Reusable Toilet Paper – Your Backup Plan for When Store Shelves Go Bare

Remember March 2020? Empty toilet paper aisles, grown adults fighting over the last case of Charmin, and grocery stores rationing rolls per customer. That wasn’t a supply chain failure caused by an actual shortage of raw materials. It was a demand spike that emptied shelves in 72 hours. Now picture a real disruption: a trucking strike, a fuel crisis, a regional disaster, or a longer-term grid-down situation. Toilet paper is bulky, it’s heavy, and it’s one of the first things to disappear when people panic. A stockpile only buys you time. Reusable toilet paper buys you independence.

This isn’t a hippie lifestyle choice. It’s a logistics fix. Cloth wipes, sometimes called family cloth, solve the toilet paper problem permanently, using materials you probably already have in a closet. Here’s how to set up a system that actually works, and how to keep it sanitary whether you’ve got a working washing machine or you’re running your homestead completely off-grid.

Why This Belongs in Your Preps

Toilet paper takes up a disproportionate amount of storage space for something you use for seconds at a time. A year’s supply for a family of four can eat up an entire closet shelf. It’s also single-use, meaning every roll you stockpile is a roll you’ll eventually need to replace, forever, as long as you’re alive. Reusable cloth wipes flip that equation. A stack of a few dozen cloths, properly cared for, will outlast years of disposable rolls and take up a fraction of the space.

There’s also a hard infrastructure reason to care about this if you’re on a septic system. According to EPA guidance on septic system care, your septic system is built to handle human waste and toilet paper, nothing else. Panic-driven substitutes like paper towels, wipes, or newspaper will clog your system and can cause a drainfield failure that costs thousands to fix. If you ever run genuinely low on TP during a crisis and start improvising with whatever paper product is on hand, you’re one bad decision away from a plumbing disaster on top of everything else. Reusable cloth wipes solve the shortage problem without putting anything into your system that it wasn’t designed to handle, since the cloth never goes down the toilet at all.

What You’re Actually Making

Reusable toilet paper is simply a stack of small, soft cloth squares used in place of disposable paper, then laundered and reused. Families who run this system full time typically keep 20 to 30 cloths per person in rotation, which covers 3 to 4 days between wash loads. You use one cloth per bathroom trip, drop it in a designated bin, and launder the batch on your normal schedule.

The best fabric for this job is cotton flannel. It’s soft, it’s absorbent, and it holds up to repeated hot washing without breaking down. Old flannel sheets, worn-out flannel shirts, and thrifted receiving blankets all work. In a pinch, cotton t-shirt material or terrycloth from old towels will do the job, though towel fabric tends to be bulkier and takes longer to dry.

Building Your Supply

• Cut fabric into squares roughly 6 by 6 to 8 by 8 inches. No hemming required if you’re using flannel, since it doesn’t fray badly. For towel or jersey material prone to fraying, run a zigzag stitch or a serger around the edges if you have one.
• Assign colors or patterns per family member if you want to avoid any cross-use squeamishness. This also helps you spot whose laundry needs attention.
• Store clean cloths in an open basket or a small dispenser box on the toilet tank or a nearby shelf.
• Keep a lidded bin or a waterproof wet bag next to the toilet for used cloths. A repurposed small trash can with a step lid works well and keeps odor contained between wash days.
• Build your supply gradually if you’re not ready to commit fully. Keep disposable TP as backup and phase in cloth for daytime or lower-mess use first.

Keeping It Sanitary: The Non-Negotiables

This is the part people get nervous about, and it’s the part you cannot skimp on. Cloth wipes are functionally similar to cloth diapers, and the same sanitation rules apply.

• Wash used cloths every 2 to 3 days. Waiting longer invites mildew, odor, and bacterial buildup in the storage bin.
• Wash them separately from other laundry, not mixed in with towels, clothing, or bedding.
• Use hot water and regular detergent. According to CDC guidance on laundry disinfection, water temperatures of at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit sustained for 25 minutes provide reliable microbial reduction. Most home washers on a hot cycle won’t hit that exact benchmark, which is why the CDC also notes that lower-temperature washing combined with chlorine bleach, activated at 135 to 145 degrees Fahrenheit, achieves comparable results.
• Add bleach to loads of white or light-colored cloths when you want an extra sanitation margin, especially after anyone in the household has been sick.
• Dry on high heat. Heat finishes the job that washing starts and helps eliminate residual bacteria.
• Wash your hands with soap and water immediately after loading the washer, every time, no exceptions.

