I teach in my survival classes about cotton balls & vasoline! a dry cotton ball burns for about 45 seconds and one that has vasoline rubbed into it burns for about 8 minutes with a flame like a tiki torch. rub vasoline into cotton balls and pack into a 35mm film canister. when you need it pull 1 cotton ball apart and make the area to light thin and it will light quickly even in rain and strong wind, try it at home and practice. they can be used for chapped lips , etc...

To find dry kindeling even in wet weather look up not down. Fallen dead limbs caught in lower limbs are your best bet to start a fire.

Another hint that I've used is to run my knife over my socks. Pick off the loose lint and use it as an excellent fire-starter. Be careful if you're doing this with your socks on! You wouldn't do yourself any favors cutting yourself!

Try collecting dryer lint and keeping it in either a 35mm film canister or zip lock bag. Carry at least one (I carry 3-5, depending on where I'm going) flint and steel fire starter. Take your pick, the magnesium bar, Strike Force, Blast match even a homemade tool, if it works. Then OOOO steel wool kept in a zip lock bag takes a spark well. as does the dryer lint. Dip cotton balls in Vaseline, they're waterproof. Just practice the stuff before you go out.
Take an 8x8 3-4mil tarp with you. I use paracord for a whole lot of stuff, but it makes a decent shelter if the situation arises.
These things are like an American Express card. Don't leave home without them.
But PRACTICE doing it at home when it's fun. If you've never done it before, trying to do it under stress is not a good time to learn it.

Take the lint from you dryer and put it in an egg carton (not the styrofoam ones)and drizzle with candle wax. Cut into individual containers and store in zip lock bags. Link lights easily and wax keeps it burning.

take the vaseline and over low heat melt it and then put your cotton balls into it and make sure they are saturated. carry some steel wool with a 9 volt battery = no match needed. if you can find the strike anywhere matches, lay them out and spray with clear laquer to water proof them. get your hands on hexamine tabs or trioxane bars which will light readily and burn very hot. in my personal pack I carry a couple of safety flares for extreme weather. these will light any wood no matter how damp it is. they burn for 10 minutes average. a small amount of gun powder will help light kindling or carry the easy to obtain magnesium bar with a flint, but make sure to buy some easy wider cig. papers to put the shavings on. place this under the edge of your tender. there are many ways to light a fire, just look around and figure out what is best for you. of course a lighter is the easiest and lightest to carry. look for the hexamine etc. at surplus stores

I think when in the woods everyone should carry a roll of toilet paper in a ziplock bag. it fits easily with the cardboard roll removed and will dispence efficently if pulled from the center. other than the obvious use it's great tinder, can wipe lenses, emergency wound dressings and make biodegradable flagging tape. survival is about getting the most out of limiited resources and TP along with duct tape and a small sharp knife will do a lot of what you need.

for your mouse trap take a soda/pop can and make several slits in the end where the spout is- make them almost all the way across maybe 6 or eight slits. Then carefully push them to the inside do this until the center hole is the size of your thumb drop a bit of peanut butter/bacon in with the can setting your modified end up. find a spot anywhere you believe a mouse is going thru put it against a wall or outside in a building (shed/storage/garage etc) or in a campground up against your tent or next to a tree that you believe has a mouse trail. I have even used this method in the house and a basement as well. once you make one you can see many cans that can be utilized for your traps. Check it at least twice a day. if there is a mouse you can despose of it in several ways. You can go to a area not within a mile a mile of your location then take a stick in one hand the back of the can in the other.use your stick and slowly push your trap claws dow...n one at a time until the mouse can run out. Now why did it work so well to catch them. The slices made >< inward claws all the way around. The mouse goes after the food/bait squeezes thru the small hole usually pushes the claws down to fit in. But once past them it springs back into position. From the inside of the can the critter is trying to exit into pointed blades that do not give any bending to openning the hole >< so they are stuck inside. I have even caught a few snakes like this, it leaves the bad end of the snake inside the can for easy handling. I spent years in the bush in seven countries and all over the US mainly in the woods either out of enjoyment, war or needing shelter. For one match fires, I would go for walks in the woods or even my yard looking for old bird nests- firsts take it one that is no longer occupied- then keep the nest out in the yard and put it between two boards step on your boards to smash it as flat as you can, remove the top board and spray it with insect spray just in case any little critters or bugs like mites are using it for a home. third slide it off your board, set it up again with as many nests as you have. after a couple of hours for it to air out and trespassers a chance to vacate. Finally pick up the nest and put it in a ziplock type bag- zip it shut leavea small section open so you can squeeze the air out as much as possible. One friend even wrapped a paper towel around the nest before putting it in the ziplock (two fold reasoning-one the papertowel keep moisture and bug spray in it-the other was to give a easier flame catcher when starting the fire. I carry a magnesium fire starter and couple of bic lighters in another ziploc. Plus I never go anywhere without my swiss army knife