Editor’s Note: This is part of an ongoing series (loose as it may be) of articles that focus on a handful of important items for long-term preparedness. In this case, it’s literally just one item but that item happens to be one of the most important to have once your food, water, energy, medical, and ammunition needs are covered. And while you may not need all 56 recommendations by Chloe Morgan from The Organic Prepper, I’ll bet there are at least a couple of uses you hadn’t considered. With that said, here’s Chloe…
In the world of preparedness, where adaptability and resourcefulness are the cornerstones of survival, there exists a humble yet indispensable item that often goes unnoticed: heavy-duty garbage bags. These unassuming giants of utility hold within their resilient confines a world of possibilities, proving time and again that they are an essential component of any prepper’s toolkit. From their fundamental role in waste management to their astonishing versatility in unforeseen circumstances, heavy-duty garbage bags are a prepper’s best-kept secret, ready to unveil a myriad of ingenious uses that can mean the difference between thriving and merely surviving in the face of adversity.
If you’re looking for a good brand, we recommend this one designed for contractors.
How can you use heavy-duty garbage bags for survival?
At first glance, these bags might seem like just another bag to take out the kitchen trash, albeit, with less chance of poking a hole. But their potential extends far beyond the realm of mere garbage disposal.
Below are 56 ways to use heavy-duty garbage bags. They truly are a Swiss Army knife for your prepper arsenal. These versatile bags are poised to tackle a wide array of challenges that might arise during times of crisis.
- Emergency shelter: Construct a makeshift tent or lean-to using garbage bags as the primary material.
- Ground cover: Lay them on the ground to keep moisture and cold away when sitting or sleeping. As it keeps the moisture away, it will also help to keep you warmer.
- Rain poncho: Create a simple rain poncho by cutting holes for your head and arms.
- Poncho for pets: Make ponchos for your pets to keep them dry in the rain.
- Wind protection: Hang bags as windbreaks to shield yourself from harsh winds.
- Water collection: Collect rainwater by creating a funnel system with bags.
- Food storage: Keep food items dry and protected from the elements.
- Laundry bag: Store and transport dirty clothes separately.
- Waterproofing: Line your backpack or boots to keep the contents dry.
- Floatation device: Inflate a bag to use as a buoyancy aid in water.
- Firewood transport: Gather and carry firewood easily.
- Trash compactor: Help reduce the volume of trash to minimize your footprint.
- Emergency water carrier: Transport water from a source to your campsite.
- Makeshift backpack: Secure bags to a stick or pole for carrying items, or make some makeshift straps with rope or cord.
- Emergency blanket: Reflect heat by wrapping yourself in a bag. While not ideal, it’s better than nothing!
- Gloves: Tie bags around your hands to protect them from cold or contamination.
- Foot coverings: Create temporary shoe covers to protect your feet, or wear them inside your shoes over your socks to prevent your feet or socks from getting damp.
- Sleeping bag liner: Insert one inside your sleeping bag for added warmth.
- Bandage cover: Use them as an extra barrier between a bandage or cast and the elements.
- Emergency rain tarp: Create a simple tarp shelter or ground cover.
- Trash disposal: Their primary purpose – to hold and transport trash.
- Trail markers: Use brightly colored bags to mark paths or trails.
- Quarantine area: Create a separate space for isolating sick individuals using bags and duct tape.
- Make a kitty litter toilet when a regular one isn’t an option.
- Plant protection: Cover plants during storms or adverse weather conditions.
- Pet care: Create a portable bedding or shelter solution for pets.
- Document protection: Safeguard important documents from water and debris.
- Stretcher: Reinforce with sticks to transport injured individuals.
- Sandbag barrier: Use them to create barriers against flooding.
- Emergency window covering: Seal broken windows or create a barrier against extreme temperatures.
- Storage for emergency gear: Keep emergency supplies organized and protected from dust and moisture.
- Protect furniture during painting: Cover furniture and flooring when painting or doing home improvements.
- Compost bin liner: Line your compost bin to make it easier to empty and clean.
- Weed barrier: Place bags under mulch or soil to prevent weeds from sprouting.
- Garden soil transport: Move soil, mulch, or compost around the garden without making a mess.
- Rain barrel cover: Keep debris, insects, and contaminants out of your rainwater harvesting system.
- Seed starter greenhouse: Create a mini greenhouse by covering seedlings with clear bags to promote germination.
- Emergency insulation: Fill bags with leaves or other insulating material to improve home insulation temporarily.
- Protect outdoor furniture: Cover patio furniture during bad weather or the off-season.
- Emergency roof patch: Temporarily patch a leaking roof until repairs can be made.
