leave bits behind when it comes into contact with liquid. Additionally, many paper products are not sterile, posing a risk of infection when applied to a wound.
To prevent this issue, combine the paper product with a solution of clean water and soap. Soap, being a “basic” compound, will eliminate bacteria on the surface. Avoid using alcohol or hydrogen peroxide, as these can be dangerous if they enter the bloodstream.
After dissolving the toilet paper or tissue in the soapy water, gently apply the resulting pulp to the abrasion. Do not press the pulp into the cut; simply place it over the wound’s surface. Once the pulp is in position, secure it with dry paper. If bleeding continues, start fresh with new paper.
9. Safety Pins
While many are aware that bobby pins can be used to pick locks, a more efficient method exists if you have tweezers or a bit of patience. Lock picking is an invaluable skill in the apocalypse, granting you access to locations and supplies that others may have missed or left behind.
Safety pins can be more effective than bobby pins when it comes to picking locks. For one, safety pins are narrower and more flexible. Additionally, they feature a broad circular point, which is easier to grip when used as a tension wrench.
If you have tweezers, carefully bend and twist the two pins apart. Be cautious not to break the safety case or the flat wire loop. Then, bend the sharp point of the pin into an “L” shape—this will serve as your tension wrench. The pin with the broad safety case at the end will be your pick. You may want to slightly bend it into a “V” shape to make picking smoother.
Without tweezers, the process will take much longer. Once your lock pick is ready, hold each pin by the broad end and insert the narrow side into the lock. Place the tension wrench at the bottom of the lock and apply gentle pressure. Then, “rake” your pick over the lock’s tumblers until it opens.
8. Glass Bottles
As most people know, glass bottles, bowls, and vases are great for holding water and transporting liquids. However, in the apocalypse, glass might prove to be much more useful—and even deadly—in ways you hadn’t imagined.
If society were to descend into anarchy, you would need to protect your home and family at any cost. Some of the most straightforward, yet highly effective, defense strategies involve setting up booby traps around your property.
Turning your home into a maze of lethal or dangerous traps will make it highly undesirable for looters or marauders. Not everyone has access to firearms, knives, or other weapons, and some may lack the tools necessary to craft such weapons.
However, most people possess glass items in their homes. When you break glass, you instantly create a deadly weapon. But be cautious when handling broken glass—always try to use something thick and protective to safeguard your hands.
Once you have collected enough broken glass, there are numerous ways to use it. One simple method is creating a glass carpet, where you spread shards of glass across the ground, ensuring that no one can walk there without footwear.
If you have the necessary tools, another effective tactic is to crush the glass into a fine powder and use it to make dust bombs or pouches. Glass dust is incredibly hazardous and can lead to asphyxiation. You can also fashion projectiles or pole weapons from the shards, enabling you to fight from a distance.
7. Shower Curtains
If you need to protect yourself from fallout during a nuclear disaster, but lack access to a radiation suit, you're in luck. A makeshift suit can be easily created using a few common items, including your shower curtain.
The most essential materials for this makeshift suit are polyester or nylon. Both are excellent choices since they are waterproof. If you can find raincoats, windbreakers, shower curtains, or waterproof jackets that don’t contain any organic fabrics, any of them will serve the purpose.
If you come across any metal or other absorbent fibers sewn into the material of your suit, make sure to remove them or cover them with the materials mentioned earlier. With a bit of plastic twine or duct tape, you can fashion a protective suit to block fallout and keep it from contacting your body.
If you don't have a gas mask, covering your mouth and nose with any fabric will help. However, avoid reusing any fabric that has been exposed to fallout radiation. After venturing into a fallout-contaminated area, be sure to thoroughly wash yourself and remove any dirt or particles from your body. This is why nylon or polyester waterproof fabrics are so crucial.
6. Hair Conditioner
A little-known fact is that hair conditioner strongly binds to radioactive fallout particles. The unique chemical structure of hair conditioner allows it to attach to heavily ionized or radioactive materials. With this knowledge, we can use the highly radioactive substance for defense purposes or to harm enemies.
Weapons utilizing small doses of pure radiation must be used cautiously over the long term, as the effects of radiation sickness may take weeks or even years to manifest. If you have a concentrated batch of irradiated hair conditioner, you have two primary options for inflicting harm on someone.
One method is poisoning the person by having them ingest the compound over time. Alternatively, you could find a way to apply it to their hair. When irradiated conditioner comes into contact with human hair, it will bind radioactive isotopes to the hair, slowly poisoning the individual and eventually causing a premature death.
Hair conditioner can also serve a nonhostile purpose: collecting fallout particles to decontaminate an object. By coating an item in conditioner, the chemical compounds in the conditioner will attract and extract most of the radioactive fallout. Once done, you’ll need to wash the item thoroughly with water and scrubbing tools to remove the radioactive conditioner residue.
5. Sugar
The saying “Kill them with sugar” may be more accurate than many realize. The chemical structure of common table sugar plays a key role in many formulas for low-yield exothermic reactions. In fact, sugar is a primary ingredient in solid rocket fuel.
