What will you do if you happen to be the unlucky one who gets trapped or attacked far from home such as in a hotel room, or even in your own kitchen? Your EDC may be able to help but, then again, maybe you can find something better to defend yourself.
Plus, some of the items below may be able to help you survive other circumstances, some of which you probably’ve never thought of.
You’d be amazed at the number of kitchen items that can save your life in a SHTF or survival situation. We’ve listed some of them below with notes about how they can best be used to aid in your survival.
- Can Openers can be vital tools to help you open the cans in your survival stockpile.
- Knives are almost always found in the kitchen. A knife can save your life in many ways including spearing and cleaning meat, cutting cordage, and even digging for water. Of course, if you’re attacked by an intruder you can use a knife to stab or cut them and allow yourself a chance to escape. See more knife uses here.
- Forks come in handy for a wide variety of things including eating food, turning meat in the fire, to stab an attacker in the eye or another sensitive area, or even digging a hole in the dirt to make a firepit, bury waste, or try to find water.
- Cast Iron Pans are heavy, but they are truly great to have if you’re cooking over an open fire. If seasoned well they don’t require washing, simply wipe them out and cook then next meal when ready. Not to mention you can use it to hit someone in the head if you are attacked and no other weapons are within reach. Just remember to use both hands to swing the pan because it is heavy!
- Baking Soda can be used to put out small fires and thus help conserve precious water resources. It can also be used as toothpaste and to deodorize stinky feet or shoes.
- Meat Tenderizer Hammer can definitely come in handy when cooking wild game, but it can also be used as a hammer to build shelter or even to smash your attacker’s face or genitals in a pinch.
- Bleach is a great thing to have on hand in a survival situation to help in purifying water. If it’s the only thing you can get your hands on during an attack you can throw it in your attacker’s face to provide a distraction, so you can escape.
- Steel Wool can come in handy for cleaning dishes but also for starting fires when used in conjunction with a 9-volt battery. See more ways to start a fire here.
- Scissors can be great in a crisis situation not only for cutting cordage, but they can also be used to clean and butcher animals or even as a last resort weapon to stab an attacker in the eye, stomach, or groin area.
- Zip Lock Bags can come in handy for quite a few things in a survival scenario. You can use them to carry water, to store leftover food, and in cold weather they can be used over your socks to keep feet warm and dry.
- Lighters in a survival situation are indispensable and since they can be unreliable, especially in wet weather, you can never have too many of them.
- Oven Cleaner in a survival situation can be used as a weapon when aimed at your attacker’s eyes. It won’t kill them, but it should distract them long enough for you to make a getaway.
- Gorilla Glue comes in handy for a wide variety of things in a survival situation. You can use it as an adhesive obviously to repair critical items, to build a shelter if you don’t have other fasteners, or even to close a wound.
- Cling Wrap can be used to bandage burns and keep them clean or to wrap your sock feet to help keep them dry and warm inside your boots.
- Cheesecloth isn’t found in every kitchen but it’s definitely worth having on hand if you can locate it because it can be used to help filter debris from water. You can also use cheesecloth to protect meat
- Vinegar has microbial and antibacterial properties that help to treat infection, inflammations, and skin burns. Use it to mask your own body odor to make you less noticeable to prey you are hunting or anything hunting you. It can be mixed with water to calm an upset stomach, and to treat parasites from drinking undercooked meat or tainted water.
- Grill Fork can be used to remove hot food from the fire. It can be used as a spit for cooking meat or even as spear for fishing to get that protein that is so critical in a survival situation. If an attacker surprises you while you crouch by the fire, it also has potential as a weapon because of its length. Go for the eyes, neck, or groin area.
- Wine glasses believe it or not can be used to harness the power of the sun to start fires in a similar way that you would use a magnifying glass or eyeglasses. Glass wine glasses are best but even plastic wine glasses can be used to start a fire as a last resort.
- Crisco if you can find it in the large round tubs is great to have in a survival situation. Even the sticks can be put into another container and then you can insert a wick and use it as a candle.
- Aluminum Foil. Use this to make a smaller battery fit when you don’t have a larger battery on hand. Simply fill the gaps with tin foil so the connection is made and your flashlight or other device should work at least temporarily. It can also work as a signal mirror in a survival situation and reflect the flash of the sun up to three miles away.
When it comes to a survival situation, you have to assess the situation and determine whether or not taking items from someone’s kitchen is warranted. For most people it will depend a lot on how desperate the situation is and whether or not the kitchen in question has been abandoned.
Of course if you’re home, you can grab these items from your own kitchen to supplement the other supplies you have stockpiled. Although you may feel you are completely stocked with the supplies you need for a survival situation, you never know when some of the above items might come in handy. Can you think of other items in your own kitchen that can save your life in a survival situation? Let us know in the comments below.