Toilet Paper Alternative

Following up my well received post from yesterday about Stocking Up on Toilet Paper, I figured it would be good to talk about alternatives to toilet paper. There are people out there who think we as Americans use too much toilet paper. I don't agree with that but in the event of an emergency, especially a long term one, having a backup to your toilet paper storage would be a good idea. Some people have already switched to toilet paper alternatives and don't mind the change. I think that there is a stigma attached to using anything other than conventional toilet paper but as a prepper you should be accustomed to getting past most stigmas.

Reusable cloth wipes are becoming more and more popular as an alternative to regular toilet paper. The concept isn't much different than using cloth diapers on babies and there are now companies that sell these wipes. There are also wipe warmers that you can put in the bathroom and it will keep your #2 wipes warm and damp with a cleaning solution (of your choice). The idea is that you keep a stack of clean, dry wipes near your toilet for women to use after #1. The wipes in a warmer are to be used after #2. The warmers use electricity so in the event of a disaster you can't rely on it so I wouldn't recommend a warmer.

Instead of a warmer you can keep a squirt bottle with a water and lotion hand soap solution to dampen the wipes before using them after #2. This will make them clean your bum even better. The used wipes then can be deposited into a hanging sack or an open or closed container. An open container or hanging sack will not produce a smell but if you're worried about it get a flip-top trash can to keep used wipes in. The wipes are washable and can be washed as you wash your other towels and wash rags. You might want to wash the cloth wipes in a lingerie washing bag and add a little baking soda and vinegar for extra cleaning power. I would recommend washing them separate from anything else and soaking them in the washer for a hour or so before starting the wash.

Cloth wipes are better for the environment and will make you and your family that much more self sufficient. Green Mountain Diapers is a great site that sells these wipes, along with a solution for your spray bottle and more information about using cloth wipes. Most cloth wipes are made from flannel material which makes them nice and soft and from what I've read these are a lot more comfortable than using toilet paper and not as bad as it might sound. You can make your own from old flannel sheets or shirts but purchasing quality 2-ply wipes would be my recommendation. These are pretty cheap so it wouldn't be an issue to stock quite a few of these to go along with your toilet paper storage. Also make sure you have some lotion hand soap stocked up and a squirt bottle for your solution to dampen the wipes before use.

Stock Up on Toilet Paper

There are some items that in the event of a long term disaster would be very important to have. One of those items is toilet paper. Toilet paper is something we take for granted because we can run down to the store to get it when we need it. If that wasn't an option toilet paper would become extremely valuable for obvious reasons. Toilet paper is something most of us have to have on a daily basis, or have become accustomed to having.

Toilet paper in some form has been around as long as we have been around. There are some alternatives to using conventional toilet paper but I recommend stocking up as much as you can so you don't have to resort to a different method. Toilet paper is cheap to store up but is bulky and takes up a lot of space. The very tops of your closets would be a good place to store a big package of toilet paper because the very top next to the ceiling is space rarely used.

It's not hard at all to stock up 6 months to a year of toilet paper for the family. In an emergency you would want to use it sparingly. Toilet paper can be supplemented with baby wipes that are also cheap and easy to store. Use the toilet paper to remove the bulk of the problem, followed with the baby wipes for a final clean up. If nothing else at least match your toilet paper storage with your food storage.

Are Hygiene Products in your Preps?

I went shopping this past weekend to tie a few loose ends in my preps. The main end that needed tying was my hygiene products. Depending on the severity of the disaster there's a chance you will and won't have running water. If the water was out and possibly going to be out for a long time, using your water storage for strictly drinking and cooking would be the best thing to do. There are ways to practice at least some level of hygiene in the absence of water. Good hygiene will keep moral up, and keep things a lot more comfortable.

Without running water you can still stay somewhat clean and smelling good in an emergency. Stocking up on baby wipes, deodorant, and wash rags will allow you to keep yourself for the most part pretty clean. Use the baby wipes to clean off the worst of the dirt, and spare a little water from your storage to wet a wash rag to wipe yourself down. The deodorant will keep your arm pits from smelling too bad, and if you're stuck in your home with your family keeping the body odor at a minimum would be important.

Keeping your teeth clean is another important part of your daily hygiene. In an emergency when a dentist might not be available, keeping your teeth brushed daily will hopefully prevent any major dental problems. I have a lot of toothbrushes stocked up along with the ingredients to make my Homemade Toothpaste Recipe. It was a lot cheaper for me to stock up the ingredients to make the toothpaste instead of stocking up pre-made toothpaste. Sparing some of your water for brushing your teeth would be acceptable considering the problems that might arise if you didn't brush your teeth.

