Water. Food. Nature.
Practical self-reliance.

Best first choice: store safe water

Keep commercially bottled or properly stored potable water on hand. Have clean, labeled, covered food-grade containers. Avoid using any container that held fuel or other toxic products.

Water from a stream or rain barrel?

Clear-looking water may still contain germs; runoff, agricultural activity and algae can add chemical hazards. Don't assume untreated spring, stream, rain, lake or melted snow water is safe.

Boiling cannot fix every problem

Boiling kills disease-causing germs but does not reliably remove toxic chemicals. Never collect floodwater or water with suspected fuel or chemical contamination for drinking.

🍯 Honey for a cough

Honey may soothe cough symptoms in adults and children aged 1 year and older. Never give honey to a baby younger than 12 months due to infant botulism risk.

Source: CDC cold self-care

💧 Fluids, rest and gentle foods

Water, warm broth and normal meals can help maintain hydration when you're sick. Rest, eat what you can tolerate and watch for dehydration. Seek care if you cannot keep fluids down.

🌫️ Clean humidifier or saline spray

Cool mist, a cleaned humidifier or saline nasal spray may ease stuffiness. For sinus irrigation, use only distilled, sterile or previously boiled and cooled water—never straight tap water.

CDC nasal-rinse safety

🫖 Warm drinks and throat care

Warm (not scalding) drinks can feel soothing. For someone old enough to gargle and spit safely, a mild saltwater gargle may be comforting. Avoid choking hazards for young children.

🌱 Herbs and “natural cure” claims

Natural does not mean harmless. Many supplements lack good evidence for curing infections and may interact with medication, pregnancy or chronic conditions. Don't consume unidentified leaves, roots or wild teas as medicine.

CDC evidence review

🚑 When self-care is not enough

Seek urgent help for breathing difficulty, severe dehydration, altered mental state, worsening symptoms or other warning signs. Call emergency services for life-threatening symptoms. For a suspected poisonous plant or mushroom ingestion, contact Poison Control in the US at 1-800-222-1222.

Know the common edible categories

Wisconsin DNR lists various edible fruits (such as raspberries, blackberries and juneberries), edible nuts (including walnuts and hickory nuts) and certain other foods as eligible for limited personal gathering on some state lands. The list describes categories, not an identification or permission guarantee for any specimen.

Wisconsin DNR wild-edible rules

Watch for deadly or dangerous confusion

Wild mushrooms have poisonous look-alikes. Unknown berries, root vegetables and plants resembling carrots, parsley or parsnips can be especially hazardous. Don't use generic “all purple berries are safe” or “animals eat it so humans can” folklore.

Poison Control mushroom warnings

Gather only where it is legal

On Wisconsin state parks and forests, some edible fruits, nuts, mushrooms, wild asparagus and watercress may be hand-collected for personal consumption. Seeds, roots and most other plant parts are generally not allowed without authorization. Regulations differ by property; ask the manager first.

Wisconsin park gathering rules

Skip contaminated sites

Avoid roadsides, industrial soil, flood deposits, sprayed lawns, busy trails and areas receiving agricultural runoff or wastewater. Pollutants can remain even after washing or boiling. If in doubt, don't harvest.

Make cheap staples work harder

Keep shelf-stable oats, rice, beans, canned fish, nut butter, crackers, canned vegetables, and foods that fit your household needs. Rotate what you eat. Use clean drinking water for rehydrating or preparing shelf-stable meals.

Fish is food—but check the rules

Before keeping a fish, verify your Wisconsin license, waterbody, species, size and season. Also check fish-consumption advisories for mercury and other contaminants, especially for children and people who are or may become pregnant.

Fishing rules · Fish safety advisory

Legal wild game and venison safety

When sourcing meat through hunting, check Wisconsin DNR licenses, species, unit, harvest authorization, legal hours, property boundaries and current season rules before heading out. Learn safe handling and refrigeration before your first harvest. Wisconsin DNR recommends chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing for harvested deer; do not eat meat from a CWD-positive deer.

Current hunting regulations · Deer harvest and CWD guidance

Cook outside, measure inside

Use grills, camp stoves and charcoal outdoors, away from doors/windows—never inside a tent, garage or home. Cook meat and fish to an appropriate temperature using a food thermometer instead of judging only by color.

Power outage food safety

A closed refrigerator typically keeps perishables safe for about 4 hours; a full, unopened freezer about 48 hours (half-full about 24 hours). When uncertain about whether perishable food remained cold enough, discard it.

FoodSafety.gov

Morning or cooler evening

During hot weather, schedule strenuous hiking, carrying water and outdoor chores in the cooler early or late hours where practical; rest and hydrate when the sun and heat are strongest.

CDC heat safety

Forage in full daylight

Good natural light helps expert identification, terrain awareness and safe route-finding. Leave time to return before dark. Don't collect during lightning or flooding.

Fishing and hunting schedules

Dawn/dusk can be productive for some species, but legal hours, season closures, fish advisories and weather change by location. Always check current DNR rules and your own safety first.

Stop for thunder

If you hear thunder, seek substantial shelter; open pavilions and tents aren't safe lightning protection. Stay sheltered until at least 30 minutes after the last thunder.

NWS lightning safety