junk drawer... what can you improvise?

[Greg Davenport]

Hi all... sorry I haven't been very active lately... lots of things going on in my life here...

I would like to thank Plainsman for all of his expert posts and questions... he has taken a strong active role and continues to create mind working exercises.

Now on to my question: yesterday when I was looking for something in my junk drawer... I thought... oh my gosh, how did so much worthless crap get shoved into this small drawer... however, as I looked at it I began to wonder what I could improvise from the various contents... hmmmmm, maybe it isn't worthless afterall... let me think.

Assuming that everyone has one of these drawers... I would like to challenge you to empty the drawer contents, inventory it, and then list the various things you could improvise to meet your "five survival essentials"... Recall that they are:

1. Personal Protection (clothing, shelter, fire)
2. Signaling (manmad and natural)
3. Sustenance (water and food id and procurement)
4. Travel (with and without a map and compass)
5. Health (psychological stress, environmental and traumatic injuries)

As always... during the improvising process:

1. Stop and focus on the situation at hand
2. Identify your five survial essentials
3. Improvise to meet your needs.

This should be a fun exercise and provide many examples of how various household items can be used in a survival setting... it should also allow you to clean out that messy drawer

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Greg Davenport
http://www.ssurvival.com
Are You Ready For The Challenge?
Are You Ready To Learn The Art Of Wilderness Survival?

 

[Plainsman]

Junk DRAWER????

How about a junk box or even a junk ROOM?!?!?

Just kidding! But we do have those...Kind of, my reloading room has been overwhelmed with...hmmm...junk!

Since we are short on 'drawers' I'll pick a box or shelf in there and see what I can come up with.

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Plainsman
primitiveguy@hotmail.com

You use what you have on you, then you improvise!

 

[Stryver]

My junk drawer is still in a box from moving, but rummaging through it, the items of note I get are:

Large quantity papers, boxed pen, several other similar boxes, slide rule, candle, scotch tape, old medicine pouch, a cheap calculator, dayquil, pair of HotHands (c) warmers, coleman lantern mantles, number of bic round stics, some old soft and hard epaulet rank, several liquor bottle tops (screw-on-kind), some coffee-flavored candies , a brass drawer-pull, a rear derailleur pulley, another candle, drafting compass for a pencil, double point drafting compass, another candle, two more drafting compasses, chapstick, several old nametags, a lead sharpener, some baking cocoa, small triagular and flat metal files, two mechanical pencils, pack of lead for pencils, tire patch kit, snap-bang pull thingy, rebar tie, detachable keychain thingy, tylenol, number of metal pins, small allen wrench, dry erase marker, two large cotter pins, SAK with saw, scissors, corkscrew, two blades, and a few other tools, assortment of small nuts bolts and washers.


Wow... I shoulda emptied that out a while ago...


Lures can be created from the numerous metal pins, as could hooks. little or no string-type material, though the soft epaulet rank is cloth, and could be dissambled for string. Most non-paper stuff is small metal objects, all of which could be fashioned into lures and hooks as well.

If I were to make a fire, I'd have to use a bow and drill, but I'd have plenty of tinder and small kindling for it. And burning old checkbooks could be fun... The candles can help there, and the hothands warmers could possibly be used to help with the fire, but they could also be used to warm my hands.

There are some photos in there which could bring back memories of a worse time (Field Training, Lackland, July 97). They could also be folded into a small cup.

I can sniff the marker to kill brain cells while I need them most. I can also use it to mark trails (It's red) and might be able to use it to dye snow. I might be able to use the bic ink for dyeing snow.

The pens can also be used for everything discussed in the pen thread.

The scotch tape can be used for wound repairs or equipment repairs. It could also be used to waterproof a paper drinking cup.

The compasses have good sharp points, and can be used for scoring things. With a straight edge and said compasses, I can create an accurate sun-dial, and mark out compass points down to 11.5 degrees easily. Combined with my watch, and a small amount of skill, this would give me pretty accurate directions at any time the sun is up.

Beyond those, I can think of little other than normal usage for the things in my drawer.


Stryver

 

[DonL]

Stryver, that sounds like my junk drawer ended up at your house during our recent move. Please return it posthaste! LOL! Actually, ours is about the same as Stryver's, but we recently found our old corkscrew and a few lightsticks, on top of all the other junk. And we did actually have a couple of old survival blankets in the back. I'll have to think about this one... Too much junk to wade through all at once.

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Don LeHue

Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings...they did it by killing all those who opposed them.

 

[MichLee]

Plainsman you brown noser -- teachers pet, teachers pet.

A whole junk drawer? Wow, wonder what treasure we shall find.

1. Half roll of electrical tape. Can be used as cordage, or fixing tape for putting together various shelter materials.
2. Pencils and pad of paper. – Notes and tinder materials.
3. Sliding Red Devil razor blade paint scraper – Knife or cutter
4. Hook and eye latch – Fish Hook
5. 3 Bic lighters in various stages of fullness (from my days of smoking) – fire starters
6. 2 books of matches from my sisters wedding – fire starters
7. 1 plastic rain bonnet (from God knows where) – Water carrier
8. roll of mechanics wire – cordage
9. 10 wire ties (plastic slide lock type) – cordage for shelter building
10. Varius odd nails and screws – could be used in shelter building
11. Bobby Pin – weapon (when bent in the correct manner they make a wicked snapper that most people try to avoid getting snapped with

) or it could be a fishhook
12. 2 disposable penlights
13. 2 Ceramic elements from old light fixtures – knife sharpeners
14. package of leather boot laces – cordage for shelter building
15. roll of nylon twine – fish line and cordage
16. Gerber Muitipliers – (the first model with the pinching handles)
17. Ice pick with broken handle – possibly make a gigging spear
18. Old makeup Compact – mirror could be used for signaling

That’s about it for this drawer, but this did help me throw out some true junk, lol, like the package of Smith Brothers cough drops that had welded into one huge glob and some various other things and my old address book which my wife has promptly taken charge of destroying (yeah like any of those girls are still around after 20 years).

Wow just read the others, I shoulda used the junk drawer in my shed lots of better stuff I bet

.


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Lee

LIfe is too important to be taken seriously. Oscar Wilde

[This message has been edited by MichLee (edited 02-18-2000).]

 

[Matt Shade]

Well the junk drawer at my house is full of basically junk and nothing useful, I guess it may be good for a small fire

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Fix it right the first time, use Baling Wire !