There is a whole industry that has grown up around the prepping and survival community. This industry is working overtime to provide everything from pre-packaged meals to the latest survival knife. And while I appreciate their efforts in providing everything needed to survive a disaster, I don’t always appreciate their prices.
The truth of the matter is, when you buy survival food and supplies, you’re paying a premium for it. That’s not really unfair, as there’s a lot of work that goes into making those products and packaging them for long-term storage. So, what you’re paying for is somebody else’s work.
Of course, that’s not the only option there is. You can package that food yourself and save a bundle. Take MREs (Meals, Ready to Eat), the current iteration of military combat rations. Those are great portable emergency foods, just as ideal for a bug out as they are for combat. But they are rather expensive, even in the civilian version. But you can make your own MREs, which may not be as fancy as the commercial ones, but will take care of your needs nevertheless.
In fact, you can find all your survival food needs at the same place you’d buy the ingredients to make those MREs, your local grocery store. After all, isn’t that where we get most of our food from anyway? If that’s the case, why not use your neighborhood supermarket as your survival food headquarters?
You can get every bit of food right there, at your local supermarket, without having to buy it at a premium. For that matter, you can buy a whole lot more that you’ll need for a long-term urban survival situation. When all is said and done, you should be able to complete most of your survival stockpile right there, saving yourself a bundle of money and in many cases, buying foods that your family is already used to eating.
So, what kinds of survival foods can you find at your local supermarket?
Proteins
Let’s start with sources of protein, since those are usually the hardest to get. You can find:
Jerky – can be reconstituted for use in soups, or just eaten as is- Canned chicken
- Canned tuna and salmon
- Canned beef – available as shredded beef, stew meat or chili
- Other canned meats – there’s lots to choose from, including Spam and Vienna sausages
- Peanut butter – not only a good source of protein, but a great comfort food too
- Beans – there are lots of kinds of beans at your local supermarket. Stock up on pinto beans (Mexican style), kidney beans (for making chili) and lentils (great for soup. You can also find other types of beans, such as lima beans, black-eye peas and garbanzo beans. While you may not be used to eating all these, they all work out well in soups.
- Nuts – all nuts are good sources of protein, as well as the good type of cholesterol
Jerky – can be reconstituted for use in soups, or just eaten as isRelated: 10 Foods Not to Store
Canned Goods
We’ve already talked about canned meats, but there are a wealth of other canned goods you can find at the grocery store. One of the best things about canned goods, is that they will keep forever. You can forget about the expiration date on most canned goods and keep them for 20 years or more. The only exception is those things that are “canned” in plastic jars (metal cans and glass jars are great). Those aren’t actually canned and will go bad with time.
One of the major things to buy canned is vegetables. A true survival diet doesn’t usually contain those. But that’s only intended for short-term consumption. If you’re going to end up living off your food stockpile for more than a month, you’ll need the micro-nutrients that we get out of fruits and vegetables.
- Vegetables of all types – necessary for the micro-nutrients they provide. Also provide a fair amount of carbohydrates for energy
- Canned fruit – like vegetables, an excellent source of both micro-nutrients and carbohydrates. They also have a fair amount of sugar in them, which is something you’re going to find that you crave in a survival situation
- Soups – While stockpiling soups isn’t a very efficient way of using space, some soups are very useful for use in other recipes, such as cream of celery and chicken broth.
- Tomato paste – this is a universally useful ingredient for lots of different types of foods. You’ll need spices to go with it, but with the right spices, tomato paste can become either spaghetti sauce, enchilada sauce or chili base.
- Spaghetti sauce – It’s amazing how many things taste like spaghetti, if you just cover them with spaghetti sauce. Can’t get your kids to eat eggplant? Just bread it, fry it and douse it in spaghetti sauce. You’ll have them eating it in no time.
- Bullion – beef and chicken bullion are essential as soup starters. In a survival situation, where you are trying to make do with what you have, soup may become a rather common staple on your table. Having bullion to start with will make a much more tasty soup.
- Condiments of all sorts – If your family is like most, your kids love ketchup. Like spaghetti sauce, covering things with ketchup is a great way to get kids to eat it. For that matter, ranch salad dressing works pretty well too. Stocking up on condiments will reduce complaining and get your family to eat what you serve them.
- Jams & jellies – While not really a necessary survival food, if you’re going to have peanut butter in your stash, better put some jelly with it.
Related: What Should You Do With Your Canned Foods After the Expiration Date?