Handle the transfer from bin to washer with the same mindset you’d use for contaminated laundry generally: minimize agitation, don’t pre-rinse in a sink you also use for food prep or dishes, and load the washer directly from the bin.

Running This System Off-Grid

A washing machine and functioning water heater make this easy. Grid-down or off-grid, you need a manual protocol that still gets you clean, sanitary cloth.

• Boil water over a fire or camp stove and hand-wash cloths in a dedicated bucket, never the same bucket used for dishes or drinking water prep.
• Use a plunger-style hand washer or simply agitate cloths with a stick or gloved hand in hot soapy water for several minutes.
• Rinse thoroughly in a second bucket of clean water.
• Dry cloths in direct sunlight whenever possible. UV exposure has a natural antimicrobial effect and is a legitimate backup sanitation method when you can’t guarantee wash water hit a high enough temperature.
• Keep a dedicated set of rubber gloves for this task only, and wash your hands with soap afterward even if you wore gloves.

If you’re setting up a long-term off-grid sanitation plan, this pairs naturally with backup handwashing stations and a stored supply of unscented bar soap or camp soap, both of which you should already have in your preps regardless.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Don’t let used cloths sit more than 3 days before washing, especially in warm weather when bacteria multiply faster.
• Don’t skip hand hygiene after handling the bin or loading the wash. This is the single biggest point of failure in the whole system.
• Don’t use fabric softener on the cloths. It coats fibers and reduces absorbency over time.
• Don’t store wet or damp used cloths in a sealed bin for extended periods without washing. That’s exactly the environment mold and odor-causing bacteria need.
• Don’t assume every household member will adopt this overnight. Build in a transition period and keep some disposable TP on hand for guests or holdouts.

Discover the Amish Way of Self-Reliance

Long before supply chain shortages and panic buying, Amish families had practical systems in place for living with less while depending on themselves more. From reducing waste to making everyday necessities last, their time-tested habits are just as valuable today.

The Amish Ways is packed with simple, proven methods for creating a more resilient home—from food preservation and homemade essentials to frugal living and traditional homestead skills that can help you become less dependent on the store.

Get your copy of The Amish Ways today!

Alternatively, here is a video of how you can make your own toilet paper, another strategy you might employ:

Start Now, Not During the Crisis

The worst time to figure out your cloth-cutting technique, your storage bin setup, and your household’s buy-in is during an actual shortage. Build the system now, while you have the luxury of trial and error. Run it part-time for a few weeks, work out the kinks in your laundry rotation, and get your family comfortable with the process. When the next supply disruption hits, whether that’s a bad storm season, a trucking disruption, or something bigger, you’ll already have a working system instead of a panic-buying problem.

This is a small, low-cost change that permanently removes one item from your resupply list. That’s the whole game in preparedness: fewer things you have to keep buying, more things you can produce or maintain yourself.

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You may also like:

Toilet Paper Pills – The Best Invention You Didn’t Know Existed

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Chemical Free Toilet Paper: Why It Matters and the Best Options for Your Stockpile

12 Plants That Make Soft Toilet Paper

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Flash Flood Safety and Prep

Today, let’s talk about flash flood safety and prep. Summer thunderstorms roll in fast, especially across the desert Southwest. One minute, the sky is clear, and the next, you’re watching a wall of water move through a canyon that was bone dry an hour earlier. Flash floods are one of the most underestimated natural disasters in America, and they claim more lives each year than many people realize. As a mom who has spent years thinking through emergency preparedness for my own family, I want to walk you through what flash floods actually are, why July and August are peak danger months, and how you can keep your loved ones safe, whether you live near a canyon, a dry wash, or just a low-lying street that floods when it rains hard.

What Is a Flash Flood

A flash flood is a sudden, rapid rise in water levels, usually within six hours of heavy rainfall. Unlike a slow-moving river flood that gives you days of warning, flash floods can develop in minutes. The ground in desert regions is often hard-packed clay or rock, which means rain doesn’t soak in. Instead, it runs off quickly, funneling into canyons, washes, and low areas with tremendous force.

