Stockpiling alcohol is a great way to help you and your family survive after the world goes down the toilet. Not only does it never expire, but alcohol can also disinfect wounds and help keep the body warm in the most dire of situations.Â
Alcohol is easy to store given that most items are packaged in glass bottles, making them virtually indestructible when put up and left alone. Minus an earthquake or other natural disaster, glass bottles should last for years as long as they are packaged correctly.Â
Check out these 17 ways to use liquor for survival after SHTF.
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1. Start a Fire
Keeping warm is important in survival, and there could be times when the matches have run out (or ruined). Alcohol is flammable, making it a great way to start a fire when you really need it.Â
2. Barter for Vital Items
Stocking a lot of alcohol is a great idea just so that you can barter or trade with others in a survival situation. Everyone can use alcohol, and it becomes a hot commodity when you don’t have it. Use a bottle of liquor to barter for important items that you really need to survive.
3. Clean a Wound
Disinfect a wound with a dose of alcohol to help kill germs as well. Splash a few glugs of the good stuff on an open wound to use as an antiseptic.
4. Sterilize Tools
Alcohol can also sterilize tools and instruments before use. This helps cut down on infection while in a survival situation, and ensures that the tool is clean. Douse a tool in alcohol before use to prepare food or address a minor wound.
5. Disinfect Tainted Water
There will be a time during a survival situation when the water you have stored will run out. Gathering water is a prime survival tool, but the natural water source nearby may include questionable water. You can use alcohol to help disinfect the water to kill off any lurking bacteria.Â
6. Clean Surfaces
Another important part of survival when SHTF includes cleaning the surfaces used to prepare food. Disinfect these surfaces with a splash of alcohol to cut down on bacteria and make the surface clean to use.
7. Kill Bugs
While many survivalists don’t mind bugs, and may even choose to eat them as a last resort, there could be a situation where a bug infestation drives you crazy. Use alcohol to kill bugs and repel them from your living space.
8. Raise Spirits
In a dire survival situation, it is easy to become depressed and overwhelmed emotionally. Use alcohol to help raise spirits and offer a reprieve from the current disaster. Remember that emotional and mental health is often overlooked in a survival situation, making it the one thing that survivalists forget to prepare for.
9. Suppress Sickness
You can use alcohol to help suppress a cough or alleviate pain from a cold or infection. Warm up the liquor and mix it with honey to help keep a cough under control that could blow your cover.
10. Defend Yourself
When your survival bunker is under attack, use a bottle of alcohol and a rag to make your own Molotov cocktail. Light the rag and throw the bottle near enemies to ward them off. If the enemy proceeds to make it into your survival area, hold the neck of the bottle with a rag and break the other end to use as a makeshift weapon.
11. Sleep Aid
As many of us know, alcohol is great for helping calm down the body. Taking a few swigs of liquor can help calm the mind just enough to help in getting to sleep. This is especially useful when surviving with children who may be anxious and overtired. Ingesting alcohol also creates a warm feeling inside the body, which can be comforting.
12. Personal Deodorant
Just as alcohol can be used to clean surfaces, it can also be used as a personal deodorant to kill body surface contaminants. Pour a small amount of liquor onto a rag to dab under the armpits and disinfect other areas that need a bit of cleaning.
13. Kill Off Mold
Finding mold in a survival bunker can harm people inside the area. Kill off mold by applying alcohol to the moldy areas. As the alcohol evaporates off, it takes some water with it, making it less likely for mold to grow and thrive.
14. Glue Removal
Alcohol is a great way to remove glue that won’t come off of the skin. Pour some alcohol onto the hands and scrub vigorously to help remove the glue.
15. Gun Cleaner
Keeping you and your family safe is important when SHTF. When you run out of the traditional gun cleaner supplies, use alcohol to help do the job and keep your firearm in good working condition.
16. Keep the Lights On
Just like liquor can be used to start a fire, it can also be used to keep the oil lamp going at night. Simply pour the alcohol into a traditional oil lamp base and light the wick as usual. Always be cautious, though, as a little bit of alcohol goes a long way.
17. Make an Ice Pack
Alcohol doesn’t freeze, making it a great option for a pliable ice pack. Fill a plastic bag with alcohol and add it to the freezer to create a moldable ice pack that stays cold for a long amount of time. Simply pop it back in the freezer after use, or pour the alcohol back into the bottle for the next use.
Storing and stockpiling alcohol is an easy way to ensure that you and your family are safe when the SHTF. There are so many versatile uses for the hard stuff, making it a no-brainer to stock up on.
Try storing a variety of different alcohols to vary the selection and make sure that bottles are kept away from areas where they could be broken. Label bottles well and then forget about them until you really need them in a SHTF situation.
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