When table sugar is mixed with potassium nitrate, a salt commonly found in household products, the result is highly combustible, intensely hot rocket fuel. Once you’ve created this fuel, the possibilities are endless.
Solid rocket fuel can generate intense heat and light in a short amount of time, making it useful for a variety of applications like forging, melting, camping, smelting, lighting, signaling, and even creating alarms.
As a final use for rocket fuel, you can attach small rocket packets to arrows to create rocket-powered projectiles. If you make enough of these rocket arrows and pair them with other trapping devices, you can easily defend your home or hunt for food.
4. Notebooks
Notebooks, especially the metal-bound ones, contain a wealth of valuable resources. First, the metallic spine commonly found in college-ruled notebooks can be detached and repurposed for a variety of tricks and traps. The metal coil is soft and pliable, making it useful as makeshift twine to bind objects together.
If wrapped around additional coils, the notebook’s metal spine can be long enough to form a durable tripwire frame. If you have the time and tools to dismantle and cut the metal wire, it can also be used to create improvised needles, sutures, and nails from the metal fragments.
The same techniques can be applied to notebooks without metal spines, as the paper and cardboard covers also offer many practical uses. You can fashion rudimentary window shutters from the cardboard covers. Since the covers already have holes punched in them, simply weave string through the holes and attach it to a pulley system.
The pages inside the notebook also have multiple uses, one of the most notable being as fuel. Since notebook paper is designed to resist burning, the most efficient way to ignite it is to crumple each page into a ball. This allows more oxygen to reach the fire, helping it to burn the rest of the paper.
If you find yourself with an abundance of paper balls, they can serve as an effective alarm system. Scatter them across an area, and anyone attempting to sneak through will have a much harder time being silent due to the crunching sound they make.
3. Silverware
In the event of the apocalypse, silverware can be repurposed for more than just eating. However, if the silverware is made of real silver and there is fallout radiation present, it’s best not to use it. Silver has a tendency to absorb radioactive isotopes, which makes it radioactive itself.
Different types of silverware have various applications when survival is at stake. Obviously, knives are useful for stabbing or as defensive weapons, but they become even more dangerous when attached to poles and converted into spears or polearms for better defense.
A steak knife or even a butter knife, though sharpened, are limited by their short range. To make them more effective, you need to attach them to an object that extends your reach, making them extremely useful for fighting off foes in close combat. Forks are also valuable, both for stabbing enemies and for constructing effective traps.
With a fork, the flat end with the prongs can easily be secured into stationary, flat objects. This allows you to sharpen the fork’s handle and then place the fork in the ground, with the prongs anchoring it in place, creating a sturdy stake that’s ready to impale an unsuspecting thug’s foot.
Spoons can be used to reinforce a pole arm or walking stick. Take 3 to 5 spoons, flatten them out, and bend them into right angles at the handles. Melt the spoon parts together on the blunt end of your pole arm, and once cooled, secure them with twine or small nails. The result is a solid, blunt reinforcement for your pole arm.
2. Brooms Or Mops
Among the most powerful and versatile weapons or tools on this list is the broomstick. Whether made of metal or wood, a sturdy wooden pole can serve as an effective tool for ing, but that’s just the beginning of its potential.
Polearms might once again become the ultimate melee weapon in the aftermath of an apocalypse. Before firearms were invented, polearms dominated the medieval battlefield. And the best part? You likely already have one in your home.
The process is simple. Grab your broom or mop handle and remove the bristle end. That’s it—you now have a quarterstaff that can serve many purposes in a post-apocalyptic world. If you’re resourceful, you can even craft or “MacGyver” a spearhead onto the pole’s end, making it much more lethal.
If you don’t use the staff as a spear or weapon, it can double as a hiking stick or even a trap detector. A polearm becomes an extension of yourself, allowing you to safely probe for traps or hazards. It’s much better to lose the pole than your own arm or hand.
If you’re drowning in these poles or come across some conveniently sized tree branches, they can all be used for defense as well. Sharpen the ends, bury one end of each in the ground, and line them up in rows to create simple but effective wooden fortifications.
1. Lighters
Pocket lighters are commonly used for producing light or fire, but their potential extends beyond these basic functions. One important thing to remember is that a lighter that burns twice as brightly tends to burn out twice as fast.
There’s a special technique that can make the flame of your lighter twice as large as it normally is. Start by using tweezers or a steady hand if you’re going DIY. Remove the small plastic brace at the top of the lighter (this applies to the basic plastic lighters).
Once the top is off, locate the small lever that controls the flame height. Push it all the way to the highest setting. Then, lift the lever out of its track, return it to the smallest setting, and push it back to the highest again.
The result will be a flame that’s twice as big and bright as the lighter’s default flame. This can come in handy if you need a larger flame to light something or if you’re in an extremely dark environment and need extra brightness to see.
You can also use these lighters for a diversion by creating small, bright flashes. There are tiny flint bars inside, resembling pencil lead. If you heat them and toss them onto the ground, they’ll burst into a bright flash. Even empty lighters contain flint that can work, and the more flint inside, the brighter the flash will be.