It doesn’t have to be raining where you’re standing for a flash flood to hit you. A storm miles away in the mountains can send a wall of water down a canyon that is under clear blue skies. This is one of the most dangerous and least understood aspects of flash flooding.

Why July and August Are High-Risk Months

Monsoon season across the desert Southwest typically runs from mid-June through September. During this window, the atmosphere holds more moisture, and afternoon thunderstorms become common. These storms can drop an inch or more of rain in a very short period over a small area, which is exactly the recipe for flash flooding.

Utah families in particular need to be aware of this pattern. Southern Utah’s slot canyons, including popular hiking spots, become significantly more dangerous during monsoon season. But this isn’t just a Utah issue.

Other Canyons and Regions Prone to Flash Flooding

While Utah’s slot canyons get a lot of attention, flash flooding is a nationwide concern. Here are other well-known danger zones your family should know about, especially if you travel or have relatives in these areas.

Antelope Canyon, Arizona

This iconic slot canyon near Page has experienced tragic flash flood events. Its narrow walls mean floodwater can rise many feet within minutes, leaving little room to escape.

Zion National Park, Utah

The Narrows and other slot canyons within Zion are stunning but notorious for flash flood danger. Park rangers frequently close trails during monsoon season based on storm forecasts.

Buckskin Gulch, Utah, and Arizona border

Known as one of the longest slot canyons in the world, Buckskin Gulch has very few escape routes once you’re inside, making it especially risky during storm season.

Havasu Canyon, Arizona

Home to the famous Havasu Falls, this canyon has seen flash-flood evacuations requiring helicopter rescues due to sudden, severe flooding.

Grand Canyon tributary canyons, Arizona

Many of the smaller side canyons that feed into the Grand Canyon experience the same rapid flooding patterns, catching hikers off guard even when the main canyon rim looks calm.

Ozark region canyons and hollows, Missouri and Arkansas

Flash flooding isn’t limited to the desert. The Ozarks see frequent flash flooding due to steep terrain and clay soil that doesn’t absorb water quickly.

Texas Hill Country

This region is sometimes called Flash Flood Alley due to its combination of steep terrain, shallow soil, and a climate prone to sudden heavy rainfall.

Appalachian Hollows and Creek Beds, Across Several States

Narrow valleys and fast-moving mountain streams in this region can flood with startling speed after heavy rain, especially in areas with steep drainage.

Warning Signs of an Approaching Flash Flood

Teach your family to recognize these signs, whether you’re hiking, camping, or simply driving through a low-lying area.

A sudden increase in the speed or volume of a stream or creek.

Water that turns muddy or debris-filled when it was previously clear.

A roaring sound is coming from upstream, even if you can’t see water yet.

Rapidly building thunderstorm clouds in the distance, even if your immediate area looks clear.

A noticeable drop in water flow followed by a sudden surge.

If you notice any of these signs while in a canyon or near a wash, move to higher ground immediately. Don’t wait to see what happens next.

Flash Flood Safety Rules Every Family Should Know

Never drive through flooded roads. As little as twelve inches of moving water can sweep away many vehicles. Turn around and find another route.

Avoid hiking in slot canyons or narrow washes during monsoon season, particularly if storms are forecast anywhere in the watershed area, even miles away.

Check weather and flash flood warnings before any outdoor trip, and continue checking throughout the day since desert storms can develop quickly.

Move to higher ground immediately if you’re in a canyon, wash, or low-lying area and notice any warning signs.

Never let children play near storm drains, washes, or creek beds during or after heavy rain.

Have a family communication plan so everyone knows where to meet if you become separated during an evacuation.

Building a Flash Flood Emergency Kit

Whether you’re heading out for a hike or simply preparing your home for storm season, having supplies ready can make a real difference.

For Hiking and Canyon Trips

Have sufficient water and a way to purify more if needed: LifeStraw Bottle

Emergency whistle

Small first aid kit

Headlamp with batteries

Lightweight Mylar Blanket

Have a fully charged phone and a Portable Bank Charger

Take a physical trail map, since cell service is often unreliable in canyon country

For your home

A battery-powered or hand-crank weather radio.

Sandbags if you live in a flood-prone area.

Copies of important documents stored in a waterproof container: Waterproof Container

A stocked seventy-two-hour kit for each family member.

A plan for moving vehicles and outdoor items to higher ground.

