Preparedness Quick Tip #18: 15+ Uses for a Trash Bag in an Emergency Situation

PQT #18: Get a little trashy with your emergency storage. Trash bags are essential tools for your emergency kits and to have stocked in your home. See the list for ideas...Pin Emergency Quick Tips from Mom with a PREP

Trash bags are essential tools for your emergency kits and to have stocked in your home. The list below has the black trash bag in mind, but many of the uses would work equally well with white trash bags, especially if you are using the better quality brands.

How to Use Trash Bags for an Emergency

(This list has the black trash bags in mind, but many of the uses would work equally well with white trash bags – especially the better brands.)

Rain poncho – cover yourself or other objects to protect from rain

Waterproof your gear – when storing or carrying, keep your gear covered to protect from moisture

Ground cover – for sleeping bag or small tent or just to rest on

Heat water – fill up with water and set in the sun for solar heated water

Makeshift shower – fill up with water and set in the sun for solar heated water. You can then use that hung from a tree or post as a makeshift shower

Haul stuff – of course it’s obvious to use it to haul stuff if you have no other bag or container

Toilet Liner – if you are without a septic or waste water system, use a trash bag to line a toilet, a bucket, or other container to collect waste. Sprinkle in kitty litter, wood shavings or dirt between uses, then bury in a safe location

Protect yours shoes & hands – cover your feet and secure high up on your leg to protect yourself walking through water or mud. Use to cover hands for unsavory jobs.

Shelter – open it up to serve as a windbreak or as a rain cover. A few together can make a tent.

Insulator/Blanket – when you have nothing else, it can serve as a blanket or insulator for a blanket. But know that when using as an insulator or blanket, plastic will make you sweat, which has it’s own drawbacks in survival situations (dehydration, rapid cooling/body temperature in cold, etc.)

First Aid – you can cut into strips to use for bandage ties, you can use to help use as a sling, cover wounds to protect from elements, waterproof casts or pressure bandages

Gardening – use a black trash bag to help kill off weed/ground cover in a bed you wish to plant later in the season (this will kill everything, good or bad, but could be useful if you need it), compost small amounts quickly by filling bag and rolling around often.

Bedding – fill with leaves or moss and create a mattress or pillow.

Markers – cut or tear in to strips to use as trail markers or signals.

Food Storage – not only for storing any food you might forage, but to protect your food from predators and pests. Hang in a tree to keep it out of reach from most creatures.

Body Bags – while gruesome, trash bags can serve as makeshift body bags.

There are more ways you can use a trash bag in a survival situation. Can you think of any?

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Preparedness Quick Tips - 15 Uses for a trash bag in an emergency situation.

 

 

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Becky is a wildlife enthusiast and pet and livestock care expert with a diploma in canine nutrition. With over a decade of experience in animal welfare, Becky lends her expertise to Simple Family Preparedness through insightful info about pets, livestock, bee keeping, and the practicalities of homesteading.

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