Repurpose an Old Cellphone as an Emergency Phone for your Car, Other Strategic Locations [Clever Uses]

We recently shared a number of things you can do with an old smartphone, but Redditor hepdd remind us that we left out one of the most obvious uses: any cellphone, activated or not, can still make emergency calls.

When you activate a new phone (or slip your SIM card into a new phone), your old phone ceases to have cell and data access—though it can still make emergency calls. So, if you have an old phone that's sitting around doing nothing, you might as well stash it in your glove box, the pocket of your big winter jacket, or wherever else you can think of. That way, if you get into a situation and you've lost your phone, left it somewhere else, or it's just plain run out of battery, you can still make a 911 call if you need to. Heck, you can even use this if you've repurposed your phone as, say, a music player for your car—just remember that no matter what you've repurposed it to do, it can always be an emergency phone as well.

LPT Need an Emergency Phone for Your Car/Boat/etc? | Reddit

Photo by Cord Woodruff.

Use Cotton and Plastic Drinking Straws to Make Your Own Emergency Fire Starting Kits [Emergencies]

 One item that we often mention should go into your emergency kit is some way to start a fire. Even if you're in the woods and kindling is plentiful (or worse, it's not and the old kindling around is wet), it always helps to have something that will give your fire a boost, whether you're out camping or you're in trouble and waiting for help. This simple trick involves a couple of cotton balls and some plastic drinking straws—in a few minutes, you'll have tiny fire starting kits that fit into any emergency kit.

Making them is easy—just cut a segment of drinking straw, pull off a little cotton from a cotton ball or pad, and stuff it into the straw. Seal both ends with a little heat so your cotton won't get wet if your emergency kit does, and you're all finished. If the technique looks familiar, it should—the same person built this pill bottle emergency kit we mentioned earlier this week, although this item wasn't included in that kit. Some of the commenters at Instructables note that you have to use the right kind of straw, or else the plastic may not melt and seal easily, or you can dip the ends in wax to get the same effect. When you need it, just break or cut the straw to get at the dry cotton inside and light it.

You could even go a step further and add a dab of vaseline or chap-stick to your cotton to make it easier to burn. If this isn't up your alley, maybe some char cloth is a better addition to your kit, but it's a high-maintenance option. Aside from a lighter or some matches, how do you make sure your emergency kit can always start a fire? Share your survival tips in the comments below.

How to Make Mini Straw Fire Starters | Instructables