Teaching Kids About Flash Flood Safety

Children are naturally drawn to water, which makes flash flood education especially important. Keep the conversation calm and practical rather than frightening. Explain that moving water, even shallow water, has much more power than it looks like it does. Practice a simple family rule, such as “turn around, do not drown,” which is a phrase used by emergency management agencies across the country. Make sure kids know to always tell an adult immediately if they notice rising or fast-moving water.

Flash floods are fast, powerful, and often deceptively quiet until they aren’t. The best defense is awareness, a little planning, and a family that knows the warning signs before you ever need them. Whether your family loves exploring Utah’s slot canyons or you simply want to be prepared for a stormy summer at home, taking these steps now can make all the difference later.

Prepping for When Flooding Strikes

Flooding: Everything You Need to Know

Final Word

Flash floods don’t ask for permission, and they don’t give second chances. They move fast, they hit hard, and they catch people off guard because the danger often starts somewhere you can’t even see. The good news is that awareness changes everything. When your family knows the warning signs, respects moving water, and has a simple plan in place, you turn a potential tragedy into a story about being prepared instead. Talk with your kids this week. Check the weather before your next hike. Keep that emergency kit stocked. A few small habits now can protect the people you love most when a summer storm rolls in. May God bless this world, Linda

Copyright Images: Zion National Park Narrow Depositphotos_372263776_S, Zions National Park Narrow In The Afternoon Depositphotos_371031146_S

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from Food Storage Moms

How to Set Up and Run Your Atmospheric Water Generator

Atmospheric water generators have been showing up in prepper communities for years. Some are DIY builds, some are commercial units – but they all get described the same way: the device that pulls drinking water straight out of the air. 

If you’ve tried building one yourself, you already know this is real technology, the same thing military units have been running in the field for decades.

But owning one and actually understanding it are two different things. Most people I’ve talked to can’t fully explain how theirs works, and even fewer are getting the most out of it. 

Many people I know own one and still can’t tell you how it works. Based on the questions I keep getting from you, that’s not uncommon. So let’s go through it. 

What Is an AWG and How Does It Work

An atmospheric water generator pulls moisture from the air and turns it into drinking water. It works on condensation, the same principle as a cold glass of water on a humid day.

A fan draws air in, passes it over refrigerated coils, the water vapor condenses into liquid droplets, and those droplets collect in a tank. From there, the water moves through a filtration system before it reaches you.

Studies show that standard AWGs struggle to produce meaningful output below 40 percent relative humidity. At 80 percent and above, common in coastal regions and throughout the Southeast, production climbs significantly. 

A family of four needs roughly 1 gallon of water per person per day for drinking and basic cooking – call it 4 gallons minimum, more realistically 6 to 8 gallons when you factor in food preparation, basic hygiene, and pets. A mid-range residential unit running in decent humidity will hit that number. A good unit in good condition will exceed it and build a reserve on top of your daily use.

If you’re in Arizona or New Mexico or anywhere consistently dry, a standard condensation-based AWG might not be your main solution, but even so, it still does the job.

How to Set One Up and Use It

Setup is simpler than most people expect. A residential AWG plugs into a standard outlet, has no plumbing connections, and is ready to produce water within a few hours of powering on. 

Here’s how AWGs work:

• The machine needs airflow. It pulls moisture from surrounding air, so a sealed closet kills production fast. Put it somewhere with natural air circulation – near a window, in a room that sees regular traffic, anywhere the air moves. The more fresh humid air the machine can access, the better it produces.
• Temperature has a floor. Most units stop working well below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. A cold garage in winter is a bad location. If your climate runs cold for months at a time, plan for stretches where the AWG contributes less and your stored reserve has to carry more of the load.
• Indoors versus outdoors is a real choice. Outdoor placement in a humid environment gives the machine access to far more moisture. The tradeoff is weather exposure and dust load on the filters. Most residential units aren’t rated for outdoor use – check before you set one outside.

For a household starting out, a project like Joseph’s Well is worth looking at. It’s sized for family use, straightforward to set up, and in 60-plus percent humidity produces enough to cover drinking and cooking for four people without running the tank dry. 

The key habit to build once it’s running: treat it as a producer, not a dispenser. Let it fill a dedicated storage tank and draw from that tank, rather than pulling directly from the machine. 

