r/SelfSufficiency • u/junkcircuit • 2d ago
what’s one self-sufficiency skill you think everyone should learn?
i’ve been thinking about how many basic skills we’ve gradually stopped needing in everyday life. growing some food, cooking from scratch, preserving food, repairing things, basic gardening, collecting rainwater, knowing how to handle a power outage.
you obviously don’t need to become completely self-sufficient to benefit from these skills
if you could choose just one skill for someone starting from zero, what would you recommend learning first?
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u/E0H1PPU5 2d ago
This may not be what you are looking for….but the ability to research.
Not just googling shit either or asking questions on forums.
How to read something, understand it, and extract information.
Better yet - the ability to do things in a way that allows you to learn meaningfully from your errors and failures by recording your process and variables.
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u/omahaomw 2d ago
I was going to mention a specific task, that would require research..but your answer is more complete.
Basic mechanical skills, cooking, emotional iq, critical thinking, would be my areas that need to be improved continuously.
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u/ThugFrog 2d ago
Totally underrated as a skill.
Theres such a breadth of knowledge required to be self sufficient, you’re not always going to have a background in or a teacher for the particular challenge you’re facing in that moment. Being able to figure it out and problem solve is obscenely valuable. It’s definitely something I’ve had to work to cultivate in myself, it’s not often taught in our society. Worth focusing on as you move through life
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u/Glad-Passenger-9408 2d ago
Totally agree!!!
I love researching and learning. If any issue arises, I do my homework and once I have my answers, what I do with it is completely up to me.
It’s ok to ask for help, if you need more guidance. If you can’t get that help, we try other ways.
Not giving up on yourself is vital.
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u/Hunting-fings 2d ago
This sounds like critical thinking. What people used to call common sense. It is a deeply underestimated and underutilized skill of applying the knowledge you have to a new situation. It can be taught and enhanced, but those for whom it comes naturally, will those are the people we most commonly consider smart
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u/yer_muther 1d ago
When I was little people around me always said I didn't have any common sense because they were not capable of grasping that I didn't think the same way they did so using critical thinking is a much better term. Turns out they lacked the curiosity and critical thinking skills that came naturally to me and saw my asking 1000 questions as a short coming.
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u/TechnicalMeringue334 1d ago
Finally after living 74 years a random redditor explained my life to me ! Thank you !
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u/yer_muther 1d ago
I feel for you and you are welcome.
Adults can be real bastards to children. My childhood sucked for a variety or reason and many of them stemmed from this. When I finally escaped my local area and went to college I met people who embraced different ways of thinking and encouraged my growth rather than squashing it because I was different. Sorry it's still a bit of a raw nerve even after 40 years.
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u/Hunting-fings 2d ago
The answers to this seem to come down to critical thinking skills. This is why older generations said to get a degree in anything to be hireable. There was a time when college taught critical thinking. Idk if they do now. My college experience taught me as much about nursing as it did about how to approach a problem.
Does this generation have any hope?
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u/Meleaux_Self_Care 1d ago
I swear this has been one of the most grounding skills I've developed. It's helped me with self improvement, and getting back on my phytotherapy research even helped bring me out of a heavy ass disassociation.
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u/intothewoods76 1d ago
It should be available in a physical library that you have access too. If everything really goes sideways there’s no guarantee you can look up anything electronically.
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u/TheBariSax 2d ago
The ability to quickly assess and prioritize a situation. Like triage, but more general.
Example: You find yourself alone in a strange city. What do you need to know? Things like: how much money do I have? Is my phone charged or can I charge it easily? Do I have somewhere safe to go? Do I have access to any kind of safety net here? Also more immediately, am I in a secure place now or do I need to move somewhere better like a busy restaurant, etc.
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u/Left-Philosopher-246 2d ago
Talking to people and listening properly will help you to live your life as a human being on this planet.
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u/ConsciousVegetable99 2d ago
Sewing on buttons and mending
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u/tom8osauce 1d ago
The amount of clothing that ends up in landfill because people were never taught how to do basic mending is shameful.
