Drinking Straw Storage Vessels
Some might not think much of a drinking straw, but it can be the perfect storage vessel for certain situations. Whether you are camping or preparing for SHTF, drinking straws can be a valuable resource. They're small, waterproof, and free (if you grab a few when you see them by the drink machines in stores and restaurants). You can store all kinds of things in a simple drinking straw, from salt, pepper, and other spices for you next camp, to more life sustaining items like a cotton ball with a dab of petroleum jelly in its center to start a fire, or a few matches, or even some medication that needs to stay absolutely dry (I recommend clearly labeling any container used to store medicine). The items that can be safely stored in drinking straws is only limited by your imagination, and the size of the straw of course. Just follow these 5 easy steps and your items will be sealed and watertight.
Supplies Needed: To make your own survival drinking straw storage containers, the supplies needed are quite minimal. To store your items, you will need a drinking straw, scissors or a sharp knife, a butane lighter (or other sourse of heat capable of accurately melting plastic), a pair of needle-nosed pliers, and any item that will fit inside the drinking straw.
Step 1: Cut a 2" (50mm) piece of drinking straw. I like to use red straws for fire starting items, and clear straws for medications. Get creative with your color coding. Blue straws could hold water purification tablets, or powdered drink mixes. Sorting the contents of the straws with color coding is only the first step to organizing your mini storge containers. They should also be clearly labeled, to reveal their contents, with a permanent marker. I'll be putting salt in this one, so I'm using a white straw to match my other straws storing spices and seasonings and will label it with a permanent marker to indicate its contents.
Step 2: Pinch and hold one end of the straw with the needle nosed-pliers about 1/8" to 1/4" (~3mm to ~6mm) from the end of the straw. This will help protect the straw where you don't want to melt it and help you gauge how much of the end has been melted.
Step 3: Use a lighter to melt the small piece of straw that is exposed. When the plastic is melted all the way across and the length of straw that is exposed is about half the size it was, quickly pinch and hold the melted plastic end with the needle-nosed pliers. Make sure the pliers leave teeth marks in the melted plastic all the way across the end on the straw. This will ensure that you have made a good seal.
Step 4: Now that one end of the straw is sealed, it's time to fill the straw with whatever you want to store for later. Salt, pepper, seasonings, matches, headache medicine, etc. You can even store liquids such as cooking oils, or antiseptic ointments. When storing liquids, be sure to leave an air pocket so the straw will survive some abuse in your pack without bursting. The air will compress and serve as a shock absorber.
Step 5: Pinch off the last opened end of the straw just as you did in step #2. Melt with a lighter and seal with the pliers, just as you did in step #3.
Congratulations, you now have a tiny, lightweight waterproof, storage container. To get even more uses, there are also milkshake straws that are about twice the diameter and can hold things as large as batteries! Make sure to clearly label your straws so you know what you're getting when you cut them open!
Here are just a few of the many things that you can store in a drinking straw:
Fire
Matches
Petroleum jelly and cotton ball firestarters
Wax and lint tinder
Wax and sawdust tinder
Birthday candles (the "trick" candles are windproof)
Water
Water purification tabs
Bleach
Iodine
Flavored drink mix (Gatorade, Crystal light, etc..)
Coffee or tea
Electrolytes
Food
Fishing Kit
Spices & Herbs (salt, pepper, garlic, oregano, basil, red pepper flake, and more!)
Condiments (ketchup, mustard, bbq, soy sauce, etc.)
Hot Sauces
Cooking Oils
Candy
First Aid
Pills (pain killer, allergy medication, prescriptions, etc.)
Antibiotic Ointment
Bandages (rolled up)
Healing Salve
Creams and ointments
Sun Screen
Aloe Gel
Petroleum Jelly
Iodine
Bleach
Light
Birthday Candles (again, "trick" candles are the best choice)
Sanitation
Hand Sanitizer
Soap
Shampoo
Lotion
Bleach
Repair and fabrication
Tiny Sewing Kit! (Needle and thread at a minimum. Could include safety pins)
Safety and Security
Ammo (larger diameter straws in particular)
Comfort and Morale
Cigarettes
Tobacco
Candy
Other straw uses (After container is opened)
Access water in tight places!
Blow air into your fire.
Use a hot glue gun and make a WAPI (Water Pasteurization Indicator)
To make a WAPI, bend straw into a loop and use a hot glue to fasten both ends together.
Put glued loop into the pot of water that you intend to pasteurize. The glue will soften as the
water heats up and when it is hot enough for the straw ends to separate, the water is
pasteurized!
What are some other items that would be handy to put in drinking straws and thrown in your pack? Share your ideas in the comments below. I would like to do a series on survival gear made with everyday items so let me know what you thought of this article.
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