This morning I found a soda can in our house, this is a rare thing since neither one of us drinks much soda. After looking at it for a couple of minutes, I got to wondering what I could make out of it. An improvised lamp seemed like a good idea.
So I took a knife and made a vertical cut down the middle of the lamp. I then made two cross cut so that I could fold the flaps open. After inserting a candle, I had a handy little improvised lamp that reflected light well. The can also protected the flame from being blown out by drafts. This worked well and put out a surprising amount of light.
The bottom of the soda can will catch the melted wax. Don’t forget to save the melted wax you will always have another use for it. Get enough and you can make more candles. Here is a link to a post that shows 12 Ways to Repurpose Soda CansÂ
In the past I have made other improvised oil lamps using various containers. They are easy to make and if you have good wicks they work well. For this reason I never throw out any rancid cooking oils, there are too many uses for them and that includes making improvised lamps Here are three articles that may help you. Alternate Uses for Rancid Cooking Oil, Homemade Oil Lamps are Easy to Make and Candlewicks
Take a good look at the trash you throw out and you will see that much of it can be reused in a real emergency. I am not saying that you need a trash dump in your back yard, but learn what other uses you can make from the things you would normally throw away.
Howard
You said “…I am not saying that you need a trash dump in your back yard, but learn what other uses you can make from the things you would normally throw away. …”
Howard!!! It’s not a trash dump! It is a resource center!
There – I feel better now.
Hangtown Frank