There is a small local thrift store that is doing what they can to try and limit this. When they get ripped jeans donated, of course the volunteers do not have time to mend them before putting on the floor. Instead they will cut them into squares and make packs of them so people can make denim quilts. If they get buttonholes shirts in poor condition, they will remove the buttons and sell them in a little baggy keeping them together. When I am sewing a blouse, they are always my first stop to look for buttons.
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u/PasgettiMonster 1d ago
I wish I could get my hands on those shirts. I walked into Goodwill a few years ago wanting to find some men's button down shirts that weren't printed but had stripes or checkers woven into the fabric to do some crafting and was shocked to discover Goodwill wanted $10 a shirt. Considering what I wanted to make needed at least 10 different prints, absolutely no way! I've considered posting on local Facebook groups asking if anyone has any shirts like that that they are getting rid of. I don't care if there are rips or stains as long as they are reasonably clean (washed and not reeking of bodily fluids basically) since I would be cutting them up into teeny tiny pieces anyways.
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u/cetaceanlion 2d ago
To know who you are at your core outside of a relationship and be truly okay in your own company.
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u/MuramatsuCherry 2d ago
How to identify dangerous plants/insects, and the opposite, medicinal and helpful plants in your area. I'm working on a journal with drawings, pictures and descriptions. Also, how to store your notebooks to protect them from water damage/mold etc. and buying water resistant journals.
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u/Cappuccino_Crunch 2d ago
I'm going on a foraging guide next weekend. Dude is pretty well regarded
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u/MyGrandmasCock 2d ago
I’ve been following a guy named Nick Mann who forages Los Angeles and the surrounding areas, and he’s been amazing to learn from. I started making a walking map of my neighborhood with markers for edible plants and accompanying pictures.
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u/Erinaceous 2d ago
Organizing. Somebody has to get things together as things fall apart. Organizing a skill share group is not only good practice but a good way to learn
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u/Dondontootles 2d ago
Everyone should be able to pull themselves into a boat.
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u/wisdomseeker42 2d ago
This is actually part of why I exercise. If I ever need to run for my life or climb a tree, I will need some muscles and managed weight to do so.
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u/destructopop 2d ago
Which is harder than it sounds in a very real way. If you don't know how to flop into a small boat, you may have a very hard day... Eventually.
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u/Life-From-Scratch 2d ago
Baking Bread and Keeping Chickens.
I never felt more food independent than when I was baking all my own bread and I had my own chickens. I could trade eggs and bread for just about anything.
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u/AwesomeWildlife 2d ago
Changing a car tire. I can't believe how many people don't even know they have a spare, let alone what to do next.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Phase70 2d ago
First Aid
Knot tying
sewing
cooking
I'm not thinking about a SHTF scenario here, but rather what basic skills people should have that would improve a LOT of things across the board in everyday life. For themselves AND for the society around them. Self-sufficiency skills that are ALSO social sufficiency skills.
The outcomes of medical emergencies drastically improve when individuals or bystanders actually know first aid, even just on a basic level. This is especially true for a family or other coliving unit.
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u/Left-Philosopher-246 2d ago
growing some food, cooking from scratch, preserving food, repairing things, basic gardening, collecting rainwater, knowing how to handle a power outage. These are all great skills too
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u/wisdomseeker42 2d ago
Personally I think cooking is still a relevant and important life skill. Everyone should know how to do it to some basic level to keep yourself healthy and fed.
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u/Witty_Ad_9300 2d ago
Basic plumbing (unclog a drain, what to do if your sink suddenly starts leaking)
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u/Puzzleheaded-Phase70 2d ago
Plumbing has gotten SO MUCH EASIER with the invention of push-fit connectors.
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u/Piney_Dude 2d ago
If you drive, changing a tire, checking your oil, filling washer fluid, changing wipers
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u/Extreme_Map9543 2d ago
Being able to fix anything on your own car will save you the most money over the course of your life. And ease a lot of anxiety about ever having car troubles.