Dry Foods
The biggest portion of most people’s food stockpile is actually dry foods. That’s because they pack the most bang for the buck. We’re used to eating a diet which consists of about 40% carbohydrates, which come from those dry foods. Fortunately, they are easily adapted to survival situations.
- Hard Red Wheat – whole-grain, unground wheat will keep much better than ground wheat. So, you’re better off buying it like that. Of course, that means buying a grinder as well, so that you can grind it when you need to use it. In addition to the red wheat, consider:
- Spelt
- Millet
- Barley
- Rye
- Quinoa
- Rolled oats
All of these grains can be used for baking a variety of foods, as well as using them for side-dishes. Add to them:
- Pasta (of various shapes and sizes) – so much can be done with pasta, from everyday spaghetti to soups, casseroles and a host of Italian dishes
- Cornmeal – cornbread anyone?
Of course, if you’re going to do any baking with those, you’ll need to be sure to have the baking supplies to use:
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Sugar – not only for baking, but for sweetening drinks. Sugar becomes very valuable in times of crisis
- Powdered milk – nobody likes drinking powdered milk, but it’s great for baking with
- Powdered eggs – like the powdered milk, think of it more for baking, than for eating as eggs
- Vinegar, especially apple cider vinegar – great for more than just cooking
Other Important Foods
While those are the major categories of foods you’ll want to stockpile for survival. There are a number of other things you should consider; such as:
- Coffee – especially if you don’t function well without it
- Honey – will literally last forever, if kept unopened
- Spices – your family will probably end up eating a lot of things they are not used to. You can make those strange foods taste a lot more palatable by having a good stock of spices, especially your family’s favorites, whatever they are
- Salt – not only necessary for survival, but also the number one food preservative in the world. Stock up plenty, as you’ll need it
- Cooking oil – you might want more than one type here, not just your standard canola oil or vegetable oil. Some oils, like coconut oil have longer shelf lives and have been found to have medicinal qualities
- Dry fruit – goes well as an alternate for the canned fruit, especially when you have to carry it with you
- Hard candies – great treats for kids of all ages. Hard candies, unlike other types of candy, won’t spoil with time. If kept dry and ants are kept out of them, they last virtually forever
Water
One of your biggest needs, and hardest to store enough of, is water. The normal rule of thumb is one gallon per person per day of purified water, just for drinking and cooking. That doesn’t take into account what you’ll need for cleaning, bathing and watering your garden. There’s no way you can store enough water to meet all your needs, but you should try to store as much as you can.
More Than Just Food
That list should take pretty good care of your food needs. But you have many other needs too. Fortunately, the local grocery store is a great place to find many of these things as well:
Let’s start with things you’re going to need for your home:
- Toilet paper – uh, this one’s obvious
- Disposable lighters – the easiest fire starter around
- Wooden matches – the second easiest fire starter around
- Cotton balls and petroleum jelly – work some of the petroleum jelly into the cotton balls to make one of the most effective and cheapest fire accelerants available
- Charcoal lighter fluid
- Charcoal – you might end up cooking on the grille a lot
- Pest killers – they will literally be coming out of the woodwork
- Cleaning supplies – the best way to keep the pests out, is keep your home clean
Then there’s stuff to take care of yourself:
- Soap – lots of soap, including anti-bacterial hand cleaner
- Personal hygiene supplies – please!
- Feminine hygiene supplies – if you want peace in the home…
- Over-the-counter medicines – to take care of sniffles, upset stomachs and the like
- First-aid supplies – injuries happen, in the wake of a disaster, you can count on a lot of them happening; more than normal
- Vitamins – if you’re not eating right, this could help keep you healthy
But some things just don’t fit in a category:
- Candles – if the lights are out, you’re going to need to see
- Batteries, for flashlights and other portable electronics
- Aluminum foil – for cooking with, buy the heavy-duty kind
- Plastic bags in various sizes – useful for a host of different things
- Canning jars and lots of lids – hopefully you’ll be growing food in your garden. Being able to can what you grow will be an important part of your ongoing diet
- Alcoholic beverages – great for medicinal purposes, as trade goods, as well as the more common use
- Bleach – can be used for cleaning, as well as purifying water. Eight drops is enough to purify a gallon of water
A Note About Food Storage
I’ve already mentioned that canned goods will keep virtually indefinitely, without anything else being done to them. But those are about the only foods you can buy in the grocery store, which are packed for long-term storage. Everything else is packaged with the intent that you will consume it within a few days or weeks.