Hand sanitizer is also something that's important to keep stocked whether you have running water or not. Without running water you wouldn't be able to wash your hands regularly so hand sanitizer would be your next best option. Hand sanitizer would at least allow you to kill the germs and remove some dirt from your hands. I have one of the large 40oz. bottles of hand sanitizer that would last most people a long time. Also keep plenty of hand soap stocked if you do have water you can continue to wash your hands regularly.

If you did still have running water in the event of a disaster then you want to be sure you have the necessary items to clean yourself. Soap and shampoo are both important to stock up on. You might have running water but if you don't have soap stocked up you won't be able to clean yourself. Keep at least 3 months worth of shampoo and soap stocked up so in the event of a disaster you can still take regular showers or baths and stay clean.

All of these things are very cheap and things most people use on a regular basis. Hygiene products can be purchased in bulk and on sale just as you purchase your food storage. They can also be rotated like your food storage so it's important to have these things stocked up along with your other preparedness items. Whether you have running water or not, it's important to practice good hygiene especially in a disaster. By stocking up on what you need you're going to be able to accomplish just that.

Cal Ben Pure Soap

There are tons of ways to make your own soaps and home cleaning products using ingredients you could buy at any supermarket. Some recipes for those items are in my previous post about Homemade Cleaning Products. This is by far the cheapest way to have all the soap and cleaners you need. But for those that don't have the means or the will to make a years worth of soap and cleaning products I have a solution.

Cal Ben Pure Soap is a company that has been around since 1947. They make all natural cleaning products and soaps with no harsh chemicals or cheap ingredients. There are a lot of natural soap makers on the market but nobody can beat Cal Ben's prices on their products. They offer everything from deodorant to shampoo. The only thing they don't offer is toothpaste, and I have a recipe for that one posted.

I have tried Cal Ben Pure Soaps and I can honestly say they are wonderful. The shampoo, bar soap, lotion, deodorant and laundry detergent are awesome products. For anyone looking to save a TON of money on soap and cleaning products look no further than Cal Ben Pure Soap. They offer a Superstar 4800 Pack which would last the average family up to 4 years! At an unbeatable price of $335.00 (without shipping).

So if you're looking to stock up on cleaning products, increase your level of preparedness and save a lot of money in the process, Cal Ben is the route to go. Just like your food storage you can rotate your cleaning products on a yearly basis. You can visit them at http://www.calbenpuresoap.com/.

Get Your Dentist Trip in Before SHTF

One thing that's always important is taking care of yourself. Prepping is a mindset that can be used on a daily basis in nearly all your activities. Whether you're just going to the post office or going on a overnight trip, you always want to be prepared. You're body is no exception to this rule. In the uncertain times we live in, who knows if you're job will be there tomorrow, or if the economy will still be standing tomorrow. Never put anything off to tomorrow that you can do today. This includes your teeth.

Just as stocking up on eyeglasses is important, keeping your teeth healthy is equally important. After SHTF you won't be able to rely on a dentist to work on your teeth, so if you have any pending issues you should get them fixed NOW. Everytime I go to the dentist I have them check all my fillings in case they need repair. There are some "field manuals" on how to do emergency dentist work but I would rather avoid having to pull a tooth by fixing what's wrong while you still can.

Along with dentist trips you want to have a good stock of toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss. Regular maintenance on your teeth will prevent most tooth issues. Our teeth are meant to last a lifetime with little or no maintenance, but floss and brushing will prolong the life of your teeth even more. If you're looking for a fluoride free toothpaste that you can make yourself, check out my post; homemade toothpaste recipe.

Some tooth/mouth problems can start out minor but turn into serious issues. Prevent the minor issues and you will never have any major issues. Another good tip for healthy teeth is STAY AWAY FROM SWEETS. Everytime you eat something sweet your mouth produces an acid that eats away at the enamel of your teeth. This will last up to 30 min. after you've eaten the sweets. If you do eat sweets, try to eat them all at one time of the day. Don't spread out your snack (munch on candy for hours) that will keep that acid in your mouth and do harm to your teeth. Eat all your sweets at one time to keep the acid levels in your mouth to a minimum.

How To Make Homemade Soap

Here is another post from a few months back by "S". It was submitted by the same "S" who wrote the article on how to brain tan hides. Bullseye posted this and it's another great write up from our friend "S". I did some slight editing on this article too, I'm sure "S" wouldn't mind, I didn't change the content. Thanks to "S" for this article!

How To Make Homemade Soap

There are only two ingredients required to make soap and yet soap making can be a very time consuming and difficult project. In order to make soap you will need fat and lye. Any type of fat will work but it must be cleaned by a process known as rendering. The fat is placed in a large pot and allowed to melt. Any meat, gristle or hair will sink to the bottom as the temperature rises. The liquid fat is carefully ladled off and stored. If the fat you were using was from a pig those deep fried pieces of skin would be called crackling’s and were considered by many to be a delicacy.

