Preparation is all about being able to use the tools and knowledge that you have available. The sun can be a great tool because isn’t going anywhere!

You can use the sun for cooking, navigation, power, heating, cooling, cleaning and more. Provide your comments below and we’ll provide the best tip from our readers with a $10 gift card.

Start a fire (with chocolate)
Who knew that you can polish with chocolate? Use chocolate to polish the bottom of an aluminum can. It should be reflective. (Don’t eat the chocolate after.) Now, use the concave bottom of the can to fragment the light to a point and light away!

Pasteurize water
Now be careful, you can pasteurize water with some help from the sun, but that’s different than sterilizing the water. Use glass jars and paint the outsides black. Make sure you have a thermometer to double check the temperature. Make sure the water gets to 150 degrees at the bottom of the jar – not just the top. Usually about 3 hours in direct sunlight should do it.

Cook
Many people use the sun to work solar cookers. They can harness the power of the sun to cook meats, boil water, and more. The great thing about a sun oven, is that they don’t burn food. They cook evenly and won’t burn things to a crisp.

Power
GoalØ provides a lot of affordable solar panel power options. You can easily charge phones, emergency radios, portable sterios, lights and more in a matter of a few hours. Simply lay the solar panels out, go for a hike and by the time you come back, you’ll have the power you needed.

Navigate
If you’re lost without a compass, map or GPS, you can simply use your watch to show you which way north is. Face the hour hand of your watch toward the sun. The line between the hour hand and 12 o’clock will direct you south. The opposite is north.

Whiten your clothes
Are you spending a ton of money on bleaches and whitening products? Well the sun might be the best way to naturally lighten your clothes. Get the clothes wet and lay them out in the sun as flatly as possible. Lay them for a few hours and repeat if necessary. If you need an extra boost, water down lemon juice in a spray bottle and squirt a few sprays on them.

What else?
So what have you used the sun for? Know of any neat tricks or tips? Share them below! If we think you have the best comment, we’ll give you a $10 gift card to The Ready Store.