But you’re going to need to make your food last much longer than that, especially if you want to use it as your survival stockpile. Fortunately, there are ways of doing that. Of course, wet foods can be canned; but you’ve got to do something else with dry foods.
You’ll need:
- Five gallon “food grade” buckets, with lids
- Six gallon Mylar bags
- Oxygen absorbers
- Vacuum cleaner with a hose
- Hair straightener
- Magic marker
- Rubber mallet
Please note that you won’t be able to find these items at your local grocery store. You can buy the food grade five gallon buckets at the big home improvement centers. But the Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers will have to be purchased online. Just do a search for oxygen absorbers and you should find several suppliers.
This is a fairly simple procedure, which is best done with bulk foods. After all, we’re talking about filling five gallon buckets with it. If you decide to do smaller quantities, you can buy smaller Mylar bags and put several of them together in one bucket.
It is best to have some help when doing this. The oxygen absorbers are very fast acting. So if you don’t close up the packages quickly, they’ll just absorb oxygen out of the air, rather than the air in the buckets. That won’t do you any good at all.
To package the food:
- Place the six gallon Mylar bags, open, in the five gallon buckets.
- Fill them with appropriate dry food, one type per bag. Leave about one inch of space at the top of the bucket.
- Mark the outside of the bucket, in several places, with the contents.
- Using the hair straightener, seal the top of the bag, leaving only enough unsealed to fit the vacuum cleaner hose in.
- Place a oxygen absorber in the bag, through the opening. From this point, you need to work rapidly.
- Suck out the air from the bag with the vacuum cleaner. Don’t put it into the bag far enough that it sucks out the food; just put it barely in the opening.
- Seal off the opening with the hair straightener.
- Fold the top of the bag down and place the lid on the bucket. Use the rubber mallet to seat the lid on its seal.
These buckets should be stored in a cool, dry place. Most dry foods, including everything mentioned above, will keep for about 20 years, if stored like this.
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The long term storage powdered milk is a worthy investment, and priced about the same as the stuff in the store that lasts less than a year. Many of our favorite things like bread, pancakes, etc. need milk.
Also, a few handy items are the powdered country time lemonade, and tang which does have a good dose of vitamin C, and the powdered hot chocolate that only requires adding water can be a real treat after SHTF.
Can you make bread with powdered milk?
Yes you can. You can also get powdered buttermilk. Great for bread making.
yes. It can replace fresh milk in almost everything.
For the last time- ditch the candles. It’s 2016- get some led flashlites. 21 century people don’t know how to behave with and around candles.
Yes, I after. We have many led flashlights, lanterns, as well as flameless candles for use inside. Candles are far too dangerous!!
BOO! did i scare you? good luck in a survival situation.
If it’s an EMP your led’s will be useless.
They’ll still work if stored in a faraday box until after the EMP.
A Faraday Cage DOES NOT block EMP radiation. It DOES reroute the pulses AROUND the protected item by providing a “path of least resistance”.
Simple solution to protect your electronics: wrap your electronics in non-conductive material (plastic, rubber, etc.) ensuring that it is completely covered. Now wrap your piece in aluminum foil, ensuring that the item is completely covered and does not touch the foil. No need to”ground” it.
To check this method, wrap your cell phone in a non-insulating material and then in foil. Call your phone. It SHOULD NOT ring.
You can insulate the inside of a metal garbage can and store items in it safely.
A major item to store is a HAM Radio. You DO NOT need a license in a crisis situation. BioFeng has many models reasonably priced. An 8 or 10 watt handheld will probably fit the bill. Most all HAM Operators have “hardened” their systems and will be on the air.
Meathead. Interesting. I have small radios, good walkie talkies, batteries, and a solar battery charger. If protected those should last a whole. One radio is wind up charged. Not my favorite but it was a gift from and friend and it’s packed away.
Ham radio or even CB would be good for keeping up with regional happening. I used to have both years ago, CB in vehicles and a home base with a high antenna. Friend was the ham operator but kept it in my kitchen as he didn’t have electricity. My uncle was a ham operator. He talked to people and relayed essages. It was fascinating listening to him.
I should look into something more.
I do.
I make and sell candles.
When your bulbs and batteries finally give out candles and oil lamps will still be going strong. I would suggest some mirrors to multiply the light.
