Category Archives: upcyle
Newsprint and the Prepper
I use newsprint for a lot of projects around the house. We get two sets of advertisements and local news once a week and it adds up to a lot of paper. Over the summer I use this paper to start fires but here are three things I do with it in the other seasons.
1.) Shred: I save my flyers for about a month and then spend an hour shredding them (by hand). I keep my shreds in a tupper bin until the summer time when I make them into paper bricks for the fire. I got my paper brick maker from Lehmans (www.lehmans.com) This is an easy and free way to have heat and cooking material.
2.) Spread: Once spring comes and I re-dig my garden beds, I spread newsprint on the bottom. This keeps the weeds to a minimum by suffocating them. By the time the papers disintegrate, the weeds have been killed. I usually do a layer about 3 sheets of newsprint thick.
3.) Seed: I use newsprint to make little pots for starting my seeds. There are little gadgets you can get to help you do this (check here). They stand up fairly easy in my mini greenhouse and the roots have no trouble pushing their way through the wet paper. You can take the whole pot and put it in the ground as is.
Reusing your own soap
A lot of us have soap in our stocks, its a great thing to have around. In a SHTF situation, hygiene is paramount. Soap is generally cheap, but here’s a way you can save a bit of money.
I personally owned a soap business so I have a lot of soap scraps around but you can do this using the little slivers that are left at the end of the bar.
Grate or break down your soap into smaller pieces and place them in a bowl.
soap scraps in bowl ready for our next step
Put your bowl over a pot of warm water (double boiler). Do not let the water boil, as this gets your soap too hot. If you are using all bar soap (not glycerine soap) you may have to add a little bit of water to your bowl.
Be careful, the bowl and the soap will get hot. Melt the soap down and mix it together. When it is all melted, its time to take it off the heat.
Bowl of melted soap
Carefully pour your soap into molds. I have professional molds but this isn’t necessary at all. You can use milk cartons, silicone muffin tins, just about anything. (tip: if you want to make soap for barter or giving away PSHTF, pour your soap into ice cube trays.)
Once your soap is hardened (this can take anywhere from a couple hours to a couple of days), take it out of your mold and cut it into desired shapes and sizes. If you’re having trouble getting the soap out, you can pop it into the freezer for ten minutes and let it get cold, it should come out easily after that.
“poc” soap, ready to be wrapped.
It may not be pretty and it may be a blend of a lot of scents, but its soap, its functional and it was free.
To keep your soap for long periods, consider using shrink wrap or putting it into zipper plastic bags. If you used glycerin soap, it may develop a ‘dew’ or ‘sweat’, this is normal and does not affect the function of the soap.
Prepping for Feminine Hygiene
This is a subject that I haven’t really seen a lot of information on out there so I thought I’d let you all know what I do to prepare for those fun once a month times. Men, you may want to stick around too. (Got women in your family? Need something to barter?)
A while ago, I started a non-profit organization that makes and sends reusable menstrual pads to women in need. Before sending my first package (it went to Africa), I decided I can’t very well send a product that I don’t know anything about so I tried them for myself and never looked back.
The premise is simple. Why fill your valuable shelf space with packages and packages of plastic pads and tampons that you will only use once and then throw away. (Throw away where? Now a days to the dump where your biological material can seep out into the water system- gross. Or after an emergency, well I guess you could burn or bury it). I found a simple pattern online (using an envelope style pad with an insert) and make the pads from donated sheets, pyjamas etc. When done with it, throw it in the wash (or to avoid stains, soak in cold water first).
So, we’re saving space and the environment so far (not to mention the almighty dollar!!) Find a pattern online, sew together some pads and hang on to them. Even if you don’t want to use them now (or you’re a guy, or your daughters are too young) it’s not a bad idea to have a sustainable option for when you might need it. Again, you can barter with these if you don’t need them for yourself. My non-profit runs a program where if you buy one pad, one gets donated (we also just donate anyways but its nice to have a little bit of help in the running costs).
Want to make your own? There’s plenty of free patterns out there and most people have an old flannel shirt or something they can part with.
Not crafty? You can buy reusable pads here and menstrual cups here
Simple Jar Candles
There are a lot of ways to make candles. This is only one of them and it is fairly simple. You can get fancier if you want, but this is survival and preparedness, not a dinner party. As such, I have not included instructions for colorants or scents.
Needed:
A jar … you can use anything from baby food jars to pickle jars and mason jars are great, I’ve used small jars that I got at a dollar store, but I’ll use a small mason jar to show you. I like jars because they have lids and can be kept dry but feel free to use anything such as a milk carton, a tea cup or an old washed apple juice tin.
Wax: beeswax, paraffin, old used candles anything! I’ll show you how to use recycled wax since it’s easy and cheap. Paraffin is easily found at a grocery store with the canning supplies (it’s not usually used for candle making but will do in a pinch. It has a lower melting point than candle paraffin that’s all) Pictured: old candles about to be chopped.
Wick: I buy these from a wholesaler but you can get them at craft shops or make them with string but the string doesn’t work as well as a proper wick. The easiest thing is to use a wick that has the metal piece at the bottom. ( Get wicks here )
Pot and bowl: I usually use a container specifically for melting wax but most people will be fine with using a bowl over a pot of very warm water. You don’t want the water to be boiling over and you don’t want to heat the wax directly over a heat source because the wax can ignite at a very low temperature.
Safety Notice: Hot wax can burn! If you get it on yourself, run cold water over it and then peel off the hardened wax. If your wax catches fire while on the stove (never happened to me but you never know…) DO NOT USE WATER to put out the flames! Turn off your heat source and smother the flames with a pot lid or fire blanket etc. I shouldn’t have to say this but I am not responsible for what you do! If you hurt yourself during this project, you are on your own and I am not liable.
Put a pot of water on the stove at a medium heat. Put bowl over the pot. Cut wax into smaller pieces to allow quicker melting. Do not allow your wax to get past 170 degrees Fahrenheit. While the wax is melting, heat up your jars a bit. I usually use another pot of water to do this. You want the jars to be warm when the wax goes in to prevent the glass from cracking and to let the wax set nicely; otherwise it pulls away from the jar as it dries.
When wax is melted, use a ladle or something similar to pour the wax slowly and gently into the warmed jars (make sure you dry them off inside first). Let them sit until hardened. (probably a few hours for all of the wax to be completely set.
Pictured: my finished product… smells vaguely cinnamony (due to old candles being scented).
BurroakBurrow 