Alternatives to commonly saved items....

@Ganado ’s post on another thread got me thinking...

How many things may have an alternive that is possibly better for certain things but often overlooked due to it not being commonly used?

Cornstarch is commonly used as a thickner for sauces/gravy etc but Xanthan Gum does the same thing and you need much less of it for the same results... which meants that you need less storage space to keep it. It cost a bit more than corn starch but since your using less, the cost per use is fairly close. (Also if your avoiding carbs or grains then cornstarch is not so great)

 

I'll be watching my waistline after SHTF, but here's a serious question, where do you buy Xanthan Gum?

Rancher

 

Local grocery carrys it here, amazon, ebay... online or local health food stores may carry it..

 

Cornstarch can be used for a filler when fire forming cartridges, but should be avoided in cases with sharp shoulders and/or narrow necks, since it could become a solid obstruction. In cases like this, corn meal or grits are safer alternatives for fire forming since they are grainier and unlikely to become dangerously compressed.

Smells like burnt breakfast cereal when fired... because that's what it is.

 

Baby wipes instead of toilet paper.

 

You can use a mixture of milk and butter to substitute for heavy cream.

You can use maple syrup to substitute for brown sugar, honey or white sugar.

 

A rag and a bucket of water and chlorine can replace toilet paper.

 

These might not be quiet in the wind, but they're stronger than the rest of the roof, provide unique tie down options and have even more potential uses in camp.

Just try not to walk into one in the dark. It won't give.

 

be careful with it around your dogs...

And as a baby powder or foot powder.. a safe replacement for Talcum powder.... and is cheaper than Xanthan Gum...

 

@hot diggity is that a studded t-post?

 

Yes Ma'am, it is. One in front and another at the back. I would think with the stainless steel hose clamps attaching it to the factory roof rack it'd handle a pretty stout load, and you can adjust them to any position along the roof rack.

I prefer 2x4's with carpet padding, but I'm usually toting a canoe.

 

I found an alternative use for my Mylar blanket today. It doubled as an invisibility cloak while I took a nap in my recliner. With all the Christmas stuff hidden all over the place I was left alone for almost two hours. I could see out, but couldn't be seen. Only my rustling the noisy Mylar gave my position away.

Time to get back to work in the toy shop.

 

I beat that, I have no one to hide from.

 

I save coffee cans to sort my brass.

 

Yup, coffee cans are great. Plastic coffee containers, creamer jugs, hog aspirin buckets, cat litter buckets, frosting buckets from DD, hydraulic oil buckets, paint buckets. Anything a quart size and larger that'll hold brass I'll save it. if the containers will nest inside one another to save space, I'll try to snatch up a lot of them.

 

The way I see it containers especially empty and stored out of the heat will serve well post apocalyptical event .
poor people scrape for any thing to hold water ,clean or not .
My orange juice containers are washed out and refiled with water ,a much tougher plastic than milk jugs I store empty .
I am paying for the container and the condense, there is no reason to throw it away ,unless it has no future use.
Some jugs I use for sorting things and keeping them organized , like snow chains . simply cut a hole big enough to receive the chain and it stays organized and comes out nicely organized when I need it. the same with log chain or ropes . Ever scrap a structure , that's where you toss all the fasteners you've removed . If you remove all the screws and nails it reduces the chances of injury along the way . I stepped on plenty of nails in the past, picking up after sloppy carpenters .
bundles of wire , pipe fittings , even water filter components for building ones own filter in a pinch, partial bags of cement. or plaster of Paris, including paints and brushes and , ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Milk jugs have plenty of uses . Have a shelf the jugs are marked so your can maintain the organization and find things you need when going to the hardware store is out of the question .
I maintain a supply of fasteners metric and standard just like a machine shop ,as well as wood screws and nails pin nails to 60d
Staple guns and nailers and air compressors to drive them.
I learned long ago that having a reserve saved time and money rather than having to run to town for universal parts .
A 20 mile round trip to town for a $2.00 bolt is expensive especially if the job is urgent. And if I'm making trip to town I have a list and buying more than what is necessary for the projects at hand .

 

Pill bottles for small gun parts. What I need is some more cans for fuel. The plastic cans at wal mart are costly and do not last.

 

The plastic that new products come in, is stiff and clear I like to use for replacing broken lens covers and such ,also they are handy for mixing epoxy, or plaster of peris and expendable molds for building parts , or shims or bearing between pipe sizes .

 

I also save several kinds of plastics to use as media for welding other broken plastics together again.