Candles ? I still have a half dozen oil lamps and a stash of lamp oil. Flashlignts require batteries and even solar powered flashlights would hardly fill a room with much light. Hand crank camping lanterns might be useful at times, but might spend an awful lot of time crankin’ it lol.
In all the prepper articles Ive read, no one ever mentions preserving food in 1,2, or 3 gallon buckets with seals by using dry ice or the dry canning method for amounts in half gallon canning jars which is a wonderfull way to keep bugs out of smaller amounts. Using dry ice eliminates the need for oxygen absorbers or mylar bags. Ive done this for years because I like to buy in bulk & it works great.
My 8 yr old just loves Vlasic pickles, so much so, that I buy the big giant sized jars. When they are empty, I rinse them out and use those for storage for flour, oats, sugar, etc. They work pretty good.
I’ve been buying Morton pool salt – high purity and no additives. It costs around $6 for 40 pounds and comes in a heavy weight plastic bag. I have not heard anyone warn about using this type of salt for preserving or even on food. Any thoughts?
I’m not familiar with pool salt, but would be leery of using salt with no added iodine. Because so many people are going on extremely low sodium diets, there has become a huge increase in the number of people who suffer from iodine deficiency.
If they are iodine deficient, then they are not eating the right thing. Iodine is abundant in nature. If we could die from not using iodine salt, how do you think we lived for 10’s of thousands of years before iodized salt. Research the food that provides iodine. Seaweed is an excellent source and dries easily and lasts a long time. Iodized salt is a relatively new invention. humans lived without it for a very long time.
Iodine is one of the minerals not replaced by chemical farming. Zinc, another. Most soils are now deficient in both. Iodine is easy to get. Just rub a drop in the elbow and it’s good for a day. Zinc is vital. A lot of health issues are associated with both. niio
Boy, I’d be careful with that type of salt only because chemicals could be in it if it’s not “food grade”. If the company says that it is not commercial grade then I’d try it. There isn’t always honesty in company statements, especially when you are thinking of using the product in ways they did not anticipate.
Are you sure it isn’t water softener salt ? I never heard of “Pool Salt”, for the pool I used chlorine in either liquid or powder from a bucket. Water softener salt is apparently safe for drinking though, or it should be, … although I shut down my softener and it just sits now. I like the feeling of soap actually washing off without leaving me feeling slimy lol. Besides, I am ok with well water and used to get lots of minerals in that in the form of nuggets. lmao. So a bit of hard tap water seems like nothing.
I have used canned food after the expiration date. You do have to be careful. Especially of tomato based food. i have had to throw out tomato past and tomato sauce because the can bulges. I don’t trust it when this happens, so do be careful when using outdated canned food. On another subject, I have used up some mylar sealed white rice that was from 1996 recently, and it was perfect. It did need to cook a little bit longer to be soft, other than that it was just as good as fresh. So I would say, mylar bag sealed rice has stood the test of time. It did not have oxygen absorbers in it. It was just vacum sealed and then stored in buckets.
Reason for the bulging is temperature not more constant. Up and down will cause the sauce to expand and open the acid of the tomato to effect the can. Why most use canning jars for these kind of sauces.
I LOVE ALL THIS INFO. LOOK at what has happened in West Virginia. Horrible situation, not sure I could do it. Living in Phoenix. We don’t have this happen often. As a city I hope we can deal with this.
What happened in West Virginia?
I am in Phoenix too, but face it, if you are anywhere in the valley, when TSHTF it is going to be super ugly there. I am in far northwest valley in Peoria and even THAT isn’t far enough away from ground zero. Phoenix is surely NOT a tactical place to be, no matter how prepared one might be.
Joel Skousen,
Strategic Relocation: Ultimate Preppers Relocation Guide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrijmYrzYXQ
In lieu of toilet tissue that takes up so much precious space, stock up on baby wipes, found relatively cheap from Dollar General. These have many uses. Also, start saving your left over pieces of soap in a closed container, adding water to it. When container gets full, put in blender to break down any soap pieces and put into a foaming soap container: one part soap to two parts water. Store remaining mixture for future use.
In storing toilet tissue, cut each roll in half, and remove the cardboard, then place flat in a water tight container. Holds more, less waste, and more friendly to composting toilets than wipes. (imho) Peace.
I haven’t had to store or waste “left over” pieces of soap in over 40 years. I got this from “Hints from Heloise” Just use the new bar once, after your bath/shower, press the the new wet bar to the small “left over” bar. Both should be wet. Leave to dry. The small pieces will become part of the new bar and all are used up together..