Filtration and Maintenance

The water an AWG produces is clean – but the machine itself needs upkeep to keep it that way. For example, the coils, the internal tank, and the tubing are all surfaces where biofilm can develop if the unit sits warm and wet without being cleaned. This isn’t a minor concern – a neglected machine will eventually produce contaminated water regardless of how good the filters are.

Most units, such as the Water Freedom System, use a multi-stage filtration sequence: a sediment pre-filter, an activated carbon stage, and a UV lamp for final sterilization. Each stage has a service interval – typically 3 to 6 months for filters, annually for the UV lamp. Those intervals exist because the filters stop working when they’re saturated, not because the manufacturer wants to sell you parts.

Stock a full year of replacement filters when you buy the machine. The same supply chain that makes everything else hard to find in a crisis will make AWG filters hard to find too. If your filters run out and you can’t replace them, your machine becomes a dehumidifier you can’t safely drink from.

Also, make sure you wipe down the tank and internal surfaces every few months. If the machine has been sitting unused for a while, flush the system before you drink from it. 

Why You Need a Layered Water Strategy

No single water source is enough. Stored water runs out. A well can fail, go dry, or get contaminated. Rain catchment depends on rain. An AWG stops producing when humidity drops or power fails. What makes a water strategy actually resilient is depth – multiple independent sources that cover each other’s failure points.

Here’s what I’ve put together over time, and how each piece has held up:

The Smart Water Box was one of the first AWG-type setups I tried. It is the one I throw in the truck when I’m heading out to camp or hit the trails. It’s small enough to pack without thinking twice about it. 

Home Generator is the one to look at if you’re in a consistently humid region and want more output. What separates it from the others is the documentation – it actually tells you what to expect at 50 and 60 percent humidity, which most competitors don’t bother with. 

Of everything I’ve run, the Air Fountain is the one I’d buy again. It’s built for off-grid use, pairs well with solar, and keeps producing when the grid doesn’t. The setup takes more time than a plug-and-play unit — but that’s the tradeoff for a system that doesn’t depend on anyone else’s infrastructure.

None of these replace each other. Stored water, rain catchment, filtration, and an AWG each cover different failure scenarios. The goal is that when one source fails, two others are already working.

Here’s the breakdown for each type of AWG:

Your Prepping Strategy Is Incomplete Without One

Every gallon you use is a gallon you don’t get back until you resupply. In a short blackout, for example, that’s fine. Talking a few weeks, you’re watching a finite supply shrink and doing the math in your head every time someone fills a glass.

An AWG changes that equation. It produces every day the conditions allow. It adds to your reserve instead of drawing it down. And it does it without requiring anything from a supply chain that may not be functioning.

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7 Unusual Ways to Purify Your Water in a Crisis

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DIY Gravity-Powered Clay Pot Water Filter that Costs Under $30 (With Pictures)

How to Purify Water Inside a Car When SHTF 

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How to Make Beef Jerky in an Air Fryer

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Beef jerky isn't just a delicious snack—it’s also a fantastic source of protein that’s perfect for on-the-go meals or outdoor adventures. Store-bought jerky can be expensive and loaded with preservatives, but when you make it yourself, you can tailor the flavor to your liking and skip the unnecessary additives.

Plus, with modern kitchen gadgets like an air fryer, creating your own batch of jerky has never been easier or faster. Beef jerky happens to be one of my husband’s favorite snacks, and I sure love some homemade beef jerky as well. When our dehydrator died over a year ago, I realized that we wouldn’t have jerky for some time.

At Christmastime, I researched new choices for an air fryer for my husband. He has one, but he wanted a second. That’s when I found out that the Nina Air Fryer has a dehydrating function as well, so I thought we might be able to kill two birds with one stone!

We love our Ninja blender, so I figured their Air Fryer would have to be top quality as well. The Ninja Air Fryer performs four functions: air fry, roast, reheat, and dehydrate. The first three functions I assumed would work quite well, but I doubted its ability to dehydrate.

It’s an Air Fryer. How well could it dehydrate?

So, my husband and I decided to give it a try. First, he chopped up a banana and tried to dehydrate the slices. Surprisingly, it worked well! The bananas looked and tasted just like dehydrated banana chips you might purchase at the store.

When we received an extra round steak from our local farm share, we decided to make some beef jerky in the Ninja Air Fryer. After all, if it wasn’t good, we wouldn’t be upset because it does prefer the other three functions just as we hoped.

