1. Fire Starters for the Impatient
Beer mats are basically tiny squares of flammable optimism. Shove one under your kindling and light, they’ll catch fast and burn just long enough to ignite something more substantial. Just ignore the faint smell of stale lager wafting through your camp.

2. Tiny Signposts for the Easily Lost
When you’re scouting ahead or navigating ruins, leave a trail of beer mats to find your way back. You can even draw arrows or messages on them: “This way \u2192” or “Definitely not full of mutant rats.”

3. Emergency Foot Padding
Got a hole in your shoe? Slide a beer mat in there. Sure, it’s not orthopaedic-grade comfort, but it beats walking barefoot on radioactive gravel. Bonus: they absorb both sweat and tears.

4. Makeshift Playing Cards
Morale matters. And when you’re trapped in a damp shelter with three strangers and an unspoken sense of doom, a game of improvised blackjack can stave off existential dread for at least 20 minutes. Just agree beforehand on what counts as an ace.

5. Miniature Food Prep Surfaces
Need to slice a squirrel kidney but don’t fancy doing it on the dirt? Beer mat. Hygiene is relative after the fall, but every little helps.

6. Slow, Questionable Water Filtration
Stack a few beer mats, pour water through, and watch as… well, eventually, a drop or two emerges. It will not remove bacteria, parasites, or the vague taste of despair, but it will take out some visible gunk and help avoid too much grit in your teetch. Think of it as the “arts-and-crafts” stage before actual purification.

7. Currency for the Culturally Nostalgic
In a barter economy, anything recognisably from Before can fetch a decent trade. A pristine beer mat might get you a swig of actual beer, or at least something that smells like it.

So next time you find yourself in the ruins of The Winchester, don’t just pocket the bottle opener. Take the beer mats. They’re light, stackable, and quietly heroic, just like you’ll have to be if you want to make it through another Tuesday.

Where neighbors may be miles apart, and carriages or postmen are as common as unicorns, you’ll need a way to let other friendly survivors know: you’re alive, you’re okay, or you’ve got something they need. And that’s where the humble candle comes in. In settings where modern infrastructure teeters, coloured flame signals can bridge the gap between isolated groups, allowing you to broadcast basic messages across distance without a single smartphone in sight. Set up your candle matrix, agree codes with your neighbours, and in the flicker of flame, reclaim communication in an analog world.

Why Candlelight Works
A single candle flickers with surprising reach, visible for more than a mile in the right conditions, and they are easy to pop in to a coloured, clear container. And amplify that with mirrors, tin cans, or wet glass can focus and project that glow even farther . Better yet, homemade candles aren’t rocket science - they are just rendered fat or wild beeswax wrapped around a cloth or plant-fiber wick. Long after batteries are myths, this simple craft keeps your signal going strong.

Using a matrix of coloured candles signals will enable complex messages to be sent easily. Here are a couple of message matrices that might be useful in a post-apoc world:

\ud83d\udd34\ud83d\udfe2\ud83d\udd35 Matrix One: Threat • Direction • Action
This classic trio tells neighbours the immediate danger and what to do:

Candle   Meaning      Code Example
1st          Threat         Red = bandits / Green = zombies / Blue = storm
2nd         Direction    Red = west / green = right here / Blue = east
3rd          Action        Red = run / Green = shelter / Blue = send help

So: Red, green, blue means "We have bandits here, please send help."

\ud83d\udd34\ud83d\udfe2\ud83d\udd35 Matrix Two: What You Need • Urgency • What You Can Trade
This version is perfect for barter-and-help messaging:

Candle      Meaning          Code Example
1st            Need                 Red = water / Green = food / Blue = medicine
2nd           Urgency           Red = low / Green = medium / Blue = high
3rd            Trade Offer     Red = tools / Green = fuel / Blue = manual help

So: Green, blue, blue means “We need food urgently and can offer manual help in exchange.”

Tips for Clear Communication

• Scavenge coloured glass from broken vehicle lights, stained glass windows, lighting stores (which are unlikely to have been looted!), traffic lights etc.
• or Use clear plastic or glass containers and colour them using food dyes mixed with PVA glue (your local HobbyCraft is also unlikely to have been looted!).
• Put your candles in your highest window for best visibility.
• Keep your wicks trimmed for sharp, consistent flames that stay visible.
• Keep your coloured container very clean, wiping away any soot build up daily.
• As well as agreeing your signal matrix, agree with your neighbours when you will transmit and check for signals, eg on the hour during hours of darkness.
• Agree a backup, such as mirror flashes or taps on metal, which you can use if the candles fail.