My wife and I frequently have to stay in a hotel overnight when we travel to Salt Lake City for my VA appointments. We always take the soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and if provided, body lotions. We have a reusable grocery bag full of them stored in our basement.
By the way, if you travel to or live in the Salt Lake area, there are three places you need to know about for prepping: Smith and Edwards (the one up north is better), WinCo Grocery Store (great bulk foods, buckets, mylar bags, oxy absorbers, etc.) and the LDS food storage stores.
I also like powdered butter which allows eas of use and is as rich as the real thing..
Awesome post, Rich! Thanks for separating the foods into those categories – it made it a ton easier to go through my list.
This article was super enlightening. I wrote a similar post a couple months ago but it was mainly focused on protein and “bodybuilding” foods. This is definitely a more complete list!
As an “old timer”, I prefer candles. Save the ends/pieces and make new candles. When the batteries run out for your fancy flashlights, what then? Batteries take up storage and add weight to your bug out/survival equipment. Recharge them? Only if you have a powersource. Candles are renewable and even add heat.
Candles are good. Kerosine/Hurricane lanterns add more light and heat and K-1 kerosine can be purchased in bulk 30 gal drums.from a farmers’ cooperative.
Even better than the regular “hurricane” kerosene lanterns are “Aladdin” lamps. These are what the Amish use and a properly trimmed Aladdin lamp will put out the equivalent of about a 60 watt incandescent light bulb. They also produce a fair amount of heat so can be useful in the winter time. Not good for bugging out, but pretty good for bugging in. I have two of these- they came in very handy during superstorm Sandy.
Aladdin lamps are pricey, but they are also attractive enough to be left out in the living spaces at all times. If you go this route make sure that you stock up on extra mantles, as they can be kind of fragile once they’ve been used.
Candles and kerosene throw off smoke and I can’t breath within a few minutes. I have some large unscented candles, but I also have led rechargeable yard lights. They’re inexpensive and last a long time. A small solar panel can keep a 12 volt battery charged which can keep led lights shinning or other kinds of lights also. A little light goes a long way. Blessings…
I like your list and printing it so I can take it with me!
A Very Good starter list; however, how will you heat your home/shelter in the absence of electricity? When electricity is gone, your central heater/central AC sysyem will automatically turn-off and stay off by virtue of the safety circuitry that is built in. In the TV series “Survivor”, the statement “Fire is life” is a stone-cold fact second only to water. I have lived through a few “grid down” scenarios, mainly ice storms, where the grid was down for several days and it was damn cold outside. Many people had to leave their homes because of the cold. I did not have to leave my home. I had an Ashley Automatic wood burner which kept my house and my plumbing warm as well as me and my family. I also had a healthy supply of wood and a place to obtain more wood. Also essential is a chain saw, associated cutting chains and chain sharpeners, high octane fuel, and fuel mixture.
Great list. my only thoughts are what if the situation turns out to be long term. I’m new to the whole world of prepping, but the one thing that keeps running through my mind is: How long will this last? and what happens when it runs out? Stocking up on toilet paper, facial tissue, sanitary napkins are great. But it might also be worth having a renewable or washable back up. At the very least a plan for what you will do if you run out. What happens when the medicine runs out? Do you know how to get by naturally?
THINX is a woman-owned online purveyor of reusable feminine hygiene underwear and pads, all actually invented by the sisters who started the company. If you can actually find cotton, or cotton-rayon blend, cloth diapers, you can fold-and-stich these into washable pads to fit your personal shape and size. My sister makes sets of shaped diapers from layers of cotton flannel, which is readilbly obtainable in a multitude of colors and prints (so each user can have her own. Another reaaon why menopause is a friend!
I’m old enough my babies were all in cloth diapers. Some were purchased and many were cut from cotton flannel sewing material. I have also used washable pads made by and to fit me. Why do you think it was called being on the rag? My mother grew up in the era before sanitary napkins or tampons were readily available on the market. I’m post menopausal but I keep a box a box of tampons without long applicator tubes in my surgical bug out first aid back pack. Large puncture wounds could make you glad to have them…could be traded too.
Not only that but the cotton the pads and tampons are made of will work with the Vaseline for a fire starter.
Also, as to tampons and pads, you can use them with the Vaseline to start a fire if needed.
Tampons and pads can also be used for first aid purposes.