We are a fan of its other three functions. It’s stronger than the other Air Fryer we use, so we burned a few things at first. After we learned how to use it right, it quickly became our favorite choice so far.

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Making Beef Jerky In An Air Fryer

My husband loves to come up with new recipes. While I cook from scratch and bake a lot, he finds just as much joy as I do when it comes to cooking. He came up with this recipe, and it’s quite tasty!

Of course, you can use any recipe for beef jerky that you like. The most important part is that you follow steps 3, 4 and 5. Cutting and placing the meat is important as well as understanding how quickly this Air Fryer is at dehydrating.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup Worcestershire sauce
• ⅓ cup hot sauce
• 1 TSP onion powder
• 1 TSP garlic powder
• ½ TSP black pepper
• ½ TSP oregano
• ½ TSP cumin
• 1 to 2 pounds round steak (or your preferred beef cut)

Instructions:

1. Combine the Ingredients in a Bowl

The first thing you need to do is combine all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. The bowl needs to be large enough to hold all of the marinade and the meat.

You can adjust the spice of this marinade by changing the hot sauce. If you aren’t a fan of spice, try a basic hot sauce from the store. My husband likes everything to be as hot as possible, so he used a spicier hot sauce that I make myself.

Also, we used regular soy sauce, but if you use low-sodium soy sauce, you might want to add a bit of salt. The salt is needed to kick up the flavor profile of the beef jerky.

2. Cut The Meat Into Chunks

Next, you want to cut the meat into chunks. When cutting the meat, consider slicing against the grain for a more tender bite, or with the grain if you prefer chewy jerky. If you’re having trouble slicing evenly, pop the meat into the freezer for 30–45 minutes to firm it up—this makes it much easier to get uniform slices.

Unlike a regular dehydrator, the Ninja Air Fryer is just a single, small tray, so you can’t use long strips. Instead, it’s better to use small 1 to 2-inch chunks of meat.

Make sure the meat chunks aren’t too thick. You don’t have to make the chunks perfect. Just pay attention to the size. Ones that are too thick need to be sliced thinner.

3. Let The Meat Marinate

The first time that my husband made this jerky, he let the meat marinate for 6 hours, and it was tasty. For our next batch, we left it in the refrigerator for 12 hours overnight, and it was even better. The flavor was very evident and strong.

Experiment with different marinades to find your favorite flavor. A teriyaki marinade with soy sauce, honey, and ginger gives a sweet and savory twist, while a smoky barbecue marinade with liquid smoke, brown sugar, and paprika adds depth.

The key to a great marinade is balancing salt (like soy sauce or Worcestershire), acid (vinegar or citrus juice), and sugar (honey or brown sugar) for flavor and preservation.

Don’t be surprised when you get the marinated meat out of the refrigerator in the morning and the marinade is mostly gone. The meat will soak all those yummy flavors up! Let it soak as long as you want, but the longer it marinates, the better.

Try to get the best quality meat that you can. We use grass-fed, organic beef round steak. We’ve used a variety of cuts—eye of round and bottom round are our favorite cuts for jerky.

4. Lay On The Ninja Air Fryer Tray

After the meat marinates, it’s time to place the meat on the tray. It’s not huge at all, so I was concerned about how close I could put the chunks together. I went against my first instincts and put the chunks closer together than I would in a normal dehydrator.

My instincts were wrong – for once. The strong air circulation in the Ninja Air Fryer gets between the meat perfectly fine, so don’t be afraid to put them closer than you might assume is a good idea.

5. It’s Time To Dehydrate

One major difference you’ll notice between dehydrating in an Air Fryer and a dehydrator is that the Ninja Air Fryer seems to take less time.

We put the temperature on 165℉ for 8 hours, but we could’ve done it for 6 or 7 hours instead. Halfway through, I recommend flipping the meat chunks and moving them around the tray to make sure everything is dehydrated as evenly as possible. For easy cleanup, consider lining the tray with parchment paper or a reusable silicone mat.

To check if your jerky is done, remove a piece and let it cool for a few minutes. Properly dehydrated jerky should bend slightly without breaking and show no visible moisture when you tear it

That’s it! I have to say, we are quite impressed by the dehydrating function on the Ninja Air Fryer. The only downside is that you have to dehydrate in smaller batches. Because of the Ninja Air Fryer’s smaller tray size, you might need to dehydrate in multiple batches if you’re making a lot of jerky.

