50 Things Everyone Should Know How To Do
50 things everyone should know how to do. You could call these vintage skills, pioneer skills or just plain skills. It all comes down to learning skills to teach the next generation. Some of these are practical skills, many are must learn skills, and others are fun skills. I would love to make this list 100 skills with your comments, so let’s get started.
Some of the ideas I have listed we all do and some are a little harder to master for some people, including me and my husband. I really believe we will need all of these skills and much more, but this is a great start. I bet some of you took sewing classes in Home Economics and woodworking in a shop class, and so on. Keep in mind, we won’t learn these skills overnight, we will have to take the time to learn them. Some we’ll be eager to learn and others we may never be interested in at all. I get it.
50 Things Everyone Should Know
1.Gardening skills based on your location and your climate.
2.How to save seeds. Remember, GMO seeds can’t be used the next year after they are harvested, they will not reproduce. Buy only non-GMO seeds, you’ll be glad you did.
3.Learn how to get rid of insects in your garden without pesticides.
4.Canning food.
5.Dehydrate your food.
6.How to compost.
7.How to make play dough.
8.Learn how to tie knots.
9.Train your dog(s).
10.Change a tire and change the oil.
11.How to hunt wild game and dress it out.
12.Learn how to fish.
13.Learn how to clean and cook fish.
14.Learn how to sew and quilt.
15.How to wash clothes without electricity.
16.How to use a clothesline.
17.Make your own laundry detergent. Laundry Detergent/Soap by Food Storage Moms
18.How to bake without power.
19.How to knit or crochet.
20.Grind your own wheat.
21.Learn how to make your own naturally healing salves.
22.Prepare your homestead for blizzards.
23.Prepare your homestead for tornadoes.
24.Stock your pantry.
25.How to grow herbs and preserve them.
26.Cook using cast iron.
27.Learn how to plant fruit trees for your climate.
28.Learn how to prune your fruit trees.
29.Learn how to purify water.
30.Learn basic carpentry skills and buy a few non-electric tools in case the power goes out for weeks or months.
31.Learn how to use alternative power sources.
32.Live within your means and pay off all debt.
33.Prepare a grab and go binder with important documents.
34.Put some things you can use in a box or bag to survive for 72 hours, at the bare minimum.
35.Learn about charcoal and which ones work the best.
36.How to make pancakes and other meals from scratch.
37.Learn basic first aid skills., CPR, EMT or Paramedic classes.
38.Have a first aid book in your home and car.
39.Gather your first aid products and organize the ones you need most often.
40.Know how to use honey for health benefits.
41.Learn how to start a fire in a safe location.
42.Learn how to grow potatoes in pots or in the ground, buy organic and you will always have some potatoes to eat. I love digging for potatoes. They are one of the easiest vegetables to grow.
43.Teach yourself how to use natural remedies such as essential oils.
44.Eat dinner together as a family.
45.Play board games with all electronics turned off.
46.Learn to cook using solar power. Cook with a Sun Oven by Food Storage Moms
47.Buy old cookbooks from thrift stores, they have great recipes.
48.Learn how to store water for emergencies. Storing water by Food Storage Moms
49.Learn how to store food for emergencies.
50.How to save your rain water, if your state allows it.
51. Reader, John: how to safely use a firearm for protection from 2&4 legged predators & hunting
Here’s the deal, whether you have a farm, home, apartment or a homestead these are 50 things at the very minimum we need to teach our families. May God bless our world and our families.
Pioneer Skills by Food Storage Moms
When you learn these skills practice them, I just went fishing a few days ago for the first time this year. It
was great to know I could still fish and I ended up cleaning and freezing them. Again got to remember how to clean a fish then to freeze them for later.
You mentioned washing clothes without electricity, some years ago my washer went out and I didn’t have the money at the time to go out and buy a new one. I put my clothes in my bathtub and filled with water and
soap and washed by hand. I then hung them on my clothes line outside to dry.
the one thing I do wish I had done, was a lady who used to go to my church made a lotion out of
plants I could find in my yard to relieve the pain and itching of posion ivy. She moved and I never got the recipe for it. Big mistake.
Most everything you mentioned is second nature for me. For those who are learning to cook from scratch buy the old cookbooks. They have the old tried and true recipes. I have found out the newer ones leave out the best recipes. Also if your just starting out baking with yeast one thing I learned the hard way
DO NOT RUSH in using this item. I made cinnamon rolls one time and didn’t wait like the recipe said and I ended up with bricks. Just have fun.
If you are learning to can, have fun with it but remember to do as the recipes say, you don’t want to do all that work and your item spoil cause you done something wrong. To me canning is relaxing.
Hi June, I love your comment about the fishing and cleaning it out and freezing them. I wish I had some of my mom’s recipes. I never thought about getting them. I’m like you if at first, you don’t exceed at something, try, try, again! I love canning as well, and sewing is very relaxing for me. Linda
American homestead on youtube has a video on how to make a tincture out of a plant that usually grows next to poison ivy
Mark, thanks so much! Linda
great list. what i dont already know, i have an old boy scout manuel on hand. my son was a scout and taught me lots of good stuff i have forgotten by now. the book is still here for when i need it. the old cookbooks are a good idea too. i have been downloading some and will plan a trip to the thrift store. we have a lot of elders in my area so when someone passes, the thrift store is packed full of goodies. i have found a few good old hand-cranked appliances there from the 1930s and love using them.
thanks, linda.
Hi Maggi, oh I love thrift stores! We can’t find very many good things here in thrift stores except a few cookbooks here and there. I love hearing you found some good old hand-cranked appliances. Lucky girl! Linda
how to safely use a firearm for protection from 2&4 legged predators & hunting
Hi, John, you are so right! This is soooooo true! Thank you, Linda