DIY Life

Should you ever catch yourself out in the wilderness with some aluminum foil and a little vaseline for those chapped lips, rest assured in the knowledge that you too could create a small fire for warmth or for creating a larger fire for cooking.

Lighters may fail, matches may become wet, but if you wrap up some cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly an wrap a few of those combos in some smaller pieces of aluminum foil, that may be the best thing you can do for the moment when you need to create a fire but don't have an easy combustion source.

As long as you have a waterproof flint (like the keychain kind you'll find in survival stores), you should be good to go after following the directions here. This is a must for any backpacker's survival mainstay or for those who like to camp way away from civilization -- or must travel through dangerous parts or roads of Mother Nature. John Rambo would be proud.

Did you know that petroleum jelly has been around since the late 1800's? It can be used as a lubricant for all sorts of little jobs around the house. I use my little jar of petroleum jelly to lubricate the annoying hinges on the doors of my bathroom sink, for coating my chapped lips in the winter, and even dab a little on my toddler's bottom when she gets a little too red.

Gomestic user Darlene McFarlane has compiled an awesome list of uses for petroleum jelly. She writes about everything from removing water rings on wood to using jelly to shine your shoes. How about using Vaseline to protect cuts and scrapes? It works just as well as Neosporin, in my opinion. It works wonders as a moisturizer, especially if you have sensitive skin like I do. I get really dry skin on my hands and feet, so I slather them with a layer of petroleum jelly and put on socks, allowing the jelly to be absorbed into my feet overnight. Voila, in the morning I have nice soft footsies. I do the same thing with my hands. Yeah, I know, it isn't the most romantic thing in the world to do, but I can get away with it on weeknights since my husband works second shift and I am sleeping by the time he gets home. Check out the rest of what Darlene has to say, I am sure you will find her list just as useful as I do.