Store your finished jerky in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, or vacuum-seal and freeze it for long-term storage—it can last up to 6 months this way while retaining its flavor and texture.

We plan to keep using the Nina Air Fryer for dehydrating purposes. I have plans to try other foods such as onions, garlic, and tomatoes to see how well it does!

There are tons of things you can make with an air fryer. For more ideas, check out the Ninja Air Fryer Cookbook and learn to make everything from breakfast to dessert in an air fryer.

Originally published on Homestead Survival Site.

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You May Also Like:

• How To Make Homemade Beef Jerky
• 30 Best Foods to Dehydrate
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from Urban Survival Site

Bowline Knot Uses – Why This Is the Knot Every Prepper Ties First

Ask any experienced prepper, sailor, or search and rescue volunteer which single knot they would keep if they could only know one, and the bowline comes up more than any other answer. It has earned the nickname king of the knots for good reason. It forms a fixed loop that will not slip under load, it retains roughly two-thirds of the rope’s original strength, which is considerably better than the fifty percent loss common to many other knots, and it can still be untied easily even after being loaded heavily for hours.

This article focuses specifically on where and how the bowline actually gets used in real prepping, survival, and everyday situations, along with the variations worth knowing and the limitations you need to respect. If you still need the step-by-step tying instructions, that is covered in detail elsewhere on this site. Here, the focus is entirely on application.

Why the Bowline Earns Its Reputation

A few specific qualities separate the bowline from the dozens of other loop knots out there. It can be tied one-handed, which matters enormously if your other hand is occupied holding onto a ledge, a rope, or an injured limb. It does not slip or bind under load, meaning the loop stays the size you tied it at rather than tightening down on whatever it is secured around. According to Wikipedia’s documentation on the bowline’s structural properties, a rope with a properly tied bowline retains approximately two-thirds of its original strength, and the knot’s ease of untying after sustaining a load is specifically why it has remained one of the most essential knots across maritime, rescue, and outdoor use for centuries.

Rescue and Emergency Extraction

This is the use case that built the bowline’s reputation. If someone has fallen into a hole, off a ledge, or into water and needs to be hauled to safety, the bowline creates a loop that can be passed around the torso or under the arms and will not tighten or slip during the pull. Because it can be tied one-handed, Wikipedia notes that a person in need of rescue can hold onto the rope with one hand while tying the bowline around themselves with the other, before being pulled up by rescuers. This single feature is why the bowline is taught as a core rescue knot, including as part of the training objectives for qualified firefighter assessment in the United Kingdom.

Securing and Hauling Loads

Beyond emergencies, the bowline is the default knot for everyday load work around a homestead, campsite, or vehicle.

• Tying a rope to a trailer hitch or towing point for a fixed, reliable loop
• Securing gear on a roof rack or truck bed, where the loop attaches to a tie-down point
• Pairing a bowline on one end of a line with a trucker’s hitch on the other to create serious tension for securing loads or tarps
• Hoisting tools, water containers, or supplies up to a rooftop or elevated platform during construction or repair work

The reason it works so well here is simple: it holds firm under real weight, but you are not fighting a jammed, swollen knot when you need to release the load afterward.

Camp Setup and Shelter Building

Around a campsite or bug-out location, the bowline shows up constantly in small but essential tasks.

• Attaching a hammock strap or suspension line to a tree with a secure, reliable loop
• Setting guy lines for a tarp or tent in high wind, especially when combined with a trucker’s hitch for extra tension
• Creating an anchor point for a clothesline or gear line strung between two trees
• Rigging a simple zip line across a gap or ravine when paired with appropriate hardware and a properly rated rope

Hanging Food and Bear Bags

In bear country, or anywhere you need to keep food away from wildlife or rodents overnight, the bowline is the standard knot for rigging a hanging food bag. Tie the loop around the bag or a stuff sack’s drawstring, throw the other end of the rope over a sturdy branch, and hoist the bag well off the ground and away from the trunk. A guide on practical bowline applications from Survival World specifically calls out hanging food, hammocks, and solar showers from trees as a routine daily use for anyone spending extended time outdoors.