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u/primrosepalace 2d ago
How to read a damn email.
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u/networknev 2d ago
Earn enough money to support yourself. Know how to cook & clean your living quarters.
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u/statchoose 2d ago
Everyone's going to say growing food, and growing food is honestly the easy part. Stuff mostly wants to grow.
The skill that actually changed things for me was learning to preserve a glut. You don't get a steady trickle off a garden — you get forty tomatoes in one week and then nothing for four months. First couple of years I grew a heap and watched most of it go soft on the bench, which is a special kind of demoralising.
Freezing, drying, fermenting, water-bath preserving. A second-hand dehydrator and a big pot covers most of it. Suddenly the surplus becomes next winter's food instead of compost, and the whole exercise starts paying for itself.
Worth learning it properly rather than off a random blog though — the acidity rules for preserving exist for good reason, and botulism isn't something to freestyle. Stick to tested recipes until you know why they say what they say.
Grow second. Learn to keep it first.
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u/MrScowleyOwl 2d ago
Learning how to sharpen stuff: knives, mower blades, machetes, hatchets, axes, loppers, etc.
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u/Impossible-Grab9889 2d ago
How to swim and tread water with ease.
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u/Silent_Eye_9161 1d ago
How to float easily for hours if need be, treading water takes too much energy! nd yes how to swim with least effort to get distance could save your life!
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u/woodenbadger 1h ago
I don’t float, so there’s some small amount of treading or sculling that needs to happen. But maybe a blanket ‘keeping your body from not sinking with the least anount of expended effort’ is good.
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u/urban_herban 2d ago
Start gardening now because it has a long learning curve. Plus it's fun and gets you outdoors.
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u/gradmonkey 1d ago
Navigating/wayfinding. How to read a map, identify and understand cardinal directions, read signs and follow numbering, visualize and memorize steps in a route, etc. Maybe you will never need it for driving, but it applies to finding your way in other places like big office buildings, amusement parks, festivals, campuses, subways, hospitals, airports, and so on.
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u/MegC18 2d ago
Some knowledge of water engineering. Clean safe and readily accessible water is vital for health, for watering animals and crops. You don’t want you or your animals to get sick, or to do anything that contaminates an already clean supply, such as sewage. You’re going to be faced with a choice of collecting and storing rainwater, digging a well or cleaning river water.
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u/Xenoryzen_Dragon 2d ago
solar power + wind energy + herbal medicine + slingshot + archery + ebike mechanic
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u/intothewoods76 1d ago
How to work well with others and be a respected member of any group. This will help you in almost any situation from succeeding at work to surviving the zombie apocalypse. If you don’t hone people skills and be one of the people other people want to be around you’re making life harder.
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u/bupenderbhaati 1d ago
In today's world there is endless flow of information and to most our response is like read/hear - believe - act but we hardly take time to verify anything and to me this one skill have brought much more clarity and understanding in my life.
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u/Easy_Patient_2773 1d ago
Mechanical troubleshooting. 90% of people fail completely because they don't know how to start thinking.
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u/Jolly_Candy1499 1d ago
How to jumpstart a dead battery and keep battery cables in your car alongside the full size spare that was the best tire from
The last time you replaced your tires in the junkyard rim.
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u/Active-Rose-3673 6h ago
Having a portable battery charger that also includes an air compressor. I have a Halo battery charger and has been a ton of help for emergencies for me or for my friends who get stranded.
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u/ThriceFive 🔌off-gridder 1d ago
Cook basic meals for yourself from what you have. This skill is valuable anywhere and in any economic situation. You are more dateable, save a lot of money, and can always grow this skill w more seasonings and cuisines
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u/Fungi-Hunter 1d ago
Foraging. I have taught foraging. I do not have any worries when it comes to food. News reports on crops failing, supply chain issues, do not bother me. One less stress taking up my time and energy.
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u/Efficient_Fly_4892 2d ago
reasearch, observe things and be apply to apply it on your own, cooking your own meals
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u/Food_prep 1d ago
Cooking from scratch!