Baking powder loses it’s ability to cause foods to rise over time. Stock up on Cream of tartar in addition to some baking powder. You can make your own “baking powder” with the cream of tartar and baking soda.
1 tsp b.p. = 1/4 tsp. baking soda + 5/8 tsp. cream of tartar.
Another good addition that keeps long-term is molasses. Black strap molasses is very good for the additional minerals it contains. Generic molasses is still good–for flavoring, making your own brown sugar, etc.
I think it’s good for medicinal purposes too???
My local dollar store carried $1 Containers of molasses. Cheap enough to get now and then. Stores easily and tastes great. Some thing are cheaper at the dollar stores and some better bought at a grocery store. Get familiar with prices and sizes. The molasses in a larger container at a grocery store may be cheaper but I’m on social security so smaller items are what I can get a bit of each month. Pasta mixes and soups are often cheaper one at a time at the grocery store. Twice a year the grocery store has case prices. Saving toward that pays off. Be a Davy shopper. If I buy vitamins at my grocery store I soon get a cupon to buy more.. that’s fine because I use several.
Baking soda is a #1 prepper stockpile item. For digestion, for personal hygiene (I don’t use commercial soaps or toothpaste, which are full of chemical toxins, any more). and cleaning just about anything and everything, as well as a pesticide. Over 100 practical applications.
Hi George. Prepper or not I keep lots of baking soda on hand. Its cheap and sooo useful. It is my tooth paste and deodorant and cleans stuck food in cook pots. So many uses. It is the most used single product in my home.
I have most of this list. Item 30 I don’t happen to have but friends getting commodities used to give away the powdered eggs. I’d grate fresh onion and add to the rehydrated eggs then cook as scrambled eggs. My kids loved them. My husband likes them with a milk gravy made with powdered milk.
A bit of seasoning can make almost anything taste better.
I have a rocket stove with gravity fed pellet hopper. I also have a heat activated fan to circulate heat. The top of the heat collecter is 16″ across. I heat water and can cook on there. I can burn pellets, chips, twigs, and branches up to 2″ across.
The other residences have an Ashley wood stove and an old wood box heater. Resident gather wood in the area.
I make and reuse candles. Good light, sometimes nice scents, and with clay pots and small candles you can hear an area or keep a chicken waterer from freezing. I use candle oil for old lamps and lighting the pellets. Not necessary to lighting pellets just fast and easy. Kerosene would be cheaper but is hard to find here. I keep quite a bit on hand even though I could do without it.
I watch Craigslist for free or cheap items. I recently obtained 60 lb of soy wax from one person, small glasses, wax scents and wicks from someone else, and small round tins,inexpensive, from another source.
I use the 100 packs of tea lights, usually less than $4 at my local Wal-Mart. I place 3 or 4 lit candles in the flat round cookie tins with some holes punched along the sides. Place my chicken waterer on top and for most of the winter water doesn’t freeze. Mostly we just need these at night but in a real cold snap I’ll use them day and night.
I have no problem with candles just use common sense. Don’t put a lit candle under a shelf that can burn. Don’t place close to curtains or drapes. The middle of a table with a glass or ceramic plate under the candle is quite safe as is any candleholder not put near things that can burn.
I’ve used tea lights under the red clay flower pots. It does help radiate heat rather than just letting it all rise to the ceiling. I made one set up with a long threaded piece and nuts and washers to fit. Small pot with the threads in it like the flapper of a bell with a washer and several nuts below. Threaded up through the hole on the pot. A washer then several more nuts and a washer going up. Add next size pot over this and repeat. Two or more pots will gather a lot of heat. I burn my candles on a drip plate sold to fit under the clay pots. The rim will hold the pots above the candles. I used a small grinder to make some dips along the edge of the drip plate so plenty of air gets to the candles. It didn’t heat a small room much in a really bad cold spell but it helped us get through a record setting -46f night. It killed my fruit trees but we survived without power and the forced air furnace for the night. We were under every cover and throw in the house. My old kerosene heater wick needed replacing. I wasn’t prepared but the candles and pots sure helped. A friend heats his living space in a camp trailer with several of those flower pot heaters.
Super powerful and compact solvent/disinfectant/cleaner to use instead of harsh chemical cleaners (Clorox) is GSE or Grapefruit Seed Extract. Small very portable container very concentrated, good for bug-out or bug-in. Many and wide variety of uses, ie., washing vegies, clean wounds, etc, etc. Google it.