Boating and Watercraft

The bowline’s origins are nautical, and it remains standard practice on the water today. Sailors use it to fasten a mooring line to a ring, post, or cleat, to attach a halyard to the head of a sail, and to tie a jib sheet to the clew of a jib. The name itself comes from the line historically used to hold a square sail’s edge steady against the wind at the ship’s bow, a detail confirmed by Wikipedia’s history of the knot’s nautical origins, which traces documented use of the bowline back to John Smith’s 1627 work A Sea Grammar, and possibly as far back as ancient Egypt based on rigging evidence found on Pharaoh Khufu’s solar ship.

Tying Down Aircraft and Vehicles

It is not just boats. The bowline’s reliability under load has earned it official recognition well beyond sailing. The Federal Aviation Administration specifically recommends the bowline for tying down light aircraft, since the loop holds firm in wind and weather but can still be released without a fight once the aircraft needs to move again.

Joining Two Ropes Together

When you need to connect two separate lengths of rope, whether because neither one alone reaches far enough or because you are working with mismatched cordage, two bowlines tied through each other’s loops create a secure join. This is a genuinely useful trick to know in a pinch, since it means you do not need to carry a separate bend knot if you already know the bowline well.

Improvised Slings, Snares, and Field Repairs

A bowline’s fixed loop has plenty of improvised uses beyond its classic applications. A loop tied at the correct size can form the basis of a snare noose for trapping, an improvised sling for carrying an injured limb, or a loop for dragging a heavy branch or piece of gear that lacks a built-in attachment point. Anywhere you need a loop that will not tighten down under load but still comes apart easily afterward, the bowline is worth reaching for first.

Bowline Variations Worth Knowing

The standard bowline covers most situations, but a few variations address specific weaknesses in certain use cases.

• Double bowline: adds an extra wrap for more security, commonly used by climbers who need to tie in and untie repeatedly throughout a climb
• Yosemite finish: a way of finishing the standard bowline that prevents it from capsizing into a slipknot, popular in climbing applications where that failure mode is a genuine safety concern
• Water bowline: built around an initial clove hitch rather than a simple loop, more resistant to jamming when the rope is wet, which matters in marine or wet-weather conditions
• Running bowline: forms a noose that tightens under tension, useful for snares or situations where you specifically want the loop to cinch down

Where the Bowline Falls Short

No knot is perfect, and the bowline has real, documented weaknesses worth understanding before you rely on it in a genuinely critical situation. According to Wikipedia’s technical assessment of the bowline’s structural deficiencies, its main shortcomings are a tendency to work loose when not under load or subjected to repeated cyclic loading, a tendency to slip when pulled sideways, and a risk of the loop portion capsizing into an unreliable slipknot shape under certain conditions.

• Add a safety knot, such as a double overhand backup, for any application where a loosened bowline would be dangerous, especially climbing
• Leave a generous tail after tying, since a longer tag end resists working loose better than a short one trimmed close to the knot
• Never rely on a bowline alone for life-safety climbing applications without a proper backup knot and inspection
• Remember that a bowline cannot be tied or untied while the standing end is under load, so plan your rigging accordingly if a line may need releasing mid-task

Put Your Knot Skills to Work with Practical Survival Projects

Knowing the bowline is a valuable skill—but it’s even more useful when you apply it to real-world projects. No-Grid Survival Projects is packed with step-by-step DIY builds that teach you how to create shelters, hauling systems, camp infrastructure, water collection setups, and other practical off-grid solutions where dependable rope work becomes an everyday necessity.

Whether you’re preparing your homestead, improving your bug-out camp, or simply becoming more self-reliant, these hands-on projects will help you turn survival knowledge into practical skills you can use with confidence.

Get your copy of No-Grid Survival Projects and start building the skills that matter before you need them!

A Knot Worth Practicing Until It Is Automatic

The real value in the bowline is not knowing that it exists, it is being able to tie it correctly without thinking, in the dark, with cold hands, or one-handed if the situation demands it. Every use covered here, from hauling gear to a genuine rescue scenario, depends on muscle memory built through repetition rather than a knot you vaguely remember reading about once. Practice it until it is automatic, and you will have one of the most genuinely useful pieces of rope work in your entire prepping skill set.

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The Running Bowline Knot: The Only Loop Knot You’ll Ever Need

4 More Knots A Prepper Needs To Know For Survival

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