36 DIY Weekend Projects for Preparedness and Survival

Have some extra time and looking for some cool projects?  Need a preparedness project you can do this weekend, or even several?  Hoping to learn a new skill in the process?

Look no further. I’ve spent a lot of time lately researching cool projects, and  I want to share with you these 36 great weekend preparedness projects I found. It was hard to decide, though. I found a ton of good ones. I may have to do a series like this.

Some are projects on the diyprojects.com site, some on other sites I like. Preppers, survivalists, and anyone who wants to be a little more prepared at the end of the day can get a lot from making these.  All of these projects are low budget, many practically free. Most will not take more than a couple of hours, and some are faster than that.

Try them out and let me know what you think. I certainly know I learned a lot from trying them, and am happy to feel so much better prepared.

Here are my top 36 DIY Weekend Projects for Preparedness and Survival:

 

1.  Make a how to make a rocket heater

You can use paint cans for this, or you can use soup cans. Rocket heaters get super hot. Check it out.

 

2.  Make your own homemade survival bars

Perfect for stocking your emergency kits as well as taking on camping trips. These have a long shelf life- 20+years, but I have to admit, I have been eating mine as snacks.

 

3.  Add some “earthquake proofing” to your food storage shelving.

Learn how just a few changes can help you store you food more safely. I was surprised to learn some of these.

 

4. Make a DIY Pallet Smoker:  How to Build A Smokehouse

For less than $100, you can build your own DIY Smoker. This is awesome, big enough to smoke an entire animal! We are about to smoke meat in it and make another cool DIY and video. Follow us on Facebook to get latest updates.

5.  Learn how to make fire starters

This is a fun little project, really fast, with impressive “fire” power.

 

6. Learn how to make a paracord belt

This is a rescue belt. Learn how to make one, and you will have the fastest quick deploy belt I could find- it uses Slatt’s rescue weave and gives you instant access to 1o0 feet of paracord.

 

7. Start composting. Build a DIY Pallet Compost Bin

A great big bin for your composting needs. Assemble in minutes.

 

8. Learn how to make a monkey fist  with a steel center

Great weapon on a keychain, one you can keep at all times. This one lets you use a steel ball bearing center. Clear instructions and lots of photos.

 

9.  Build a solar cooker- basic version and more advanced version

I looked at a couple of different designs. One uses a car window shade, the other one, recycled CDs.

 

10. Make a solar USB charger

 

11.  Learn how to make an oil lamp

Perfect thing to know how to make for emergencies, as it uses olive oil and things you should have on hand. Pretty, too. Make one now and use it for home decor, keep it around in case of emergency.

 

12.  Protect your electronics with a homemade faraday cage

Watch the video in the link above and click here for some instructions on how to make one

 

13. Learn how to make hardtack 

Easy to make with only flour, water and salt, this is what sailors used to eat.

 

14. Make an awesome gardening tool for planting seeds

This is one of the coolest things I have seen lately. What a time saver. Easy to make, worth the effort.

15.  Make a torch

Need I say more?

 

16.  Build a PVC bow

PVC and nylon string. Cheap. Powerful.

 

17. Make a DIY Knife Sharpening Kit

I don’t know why knife sharpening kits are so hard to find. This one is easy to make at home, inexpensive, gives amazing results.

 

18.  Build a space saving Can Rotator Rack

I like this one, because it does not require serious wood working skills. Great way to store cans.

 

19.  Plant a container garden

Learn how to grow vegetables indoors all year long.

 

20. Learn how to build a pallet workbench

 

 

21.  Learn to grow food from scraps and make food from scraps

You can grow plants from celery, carrots and many more food items you are probably throwing away.

 

22. If it’s not time to plant, make newspaper pots to start your seeds.

Origami for gardening. Get your kids or grandkids helping with this one. Easy, fun, and useful.

 

23. Learn about composting

This guy has a wealth of knowledge about composting and vermiculture.

