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I have heard many people talk about go bags.  If you do not know these are pre-packed bags with everything you need in case a disaster hits.  Some people put 1-2 changes of clothes, medicines, money, and anything else they think they will need in the immediate aftermath of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other event.  There is however one item I see lacking in most of these bags which can save your life.

Trash bags are small but very vertisile.  You can use them as a poncho to keep the rain off you, water pulls heat away 25 times faster than air of the same temperature.  You can cut them to make a lean-to shelter.  You can stuff them full of pine needles and make a blanket.  They work as a moisture barrier against the dry ground.  You can even use them to carry things with you.

Most people do not think of how small, light, and versitile a trash bag would be.  My recommendation is to place at least 2-3 of them in your go bag.  I prefer black ones as they absorb the heat better than white ones.  If you place water in the bag, you can hang that in the sun and it will warm the water, this is how solar showers work, granted they are usually much thicker plastic.  I also like the extra strong garage type and not the thinner kitchen type.  You can tell how thick a bag is by looking at the side of the box, it will tell you how many mils the plastic is.

To make a shelter just tie a bit of cord between two treees or similar and cut a bag and hang it over the cord.  This gives you some shelter from the rain and wind.  If you tie a prussic knot on the cord between the trees you can make hangers to help hold the bag in place.  Just weight down the sides and you have a pup tent or lean-to shelter.

So place some trash bags in your go bag, buy a box of them for your shelter, whatever it takes make sure you have some handy.