The second item needed is lye. In the early 1900’s lye, in a dry form, could be found in almost every general store in America. Today it is not so easy to find. Lye made from wood ash is called potash and can be made easily at home. You will need two containers. One large container (the bigger the better) and a smaller container. A 55 gallon plastic one is best and a drywall bucket is large enough for the smaller one. The larger container needs to be placed on a stable platform higher than the smaller one is tall. Gravity will do the most of the work.

Into the large bucket you will place a layer of packed straw. You will then add ash from a wood fire. The ash from fruit trees and hardwoods will produce the strongest potash. Some of the old time soap makers would use only one type of ash. They learned that certain species of wood produced the strongest potash. The stronger the potash the better the soap will be. About a gallon of water is then added to the large container. A small hole is put in the bottom of the bucket and the smaller bucket placed underneath. Some people allow the water to sit in the larger bucket before its drained off. A cork or stopper may be placed in the hole. Add a small amount of water daily until you have a working potash barrel. About a half a gallon will do.

As the water drips down through the ash and straw it leaches out the alkaline chemicals in the ash. That is what potash is, a basic acid. Acid when combined with fat produces soap. It’s a basic chemical reaction. The problem with making soap is the unpredictable strength of the potash. Potash suitable for making soap should be able to float a raw egg so that only a portion of the shell about the size of quarter should shows above the liquid. If the potash does not float the egg it is poured back into the large container and allowed to drip through again. It takes up to a week or more to get a gallon of potash. Ashes are continually added to the larger container.

Eventually the large container will need to be emptied and new straw and ashes added. Once you have potash strong enough to float an egg you are ready to begin the time consuming job of boiling the potash and fat together until it reacts sufficiently to make soap. Determining how much fat to add to potash is the difficult part. Too much potash and you will be stirring the mixture over a hot fire or stove for many hours, too little and you will end up with useless fat. It is better to have too much potash than too little. The most commonly used ratio is 1:1. Equal amounts of both fat and strong potash. The soap that you are used to seeing is not what this process will produce.

Until salt became an inexpensive item all home made soap was the consistency of jelly. Homemade soap of yesterdays era was like shower gel is to us today. To make soap hard salt must be added at the end of the process. The addition of salt allows the soap to set. If you add salt to your soap mixture you will need to place it in a pan, box or mold to harden. If you do not add salt you can use any container to hold your soap. Just remember that its easier to dip the liquid soap than to pour so choose a container with a large top opening.

Ground herbs, nut hulls, scented oils and colorings can be added once the process is complete but before you pour the soap into your containers. Hardened soaps are usually allowed to cure for a couple of weeks. Once cured they are cut and ready for use.

Contributed by "S"

Discuss this at the KPN Forum

Homemade Toothpaste Recipe

After realizing that fluoride is bad for you, and that using conventional toothpaste which is made from fluoride is bad, I started making my own homemade toothpaste. I have been using this toothpaste recipe for a few months now and it works great. It makes your mouth feel fresh, tastes good, it's cheap, and makes me feel better knowing I'm taking better care of my teeth. Traditionally toothpaste was made from mainly baking soda. It has only been the last few decades that toothpaste has fully switched over to fluoride based. Now when you're shopping for a new bottle of toothpaste, you would be hard pressed to find a toothpaste without fluoride. There is a company that makes a fluoride free toothpaste that is sold at some Wal-Marts. Tom's of Maine sells toothpaste without fluoride added that can be purchased from Wal-Mart for less than $5 a bottle.

The Tom's toothpaste is great, but somewhat expensive. Making your own toothpaste will help your teeth, your wallet, and give you the knowledge to make your own toothpaste if you were unable to purchase any from the store, due to a disaster. The homemade toothpaste recipe is below:

Ingredients:
-6 teaspoons baking soda
-1/3 teaspoon salt
-4 teaspoons glycerin
-15 drops peppermint or wintergreen extract

Directions:
Mix thoroughly. Should be a toothpaste consistency. Store in an airtight container.

The baking soda, salt, and peppermint flavor can all be purchased at your local Wal-Mart. Baking soda is around $1 a box, most should already have plenty of salt, and the wintergreen flavoring is in the arts and crafts section of Wal-Mart; 2 small bottles for $2. I was unable to find glycerin at Wal-Mart and ended up finding some at Rite-Aid. It was around $4 for a bottle, which brings the total price up to around $7. For $7 worth of ingredients and a couple minutes of your time to mix it up, the ingredients will last you months. I have been making it for around 3 months now and I'm still using the $7 worth of ingredients I purchased when I started.

I got this recipe from PioneerThinking.com. There are a lot of other great recipes for homemade products on their site including a good mouthwash recipe.

Here is a picture of my ingredients, and what the toothpaste looks like. For best results, use a butter knife to spread it on your toothbrush and keep it sealed in an airtight container.