In the meantime, nothing should keep folks for replicating these kits for themselves if they see what I see in the concept. If you want some of mine, PM me- but I won’t talk numbers in this thread- I hope that is a satisfactory status to the Mods here, I’ll fix whatever issues you have if you just let me know.
So the idea was to try and fit all this……
Into this…..
Most of us keep a ditty bag of toiletries and medication, this was not intended to replace that as much as it’s meant to provide hygiene components in situations they otherwise would not have them. I focused on non-liquid components with a maximum shelf life. The vast majority of the (60ish) items in these kits will store for decades without degradation. I see these as perfect to store in a BOB, BOV, Boat, the BOL; for emergencies- a backpacking trip-SHTF- or for a weekend campout.
I tried to label these for easy recognition by people of all languages, properly ID repackaged copyrighted items and included ingredients lists of anything someone might put in their mouth (like toothpaste), but personal use kits wouldn’t need that stuff. I did include instructions for things like the water purification tablets.
I included a glass mirror in the lid of the container for the shaving kit, nice to have for other reasons. Old-school shaving soap lasts for decades and makes a nice lather- A small make-up pad serves as a lather brush. You may recognize the razor head, I had to custom build the handle and J-B weld it to the head (X 100, this turned into a much bigger chore than I wanted it to be). There was room left over for a washcloth/TP pellet and some cotton swabs and cotton balls. I figure this single razor provides a few weeks of shaves in my bathroom, probably a few months after SHTF. May not seem a critical item for such an environment to some, but if you’ve ever been in war or a SHTF emergency you know how important a shower and shave can be.
A light-load 12”x24” towel. If I was to try and produce these kits on a larger scale, I may have a custom sized larger towel pelleted (or buy the equipment to do it myself) that would just fit into the container. This one actually works pretty well and I can also fit four washcloth pellets and a little doggy-do trash bag in here. Don’t underestimate how useful a little clean plastic bag can be, even if just for storing your hygiene products after use.
I had a hard time finding a deodorant that would work for this scenario. The Potassium Alum Chrystal seemed to fit the bill perfectly, lasts a long time, and will store forever if kept properly. I had to buy these in bulk, hand cut the crystals to the appropriate size, and repackage them using Parafilm which effectively creates a wax coating around them. Only half of us have use for the tampons, but we all know someone who would be DARN glad to have them at SHTF. Two more washcloth/TP pellets fit in here, a cotton hygiene pad for good measure, and another Plastic doggy-do bag. Again, for the space and weight it takes up, and the potential uses, can’t have too many.
Soap, seems about the easiest component at first glance. I searched high and low for the perfect soap for these kits, and finally found these- discontinued- and had to buy 1000 of them from a motel supply outfit. But they are the perfect soaps for this kit. Also went with the JR Liggett solid block shampoo. I would not recommend any liquid in these kits if you can avoid it. If properly dried and stored between use, these soap and shampoo blocks could last you for weeks and months depending on how often you get to use them.
Finding a toothbrush for this kit turned out to be the real deal-breaker. For a DIY kit, you might be able to just chop one in half or something. I finally found a company that makes these silicone toothbrushes for sale to prisons and jails (you can brush your teeth but can’t shank someone with it). It was a chore establishing an agreement with this company for such a small volume of these (he sells them by the 1000), and relative to the rest of the 60 items in this kit, they were not cheap. The toothpaste packets will not have the shelf life I’d want them to, but the toothpaste tablets will store for a good number of years. I’ve come to really like them and use the toothpaste tablets on a regular basis at home now. These are a good prep whether you do these kits or not. I also threw in a little plastic toothpick tool that’s not in the picture.
I also wanted to throw in some small items that could save your butt in a pinch, so I added one more container for this. Book of matches, a candle, can opener, water purification tablets, and a scalpel blade could make the difference for someone in a bind. Sunscreen, lip-balm, and insect repellant could actually be life-changing too in the right scenarios. Again, anything liquid in a packet will not have the shelf life of solid tablets, but still worth the space in my opinion. The hinged plastic “snuff-can” containers are pretty handy themselves.
All told, this turned into a bigger project than most would want to do for a couple of DIY kits. You’ll find that these are not as cheap as you probably think they are to put together yourself either. Some may not find this as valuable a prep as I do and probably think I’m nuts! But I guess there will be some here who find it worthwhile. If nothing else, I think they’d make for a perfect barter item.
I expect others have done similar things with hygiene, or maybe other items, this might be a good thread to showcase them. I’ve built a few one-off BOB kits with tiny flashlights and survival tools. I guess I just like tiny light-weight things that can do big jobs.
Hygiene during SHTF- building the perfect BOB kit
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