This is gonna sound silly to anyone who doesn't have some high dollar dental work in their mouths, but I have a little curved metal toothpick thingy on my keyring. Getting something stuck under a bridge, or elsewhere, can go from irritating to downright painful if not removed, and floss won't get under a bridge. Can't find a pic to show, but you can usually find them on the dental wall of a drugstore/WallyWorld type store...

one quarter stick of fast setting epoxy putty..

I've always tucked in a roll of quarters. It's ten bucks, can be used in vending machines (some out there don't need electric but still want a quarter) and lots of other ways. In a pinch, it's also a good weight for lots of things and 'legal' until you stuff it into a sock for an improvised impact self-defense tool... I hang out with the 'wrong' crowd sometimes.

Paul

Wood screws and some penny nails. I stuck maybe 6-8 of each in the bottom of my gear can. I haven't figured out how I will use them yet, but when I do, I will have them. Mechancial fasteners can't be a bad thing to have - right? Worst case scenario, they justify the weight of the phillips bit on my multi tool!

JR

I'm not sure what you mean by "penny" nails? 16 pennies, or something smaller/larger???

I just added a thick plastic piece of straw to the possible mix in my EDC. At the movie theater I volunteer at, a local ministry sponsored our showing of "Chariots of Fire", and they handed out a bunch of promotional materials, hundreds of crazy straws included. I took one home and broke off a good length about a foot and a half long, much more than what I need.

Thanks for sharing your ideas/odds and ends, guys!

Rubber bands are good but they seldom last long. Even in near ideal storage conditions they can dry out and get brittle or turn into mush that smears and ends up everywhere.

A good alternative to the standard rubber bands is to drop into the hair-care section of the big box or drugstore and get 'scrunchies', hair and/or head bands. These are wound with thread that helps protect the rubber compound and the higher end versions are made of synthetic rubbers compounds that resist UV, oil and general wear for a very long time.

I have some in one of my kits that are over ten years old that are still strong and pliable. These are a bit over two inches in diameter and cost about $3 for a dozen in basic black.

The headbands are thicker and much larger. The ones I have used were about quarter inch thick and eight inches in diameter. Cost about $2 each.

While your nearby get yourself a shorty makeup brush, intended for blush, to use as a lens brush for glasses, binoculars and camera. These are great for getting sand and abrasive dust off those delicate lenses. Sand and grit are a problem when in the field in Florida.

The one I got is about 4" OA and weighs just a few grams. Cost a bit more than a buck. A real deal compared to the purpose built 'lens brush' which is about 6" long, weighs twice as much and costs $10.

Even in a small space constrained kit it can pay to include a tube of lip balm. Very few things are as annoying as chapped and cracked lips. Get the stuff with a sunscreen in it and you can at least protect your nose and lips. Big relief.

The wax and petrolatum base is a decent lubricant (trick is to warm the mechanism so it melts in), protects steel from rust, bits can be sliced off to get a fire going, roll up a bit of pocket lint and make a wick for a short-term candle/lamp, and it can be rubbed into the dried out cuticles to prevent annoying and painful bleeding hangnails.

Lots of utility in a compact package.

Ear plugs. If trapped in a confined space (elevator, rubble) and using a loud whistle to attract attention, I'd want hearing protection.

Nurit

My "Murphy Pouch":
in a 5x6" zipper pouch that lives in my fatboy and gets transfered to my pack when hiking.

Zip ties (large and small)
Rubber bands
Krazy glue
Sewing kit
Eye glass repair kit
paper clips
length of florist wire
twist ties
matches in match case
"gorilla" duct tape wrapped around match case
small length of paracord
small length of bright yellow mason's line
aluminum foil
small collapsible scissors
safety pins
small pocket knife
extra lighter

"Hypochondriac Pouch"
2.5 x 4.5" zipper pouch that lives in my front left pants pocket (when I hike I put it in a breast milk baggie to keep it dry):

2 doses of each in a old Aleve tube
* Excedrin
* Benadryl
* Immodium
* Dramamine (only one dose)
* Alev
* Sudafed
* Pepcid

Chapstick
Dental Floss
Safety Pins
Fingernail Clippers
Micropur tabs (2)
Metal Toothpick
Ponytail Holders (I have a daughter and wife).
Listerine pocket pals

I like using the little "crack baggies" that one can get from Hobby Lobby (sold to be used to put jewelery in but they look like crack baggies to me ;))

I put all my small stuff in those.