- Emergency rain gear: Keep a few bags on hand for makeshift rain gear when unexpected rain strikes.
- Emergency sleeping mat: Fill a bag with leaves or insulation material for additional insulation under your sleeping bag.
- Seat protection: Cover car seats with bags to keep them clean when transporting dirty or wet items.
- Windshield cover: Prevent frost or snow buildup on your windshield during cold weather.
- Protect luggage: Use bags to protect luggage from rain or dust during travel.
- Emergency windshield or window repair: Use a bag as a temporary seal for a cracked windshield or window. (Make sure that if you are still driving your car, the bag does not obstruct your vision.)
- Leak containment: Place bags under leaking containers to prevent spills from spreading.
- Warming up water: Fill bags with water, place them in the sun to heat, and you’ll have warm water for washing.
- Privacy barrier: Create a makeshift privacy curtain for changing or sleeping in your car.
- Windproof layer: Layer bags underneath your clothing to act as a wind barrier.
- Snow gaiters: Wrap bags around your ankles to keep snow out of your boots.
- Snowshoe bindings: Create bindings for improvised snowshoes by securing bags to your footwear.
- Make a balaclava: Cut and shape a bag to create a balaclava for face and neck protection.
- Snow shelter: Fill bags with snow to build walls or insulating layers for a snow shelter.
- Snow and ice traction: Cut bags into strips and place them under your shoes for improved traction on icy surfaces.
- Emergency sled: Use bags as an improvised sled on snowy terrain.
One thing to remember
While all garbage bags can be useful, it’s the heavy-duty ones that will give you the most benefits and something that you don’t want to skimp out on. You want a bag designed for contractors like this one.
While the strong ones aren’t needed for your basic household garbage, in an emergency situation, it can make a world of difference.
How do you use heavy-duty garbage bags?
With so many uses, I feel like this list could go on forever! What are your go-to uses for heavy-duty garbage bags? Will you be adding them to your bug-Out bags? Was there anything on this list that you hadn’t thought of? Let’s discuss this in the comments!
About Chloe Morgan
Chloe Morgan grew up living with a tight budget in a prepper household. Chloe lives in Northern Ontario, Canada, with her dog, Rhea.
Check out her work on TheOrganicPrepper.com and TheFrugalite.com where she writes about food, frugality, finances, and self-reliance, or her work on Medium, where she writes about lifestyle, mental health, and writing.
Five Things New “Preppers” Forget When Getting Ready for Bad Times Ahead
The preparedness community is growing faster than it has in decades. Even during peak times such as Y2K, the economic downturn of 2008, and Covid, the vast majority of Americans made sure they had plenty of toilet paper but didn’t really stockpile anything else.
Things have changed. There’s a growing anxiety in this presidential election year that has prompted more Americans to get prepared for crazy events in the future. Some of it is being driven by fearmongers, but there are valid concerns with the economy, food supply, pharmaceuticals, the energy grid, and mass rioting that have pushed average Americans into “prepper” mode.
There are degrees of preparedness. One does not have to be a full-blown “doomsday prepper” living off-grid in a secure Montana bunker in order to be ahead of the curve. In many ways, preparedness isn’t about being able to perfectly handle every conceivable situation. It’s about being less dependent on government for as long as possible. Those who have proper “preps” will not be waiting for FEMA to distribute emergency supplies to the desperate masses.
Below are five things people new to preparedness (and sometimes even those with experience) often forget as they get ready. All five are common sense notions that do not rely on doomsday in order to be useful. It may be nice to own a tank during the apocalypse but there’s not much you can do with it until things get really crazy. The recommendations below can have places in the lives of average Americans whether doomsday comes or not.
Note: The information provided by this publication or any related communications is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. We do not provide personalized investment, financial, or legal advice.
Secured Wealth
Whether in the bank or held in a retirement account, most Americans feel that their life’s savings is relatively secure. At least they did until the last couple of years when de-banking, geopolitical turmoil, and the threat of Central Bank Digital Currencies reared their ugly heads.
It behooves Americans to diversify their holdings. If there’s a triggering event or series of events that cripple the financial systems or devalue the U.S. Dollar, wealth can evaporate quickly. To hedge against potential turmoil, many Americans are looking in two directions: Crypto and physical precious metals.
There are huge advantages to cryptocurrencies, but there are also inherent risks because “virtual” money can become challenging to spend. Add in the push by central banks and governments to regulate or even replace cryptocurrencies with their own versions they control and the risks amplify. There’s nothing wrong with cryptocurrencies today but things can change rapidly.
