One of the problems that we face when we are in the middle of a disaster is a lack of light. It doesn’t matter if it is a tornado, a hurricane, or a SHTF event, light is something that we are going to eventually need.
I’ll be the first one to admit that we should have plenty of candles and flashlights on hand, but even the best-prepared person can get caught unawares at times. Fortunately, if you have a need for light and all you have is a stick of butter and some toilet paper, you’re all set!
Butter is actually a good fuel when it comes to burning candles. It is also something that we tend to have on hand, and most of us have at least part of a stick of butter in the refrigerator.
The first step, as you will see in the video is to cut the butter into smaller sticks. You can begin by cutting through the top of the paper at the fold so that it cuts cleanly.
This is important because as the butter melts, you don’t want it to pour out over the countertop or wherever else you may have the makeshift candle. You want the melted butter to stay inside of the paper and become fuel for the fire.
After you have cut the butter into smaller sticks, maybe about one-quarter of the stick, you can then make the wick. There is no need to get overly fancy with this, all you really need is a small piece of toilet paper.
As you will see in the video, you spin the toilet paper until it makes a very tight wick. You can unfold it at the bottom to give yourself a platform where it will be pushed into the butter.
If the butter is soft, this next step is going to be easy. Otherwise, it will take a little work on your part. Use a toothpick or perhaps a paperclip to push the wick down into the butter so that only a short piece is showing at the top.
Believe it or not, this is all you really need in order to have light in an emergency. That small stick of butter along with a wick made of toilet paper will burn for quite some time.
Light your new makeshift candle close to the butter so that it begins using the vapor from the melting butter as fuel. The wick will not burn too quickly but rather, it will just continue to use the butter as fuel.
This is one of those tips that can really make a difference in your survival or not. Since we always have butter on hand, we always have light on hand.