The world may be in flames, society may be crumbling like a stale oatcake, and your phone battery has long since given up the ghost, but you? You’ve got a hanky! And that puts you miles ahead of the moaning masses, shambling through the rubble with not so much as a square of cotton to their name.

Here’s why you should always carry a hanky during the apocalypse.

1. First Aid for the Mildly Unlucky
From impromptu tourniquets to makeshift slings, a hanky is a small but mighty field medic. It’s not going to save your arm if you’ve met a hungry feral badger, but it might stop the bleeding long enough for you to run away screaming with a bit of dignity.

2. Signal Flags for the Socially Desperate
Tied to a stick, waved wildly, or left fluttering on the ruins of a Prius, a hanky is a handy signal flag for when you spot another human who doesn’t look immediately cannibalistic. Choose a bright colour if possible. No one notices greige anymore, apocalypse or not.

3. Water Filter for the Cautiously Thirsty
Is it clean? No. Is it better than gulping down questionable puddle juice straight? Slightly. A few layers of hanky can strain out some of the visible horrors from your “water source.” Follow with boiling over the camp fire, purification tablets, and a quick prayer to whoever’s still listening.

4. Dust Mask for the Fashionably Doomed
When the air turns brown and choking becomes a daily sport, tie your hanky over your face like a cowboy in a Western. Bonus points if you manage to look mysterious and capable while hacking up radioactive lung lint.

5. Morale Booster for the Romantically Doomed
It’s soft. It smells faintly of Before Times (lavender? mothballs?). Use it to wipe a tear, share with a comrade, or blow your nose after yet another emotional breakdown behind the derelict petrol station. Somehow, a hanky says: “It may be the end of the world, but I can still have a little decorum.”

6. Barter Item for the Perpetually Underequipped
Never underestimate the value of clean cloth in a world where even toilet paper is legend. Your gift set of hankies from Grandma last Christmas, complete with embroidered days of the week, could be just the thing to score you a bashed up tin of Frey Bentos meatballs or a working lighter. Just don’t tell them what you last used it for.

So pack a hanky. Fold it neatly. Tuck it in your pocket. When the end comes, you’ll be a little more ready than the rest. And we all know, you don't have to be the most prepared, just more prepared than most.

Start with a Conversation

No one wants to talk about worst-case scenarios over a nice Sunday roast, but a little awkward conversation now can save a lot of heartbreak later. Sit down with your household—whether that’s your partner, your kids, your mum, your flatmate, or your dog—and ask the uncomfortable questions. What sort of emergencies could actually happen here? A major flood? A blackout? Civil unrest? Would we stick to the official evacuation plan, or do our own thing? If mobile networks go down, how will we get in touch? Who’s responsible for what? These chats aren’t about doom—they’re about clarity. They give everyone a voice, a role, and a bit of reassurance.

Agree Where You’ll Go

If your home is no longer safe, where’s your fallback? Better yet, where are your first three fallback spots? You need a primary meet-up spot, ideally within walking distance. A park, a pub car park, somewhere familiar. Then choose a secondary location—in case the first is compromised. And finally, a long-distance fallback, like a family member’s house out of town.  Don’t rely on memory or assumptions. Write it all down. Share maps. Walk the routes together. Practice getting there without Google Maps. If roads are closed or trains are down, you’ll need to think like someone in a dystopian novel: calm, clever, and two steps ahead.

Assign Responsibilities Before Things Go Wrong

In an emergency, decisions are made fast. If you haven’t assigned roles in advance, chaos will fill the gaps. Who’s checking on elderly neighbours? Who’s rounding up the pets? Who contacts extended family? Who leaves a note at the house, if there’s time? Think through the logistics now, so everyone knows what to do without waiting for instructions. And don’t forget to revisit these roles every so often. Circumstances change—people move house, get new jobs, buy new pets, develop new allergies...

Plan for Getting Separated

Let’s say the worst has happened. You’ve been separated. Phones aren’t working. The signal is gone. What then? This is where your plan becomes more than just a conversation. Have a rule: wait X hours at the agreed meeting spot before moving on. If you have to leave, make sure everyone knows how you’ll leave a sign—maybe a note, a chalk mark, or something discreet but obvious. Designate an out-of-area contact—someone not caught in the same emergency, who can pass on messages. It’s old-school, but effective. And if you’re really prepared, agree on fallback communication tools: two-way radios, CB frequencies, even a code word system if you’re feeling dramatic.  Don’t Just Plan It—Live It.  The most detailed family plan in the world means nothing if it stays in a drawer gathering dust. Review it. Update it. Practise it. Have a casual drill every few months. Make it a game with the kids, or a Saturday morning “just in case” walk to your meet-up spot. These rehearsals build muscle memory, calm the nerves, and often reveal flaws in your plan that you wouldn’t spot otherwise.