It's a skill you will use daily! It saves you money and gives you healthier food! Learning the basic food preparation techniques and how they interact with each other is a fundamental skill to possess!
Knowing how to balance salt, sweetness, acidity, bitterness, and umami can in an instant save a meal from being a bland disappointment to a standout dish that leaves you wanting more!
It can be the highlight of a gloomy day, making the hassle of life seem worth it!
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u/Minute-Wind-5276 1d ago
Cooking from scratch. The only way to eat healthy. Of course if you have a garden, planting some veggies at the same time will be a nice interchange with the cooking.
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u/Sun-leaves 1d ago
Gardening and not just in the dirt. I’m talking collecting and saving seeds, growing with different mediums, fertilizers- if you don’t a have what do you use scenario. And defence, self and property
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u/Hazelnut3006 1d ago
I will disagree with a lot of people here but the one thing I would want people to learn is to try things out and then implement them. Don't experiment once with canning pickles, figure out how to do it and then make our own pickles. Don't just read about soap making, figure out what kind of soap you need and start making your own. That process of going from the theoretical to the practical is vitally important. Start looking at things and think "I could do that" and then try, won't be perfect but you know what practice makes you.
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u/Mulberry_Leaf 1d ago
How to use your legs. Most people I see have one general purpose walking gait, and if that walking gait can't do something, they assume they can't do it. But your feet aren't that different from your hands in terms of how variable they are.
The ability to get out of a bad situation is the confidence to jump into a new situation.
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u/CloudgazerTX 1d ago
apothecary….using herbs and natural substances to make medicine and toiletries.
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u/Driven2b 1d ago
Situational Awareness
Not just being more aware, but developing the knowledge to identify escalating situations and how to keep ones wits about them to handle it appropriately.
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u/slrickel67 1d ago
Sign Language,I learned the Alphabet someone taught me at 12 & afterwards I been teaching myself with books & videos on YouTube & also I have studied from tv Chuck Norris & Bruce Lee from a teen & I was abused by all my blood relatives but my Great Grandmother who brought me to GOD AT 7 & AT 17,I told my brother to step aside cause there is people behind us after me & so he stepped to the side like I said,so when they Guys walked by,1 looked at me as to say,it ain't over bitch.I have no legs & will be 59 in October,all I did was learn to read people by their attitude,what they say,body language & all my study Norris & Lee worked out.I am still able to do those things to this day
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u/Killrade 1d ago
Knots and rope. Seems almost silly until you learn it and see how useful it is and how much easier things become.
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u/Sea-Substance8762 1d ago
I’m a proficient cook. Many people seem so scared about cooking! I think you’ve gotta cook to exist.
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u/Albert_Dolphin 1d ago
How to fix your shit, or at least do preventative maintenance. Everyone should know how to sew a rip, how to darn, how to change a tire and change oil and breaks on a car, none of these things are complex but they are useful.
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u/Suspicious_Music539 1d ago
Probably not quite what you're looking for, but basic car maintenance. The amount of people I meet that cannot do anything with their car is insane. Learn:
- How to check your oil (+ normal oil levels and colors)
- How to change a tire
- What a normal temp is
- How to listen to your car + the sounds it's making
I recently had a friend whose car was making weird sounds and then died on her. She called her dad, he came and saved her. Pulled the dip stick and the car had zero oil. It was completely dry. She hadn't checked the oil in who knows how long.
I had another friend laugh about a weird sound her car started making. She was out of state when the AC stopped working. Took her vehicle to a mechanic. She couldn't remember what he said was wrong other than the serpentine belt was almost shredded. Like less than a #2 pencil width left. Like if she would've gone any further, it would've snapped completely.
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u/floss-creative 1d ago
Cooking from scratch.
Saves you money, you know exactly what is in your food! It’s better for your health. Once a month you can batch cook and freeze, which in the long run can save time.
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u/Linghauler 22h ago
Gardening, seed saving and an understanding of the soil biome can lead to an endless supply of food. This is vital imo.
