Top 10 Easy DIY Projects for Preppers

Looking for some easy DIY projects? Then you’ve come to the right place!

Let’s dive right into the top 10 easiest DIY projects for preppers:

Self-Igniting Fire Starter –

I love this fire starter because it’s extremely easy, uses very little resources and it burns like crazy! Watch the video above to see how it’s done.

Here are the instructions:

1. Grab 2-4 strike anywhere matches. They don’t HAVE to be the strike anywhere matches, but if you use regular matches, you’ll always need to carry the match striker around with these fire starters.
2. Take a couple squares of toilet paper and roll up the 2-4 matches in the toilet paper, leave the heads of the matches exposed.
3. Use the double boiler method to melt some wax (you can use ANY wax, especially leftover/used wax from candles).
4. Pinch the head of the matches, along with a tiny bit of the toilet paper inside some tongs or tweezers, then dip the rest of the rolled up matches inside of the melted wax.
5. Place it off to the side and let dry completely.
6. To use, simply strike the matches and let it burn!

DIY Homemade MRE –

I’ve done a whole blog post about how to make a homemade MRE, but I love them so much that I had to put it on this list. Make a homemade meal that’s ready to eat is a budget friendly way to have ready to go meals for everyday and emergencies. You can make them to fit YOUR needs, especially if you have children.

Making them is incredibly easy:

1. Grab a ziploc bag or a vacuum sealed bag.
2. Put together nonperishable ready to eat foods, plasticware, gum, candy, spices or drink mixes.
3. Seal it up.
4. Write the date that it was made on the outside of the bag.
5. Store and eat when wanted/needed!

Watch the video above and/or read my blog post for more details on how to make a homemade MRE.

DIY Ration Bars –

These homemade ration bars are awesome! I make a chocolate variety that my kids love. I also make peanut butter and raspberry versions which are both amazing. These ration bars are super easy to make! They store best in the freezer, but they can store on the shelf for around 1-2 weeks. They can probably store even longer than that, but they don’t last long enough in our household to find out! These are great camping and backpacking options.

Here’s my loose recipe for the peanut butter version:

• 1 cup oats
• 3 tbsp peanut butter powder
• 1/4 tsp fiber powder
• 1/4 tsp preservative
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp protein powder
• 1/2-ish cup of water
• Mix then place into 1/2 inch flat circles on a baking sheet. Bake at 200, for 20 minutes then flip and bake again at 200 for 20 minutes. It will harden up a little more once cooled.

You can add or subtract anything from this list. This is something that can be changed and made into your own version! Watch the video above to see how it’s done. Get adventurous and make them yourself!

DIY Buddy Burner –

This is one of my absolute all time favorite alternative cooking/heating methods. It’s extremely easy and cost effective. It creates a moderately sized flame that produces a lot of heat. This can be used indoors or outdoors.

Here’s how to make it:

1. Get an empty altoids tin.
2. Get a used cardboard box and begin to cut up long, narrow pieces. Fit the pieces inside of the altoids tin as shown above in the video.
3. Use the double boiler method to melt some wax (wax can be used from old candles, any wax is fine).
4. Once wax is melted, pour the wax over the cardboard so that it saturates most of the cardboard.
5. Let it dry.
6. Once dry, use and enjoy!

It’s so easy and works for multiple uses. Give it a try!

DIY Altoids Candle –

I just love this little altoids candle! You can make this with a big altoids or a little one, but the video above shows it being done in a little one. Doesn’t matter the size, though.

Here’s how to make it:

1. Get an empty small or large altoids tin.
2. Get at least two wicks and cut them down to size so that the lid can still close. (wicks can be found on eBay or Amazon or any hobby store).
3. Use the double boiler method to melt any wax, can be old candle wax.
4. Once the wax is melted, carefully pour the wax into the altoids tin.
5. Let it cool then use and enjoy!

It’s so so so easy and now you have this nice little candle that can easily be carried around or used for any emergency purposes.

DIY Faraday Cage –

You can make a faraday cage in a variety of ways. I’m going to show you one way to make a faraday cage.

Here’s how to make a trash can faraday cage:

1. Get a steel trash can, a large or small one, can be found at home improvement stores. Don’t forget the lid.
2. Get some cardboard and tape it to the inside, on all sides and on the bottom, you can even put the cardboard on the lid.
3. Seal up any and all potential holes, cracks, etc. with tape.
4. Wrap the lid with aluminum foil so that it’ll create a seal on the can when it’s closed. Make sure to seal any holes on the lid as well with tape.
5. To test, turn on a portable radio and place inside of the can then close the lid. If you can still hear it, there are some holes that need to be plugged. When you can’t hear it anymore is when all holes are properly sealed.

A faraday cage is meant to keep our electronics safe during an EMP type event. Also, it’s just a nice place to have them all stored in one, safe place.

DIY Rain Water Collection Bucket –

Collect that water that falls from the sky! Making your own rain water collection bucket is extremely easy. There are many ways to make your own, this is just the easiest way that we found to do it.

Watch the video above to see how it’s done! Before we moved into an RV, we were using this exact one for 4 1/2 years! It would have lasted even longer if we hadn’t moved into an RV. It’s durable and works amazingly well.

DIY 1 Minute Paracord Bracelet –

Want a quick and easy paracord bracelet? Then this “1 minute” paracord bracelet is for you! I’d say this took me around 3 minutes or so because I was reading the instructions as I made it, so I was a little slow. But once you get it, you can easily make this within 1 minute.

Follow this link here for the exact instructions that I followed to make it.

DIY Gorilla Tape Item –

Make anything and everything out of gorilla tape! There are so many things to make out of gorilla tape. In the video above I made cordage, a bowl and attempted a flip flop. The sky’s the limit when it comes to make stuff out of gorilla tape.

Braid 3 strands of gorilla tape to make some strong cordage.

Or take two strands of gorilla tape and:

1. Fold each strand in half, leaving a little bit of exposed tape on each end.
2. Tape the two exposed ends together.
3. Begin to twist one of the strands to the right, then twist the other strand to the left. Basically, each strand will be twisted the opposite direction.
4. Once you’ve twisted each strand once, then twist the strands together.
5. Repeat until you’ve made your cordage.

Watch the video above to see it visually being done.

DIY Bug Out Box –

The idea of the bug out box is to place some extra items into a box which you’d grab and take with you in an emergency. You could also store this box in your vehicle.

This box would contain extra useful items that might be redundant, something different, useful, backups, whatever. I used a shoebox size box, but you can use a smaller or bigger box, depending on your desires. Watch the video above to get some ideas.

So there you have it! This isn’t a complete list of DIY projects, but it offers some ideas. I’d highly suggest doing a DIY project at least once a month to keep your imagination and creativity alive. Think outside the box and have fun with DIY preparedness projects!

What are some other DIY prepper projects?