 

24.  Build a shooting bench

You can download plans here to build a neat shooting bench

 

25.  Learn how To make paracord bracelets

Blaze Bar Paracord Bracelet is the fastest to deploy, but also try the Cobra Paracord Bracelet, Tire Tread Paracord Bracelet  and the Oat Spike Paracord Bracelet

 

26.  Learn to pick a padlock with a soda can

Not nearly as difficult as I thought. A nifty skill, I say.

 

27.  Put together an important documents binder.

This site has a great list of starter documents that you want to get together and keep safe.

 

28.  Make a survival kit in a pill bottle

It is amazing how much stuff we managed to fit in the little pill bottle.

 

29. Be prepared for an evacuation

This is a great piece that tells you what to be prepared for, what to bring, lots of smart tips. Clearly written.

 

30. Learn how to make lotion

Learn the basics of making basic lotion. A good primer for all those who want to make lotion

 

31. Learn how to build a geodesic dome

This one can be a greenhouse, a storage space, a garage, and even a living space. Quick assembly

 

32. Learn how to build an outhouse

More steps than you would think. Probably a good thing to learn how to do.

 

33. Learn how to bake bread from scratch

A great skill to have an enjoy now, and use later, regardless of what you are doing.

 

34. Learn how to make a poultice

This one uses plantains, and is good for bug bites, blisters and boils

 

35.  Learn how to make green cleaners

DIY Cleaners are much less expensive and good for the environment.

 

36. Learn to knit chicken sweaters

Figure you are pretty prepared if you got this far. Why not protect your chickens? They should be prepared, too!

 

Like I said, these are only a few of my  favorite weekend prepper projects.  Maybe you have something you’ve done or would like to do?  Share them with us in the comments below. I am always looking for ideas to publish and cool things to make.

 

Ever made a remote control gun ? We have!

Join our mailing list and be the first to know about it.

(link is on the top right of the page for desktop users and on the bottom for mobile)

 

Like this post?

Be sure to like us on Facebook (button below) so you can be the first to know about latest project updates as well as great DIY articles.

And check this informative article from sinkholemaps.com .

It is really important to check our house or prospective house location before buying a home to avoid natural calamities like sinkholes from becoming our life’s nightmare.

 

Pin It so you can come back to it and follow us on Pinterest to get latest project pins.

Let us know in the comments below! Your feedback matters. The more interest we get in posts, the more likely we are to do more like that.

 Check out these two great products that can help you be prepared:

How to Cook and Store Food Outside

How to cook and preserve ANY kind of meat using fire, the sun or natural chemical reactions so you have food that’s safe in ANY situation you encounter…

How to build your own solar oven for hands-free cooking while you’re busy doing other activities that keep you alive — so that you can enjoy a hot meal at the end of the day…

Detailed plans for building a wood-fired oven using scraps lying around and a few supplies from your local hardware store so that you can prepare breads, casseroles and broiled meats…

How to avoid mistakes that could kill you when preserving your food —what you MUST do each time you can your own food — so that you don’t wipe out your family while trying to save them…

How to create a smoke tent to dehydrate and preserve meat on the go— so that you can preserve meat even if you’re on the move…

Which five star restaurant cooking technique can be done with simple fruit juices and will cook fish and other meat through a chemical reaction — and which ones aren’t strong enough to produce safe to eat food…

How to know with 100% certainty that your family’s food is safe to eat…

And much, much more…

Vertical Gardening Report

How to grow enough food to feed yourself in just 4 square feet of space

Why you don’t need a yard or any kind of traditional garden plot to grow your own food

How you can build your own vertical garden from scratch for a fraction of the cost of a big outdoor garden

What you need to do to set up your garden in a single afternoon

Why vertical gardens have better air circulation, fewer plant diseases and almost no bugs

The best way to water your vertical garden, so you can use less water but still get great yields

What plants will give you more food in a vertical garden than they do in the ground

How vertical gardening spares you the back-breaking work of gardening – no more bending over to plant, weed, or water!

And much, much more…