Five Crucial Items for Any Survival Kit
 

We've been talking together quite a while about prepping

and survival. I thought it might be a good idea to do a

little bit of a recap because of the recent events of Hurricane Dorian. 

Let's take a minute to make sure that we've got all the major

bases covered.

 There are a lot of different things that go into

surviving. We don't always think about them because

society provides many of them to us. However, if society

breaks down, we won't be able to count on having fresh

water and food available.

Basically, our survival depends on three things:

maintaining our body temperature, getting plenty of clean

water to drink, and eating enough nutritious food.

Seems rather simple, doesn't it? Yet, we spend much of our

lives trying to make sure that we have those things.

Should a breakdown of society occur, we will spend pretty

much all of our time taking care of them.

To fulfill those needs, there are five basic areas of

survival equipment we need:

1. Means to create shelter

The thing which will kill us faster than anything else is

a loss of body heat. A change of only two percent in our

body temperature is enough to reduce our efficiency. A

change in ten percent is enough to kill us if not

reversed.

The human body is an amazing device, which can do a lot to

regulate its own temperature, but there are limits.

Shelter exists to help us protect our bodies from the

elements, thereby allowing us to maintain our body

temperature.

Basically, this means that shelter accomplishes two

things: insulates us from the ambient temperature and

protects us from getting wet. Those things are

accomplished by a combination of the clothing we wear and

the homes we live in.

Yes, our clothing is part of our shelter. It insulates us

to keep in body heat. Some types of clothing protect our

bodies from wind and water as well.

Our home provides the same things: insulation and

protection from water. However, in a survival situation,

we may only use part of our home because it would be

harder to heat the whole thing.

If we are caught away from home, then we would need the

means to construct some sort of temporary shelter. This

could be a tent, lean-to or even a cave.

2. Means to produce fire (heat)

Fire does many things for us, mostly providing heat. We

also use it for cooking, killing the naturally occurring

bacteria in our food. Some types of food can make us very

sick if eaten uncooked.

To produce fire, we not only need matches or a lighter but

something that will catch fire easily. This is called

tinder. Tinder can be a piece of newspaper or a part of an

old bird's nest. It can also be commercially available

fire starters.

You can make great tinder out of cotton balls and

petroleum jelly. Just work the petroleum jelly into the

cotton balls and store them in an airtight container. When

you need a fire, set one in the midst of your fuel and

strike a match or spark.

3. Means to purify water

Clean water is critical for survival. In most cases, you

can't live for more than three days without water. Drinking

impure water can make you incredibly sick. Actually, it's

the bacteria in the water that makes you sick.

You can't count on any water being clean in a survival

situation; you have to purify it all. That means having

either a mechanical filter or chemical to purify it.

You can also purify water by boiling it if needed, but

that requires you tap into your stock of fuel.

Stockpiling water can be useful, but having a means to

purify it is much better for weathering any long-term

crisis.

4. Means to find or produce food

Your survival kit will have food in it, but eventually,

that food will run out. When it does, you need some

alternate means to find, catch or produce food.

We talked about raising chickens for food, as well as

planting a vegetable garden. Both of those are very

effective - but they won't help you if you're away from

home. You'll need something else.

There is food growing in nature. Animals and plants grow

wild and can be eaten. However, you'll need some means

of catching or gathering those food items. You'll also

need the knowledge to be able to recognize what's good

for you versus what's deadly.

Don't wait until a crisis hits to start finding ways of

producing, catching or gathering food; start now. That

way, when the time comes, you'll be ready.

5. Means to heal our bodies

Injuries and sickness occur. That's one thing you can

count on. Therefore, it is prudent to be ready for them

by having the necessary supplies and medicines to help

your body heal.

The human body has the ability to heal itself from a lot

of things. However, major injuries may be too much

for the body to heal alone. Not only that, injuries can

provide opportunities for infection, which can kill.

Having a good first-aid kit in your survival supplies is

essential. It should include the means to treat all types

of injuries, as well as medicines to take care of common

illnesses. Dying of sickness isn't going to help you or

your family.

We could cover a lot of other things as well, such as

tools and means of communication. But those five things

are the most critical items to keep in any survival kit;

whether in your home, in your car or on your person.