Download the Family Emergency Plan Template

To make life easier, we’ve created a free downloadable PDF that you can fill out and keep in your home, car, and go-bags.

Inside you’ll find space to record:

• Your designated meeting spots
• Important contact numbers
• Responsibilities for each family member
• Communication strategies
• A separation protocol
• Notes & useful info sections

Print it. Fill it out. You don’t want to be the family arguing in the driveway with no idea where to go.

>> Click here to download the PDF.

In the stories we love, the end of the world is always cinematic. But in real life, it will likely be messier, quieter, and altogether more British. Wet socks, no mobile signal, a lot of apologetic queuing.

But having a reunification plan? That’s not dramatic. That’s just common sense. Because no matter what happens—power cut, pandemic, apocalypse—the only thing that really matters is getting back to the people who make it all worth surviving.

When the world as we know it crumbles, and society's structures dissolve into chaos, survival hinges on resourcefulness. And even the most mundane items can become invaluable tools. Take chewing gum, for instance, which can serve multiple purposes in a post-apocalyptic world. Here are our top 10 survival uses for chewing gum.

1. Temporary Repairs and Sealant

In a world where supplies are scarce, maintaining your gear is crucial. Chewing gum's adhesive properties can be a quick fix for leaky containers and damaged equipment. A wad of gum can temporarily seal small holes in water bottles or fuel canisters, preventing precious resources from leaking away. You can also use gum to hold together broken parts of tools or weapons until a more permanent repair is possible. Ensure all surfaces are clean and dry before applying gum for better adhesion.

2. Fire Starting Aid

Starting a fire is essential for warmth, cooking, and signaling. Chewing gum wrappers, specifically those with a metallic lining, can be used to ignite a flame using the battery and wrapper method. By folding or cutting the wrapper into an hourglass shape and touching the ends to the positive and negative terminals of a battery, the thin middle section heats up and ignites. This method requires speed and practice as the flame is short lived. Check out this entertaining video from Coalcracker Bushcraft for a simple How To.

3. Improvised Adhesive

When traditional adhesives are unavailable, gum can act as a temporary substitute. As gum is pretty low-tack, use it's stretchy nature to inscrease it's strength by both sticking and binding objects together. For instance, stretch out your gum and use it to wrap around bait to attach it to a trap mechanism, ensuring it stays in place.

4. Way Marking

If you're on an apocalyptic road trip through unfamiliar terrain it's wise to mark your way in case you need to back track. A wad of gum stuck to a rock or tree is an inconspicuous way to leave a trail without it being too obvious to anyone who might want to follow you.

5. Oral Hygiene Substitute

Maintaining oral health is challenging without access to dental supplies. Sugar-free gum can help as chewing stimulates saliva production, which can aid in cleaning teeth and reducing oral bacteria.

Gum can also help keep your mouth moist when water is limited which will help maintain healthy gums, lips and tongue.

6. Bartering Commodity

In a world where currency has lost its value, trade becomes the primary means of acquiring goods. Chewing gum, being a comfort item, can be a valuable bartering tool - if someone has a decent supply of essentials they may be willing to give up some of their more plentiful supplies in exchange for the sweet luxury of chewing gum. And beyond bartering, the simple act of sharing gum can foster goodwill and establish connections with fellow survivors.

7. Improvised Fishing Lure

Securing food is a constant concern in a post-apocalyptic landscape. Chewing gum can be fashioned into a rudimentary fishing lure as the sugars are attractive to certain fish such as bass and trout (and catfish, though they are not found in many UK waters). Mold the gum into a worm-like shape and attach it to a hook, pink gum works particularly well as it looks more like a worm! The scent and appearance can attract fish in the absence of proper bait, for instance in frozen areas where worms and grubs are difficult or impossible to find.

8. Blister Prevention

Believe it or not, chewing gum can help prevent blisters on those long post-apoc treks through the wasteland. Place chewed gum over a hotspot on your foot to reduce friction and prevent a blister from forming. Ensure the area is clean and chew your own gum to avoid infection.

9. Lock Jamming

In situations where you need to secure an area or slow down pursuers gum can be useful to disable locks. Insert gum into a lock mechanism to jam it, making it difficult for others to unlock doors or containers.

10. Just Eat the Stuff!

While not ideal, in dire circumstances, gum can provide a small energy boost with a small caloric intake. Chewing gum with sugar offers minimal calories that might help sustain you temporarily when food is scarce.

So next time you're in the sweet shop, or newsagent's you might want to grab a few packs for your apocalypse pantry, and some to throw in your go-bag whilst your at it!