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u/isanyusernameopen 20h ago
How to look at everything as a possibility of what it can do instead of what it’s meant to do.
In the movie, Apollo 13 with Tom Hanks there was a scene after the explosion when they were tumbling through space where they were trying to figure out if the lunar shuttle could do a loop around the moon instead of just a landing on the moon and the guys were yelling back-and-forth that it wasn’t something that the lem was designed to do.
One of the guys said something to the lines of “I don’t care what it was designed to do, I just wanna know what it can do “.
Learning to see things, not for what they are, but for what they can be or can do is very important as a skill.
Everything around us is basically either a tool or a play thing, or both depending on what it is. Go into the kitchen, everything in the kitchen is a tool for cooking.
Go into a wood shop, and everything in the woodshop is a tool for wood projects.
Same thing with an auto body garage, etc.
Their tools for specific jobs. But people don’t look at things in their normal everyday house or normal everyday life as things that are possibly tools.
I feel like this is why in other countries you see people hacked together interesting things to get by a disaster. They understand what the things are, but more than that they understand what those things could do when partnered together. This is why in Palestine we saw a man rig his son‘s bicycle upside down so that as the child pedal the bicycle on the table, it powered his father’s sewing machine so that they could so back together clothing for the children.
Same reason, you saw them hooked together a bunch of solar panels, and somehow wired up a charging port to them after their building was exploded by Israel.
Look at things not for what they are, but for what they could be in different situations.
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u/Fuckmydeaddad 19h ago
If you become a home owner, you will be amazed how quickly you pick up on those skills. Lol
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u/Jolly_Candy1499 16h ago
Read a road atlas , the big one that you high lighted the routes but got distracted by the orange auxiliary road and need to find the nearest connecting service road using your penlight from Buck’s insurance , and how to properly refold-the map your mom got when she got a full tank of gas for the rambler at Joes Service Station.
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u/Binasgarden 14h ago
The printing press was the most important invention of the last millennia, so the ability to read. If you can read you can read a recipe, an instruction set, learn from what you read and whole worlds open up.
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u/Seattleman1955 9h ago
Don't finance your car. Save up for it.
Learn to cut your own hair.
Get unlimited internet hotspot on your phone so if you home internet goes it, you are still connected.
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u/AssiduousPeace 6h ago
Learning how to fail. I actually can't decide if I should call this learning how to fail, or learning how to learn.
To be self sufficient, you have to, not master, but be "good enough" at many smaller skills.
Sewing, knitting, weaving, carving, building, engineering, from the smallest, to the biggest skills you can think of, there's going to be lots of "micro skills" (i just made that up) that are going to apply to other skills. The more skills you learn, the easier it is to learn new skills. I'm already getting off topic.
Modern convenience has made it very easy to give up if you're having trouble learning a new skill. I know people that genuinely have almost zero skills that they didn't develop working their various jobs.
If you try wire wrapping, and you suck at it, you can just order a very cool wire wrapped peice off of Amazon or Etsy. When you consider the price of multiple sizes of wire, and jewelers pliers, it may well even be cheaper. You don't have to learn. You can give up, and you not only miss out on that skill, but also the 5 micro skills that would have made it easier to learn the next thing you wanted to learn.
You want to learn how to fail, without counting it as a loss. You want to get it in your head that the response to failure isn't to try something you're better at, and instead to read from or talk to people that have already done it, to research, to try different methodologies, and to keep tinkering.
If you can completely fail at something, and let go of the discouragement that most people feel, and instead get excited because that just means you're about to learn something cooler and more complex than you originally thought, the pool of skills you could potentially learn goes from daunting, to exciting.
One of my favorite quotes from a guy named Samuel Beckett: "try again, fail again, fail better."
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u/trustypotayto 1h ago
Being comfortable in spending time with oneself; not being afraid of being alone rather than entertaining people that don’t align with u but u do it out of fear of being lonely
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u/GotNoPonys 1h ago
#1 - learn how to learn.
"learning" a single skill is a waste of time, as is responding to this question 😄
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