As for physical precious metals, many Americans pay cash to keep plenty on hand in their safe. Rolling over or transferring retirement accounts into self-directed IRAs is also a popular option, but there are caveats. It can often take weeks or even months to get the gold and silver shipped if the owner chooses to close their account. This is why Genesis Gold Group stands out. Their relationship with the depositories allows for rapid closure and shipping, often in less than 10 days from the time the account holder makes their move. This can come in handy if things appear to be heading south.
Lots of Potable Water
One of the biggest shocks that hit new preppers is understanding how much potable water they need in order to survive. Experts claim one gallon of water per person per day is necessary. Even the most conservative estimates put it at over half-a-gallon. That means that for a family of four, they’ll need around 120 gallons of water to survive for a month if the taps turn off and the stores empty out.
Being near a fresh water source, whether it’s a river, lake, or well, is a best practice among experienced preppers. It’s necessary to have a water filter as well, even if the taps are still working. Many refuse to drink tap water even when there is no emergency. Berkey was our previous favorite but they’re under attack from regulators so the Alexapure systems are solid replacements.
For those in the city or away from fresh water sources, storage is the best option. This can be challenging because proper water storage containers take up a lot of room and are difficult to move if the need arises. For “bug in” situations, having a larger container that stores hundreds or even thousands of gallons is better than stacking 1-5 gallon containers. Unfortunately, they won’t be easily transportable and they can cost a lot to install.
Water is critical. If chaos erupts and water infrastructure is compromised, having a large backup supply can be lifesaving.
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies
There are multiple threats specific to the medical supply chain. With Chinese and Indian imports accounting for over 90% of pharmaceutical ingredients in the United States, deteriorating relations could make it impossible to get the medicines and antibiotics many of us need.
Stocking up many prescription medications can be hard. Doctors generally do not like to prescribe large batches of drugs even if they are shelf-stable for extended periods of time. It is a best practice to ask your doctor if they can prescribe a larger amount. Today, some are sympathetic to concerns about pharmacies running out or becoming inaccessible. Tell them your concerns. It’s worth a shot. The worst they can do is say no.
If your doctor is unwilling to help you stock up on medicines, then Jase Medical is a good alternative. Through telehealth, they can prescribe daily meds or antibiotics that are shipped to your door. As proponents of medical freedom, they empathize with those who want to have enough medical supplies on hand in case things go wrong.
Energy Sources
The vast majority of Americans are locked into the grid. This has proven to be a massive liability when the grid goes down. Unfortunately, there are no inexpensive remedies.
Those living off-grid had to either spend a lot of money or effort (or both) to get their alternative energy sources like solar set up. For those who do not want to go so far, it’s still a best practice to have backup power sources. Diesel generators and portable solar panels are the two most popular, and while they’re not inexpensive they are not out of reach of most Americans who are concerned about being without power for extended periods of time.
Natural gas is another necessity for many, but that’s far more challenging to replace. Having alternatives for heating and cooking that can be powered if gas and electric grids go down is important. Have a backup for items that require power such as manual can openers. If you’re stuck eating canned foods for a while and all you have is an electric opener, you’ll have problems.
Don’t Forget the Protein
When most think about “prepping,” they think about their food supply. More Americans are turning to gardening and homesteading as ways to produce their own food. Others are working with local farmers and ranchers to purchase directly from the sources. This is a good idea whether doomsday comes or not, but it’s particularly important if the food supply chain is broken.
Most grocery stores have about one to two weeks worth of food, as do most American households. Grocers rely heavily on truckers to receive their ongoing shipments. In a crisis, the current process can fail. It behooves Americans for multiple reasons to localize their food purchases as much as possible.
Long-term storage is another popular option. Canned foods, MREs, and freeze dried meals are selling out quickly even as prices rise. But one component that is conspicuously absent in shelf-stable food is high-quality protein. Most survival food companies offer low quality “protein buckets” or cans of meat, but they are often barely edible.
Prepper All-Naturals offers premium cuts of steak that have been cooked sous vide and freeze dried to give them a 25-year shelf life. They offer Ribeye, NY Strip, and Tenderloin among others.
Having buckets of beans and rice is a good start, but keeping a solid supply of high-quality protein isn’t just healthier. It can help a family maintain normalcy through crises.
Prepare Without Fear
With all the challenges we face as Americans today, it can be emotionally draining. Citizens are scared and there’s nothing irrational about their concerns. Being prepared and making lifestyle changes to secure necessities can go a long way toward overcoming the fears that plague us. We should hope and pray for the best but prepare for the worst. And if the worst does come, then knowing we did what we could to be ready for it will help us face those challenges with confidence.
