25 Life Skills to Learn Before Hard Times Arrive

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

The future isn’t looking all that bright for everyone. We all know we’re on shaky ground. Some people see this and are loading up on supplies, which is great, but it’s not everything. You need life skills to survive scenarios like an economic depression or possibly war.

We’re not talking about building a shelter or starting a fire. Let’s assume you’re going to be staying in your home. There are certain life skills you’ll need for basic survival without access or the ability to pay for services we take for granted now. 

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Animal Care

Veterinarians are expensive! Many things you can handle on your own from domestic pets to livestock. You’ll want to brush up on how to handle births, injuries, and illnesses your animals might pick up. You don’t always need a vet to fix your pet. 

Here's a guide to recognizing and caring for a sick pet.

Bartering

Bartering is tricky. Depending on the situation, some things will be more valuable than others. It’s important you know the value of a roll of toilet paper or a dozen eggs. You don’t want to give away the farm so to speak.

Bartering is going to be a skill you need to learn the nuances, like knowing when to hold your ground and how to sweeten the pot to get what you want. It’s not something that comes naturally to everyone. 

Here's how to barter when money has no meaning.

Carpentry

There’s a good chance you’re going to make your own outbuildings for animals or to keep your wood dry. You might need to build a fence. Figure out how to build now. You don’t have to be a master carpenter but you should know how to build a basic structure that will hold up in the weather. 

Here are some carpentry basics for beginners.

Changing a Tire

If we get a flat these days, roadside assistance is right there to help. You’ll need to learn how to do it yourself. It’s not that hard. Yes, it’s a little dirty but if you keep gloves around, you’ll be fine. 

Here's how to change a tire.

Chopping Wood

Learn the art of chopping wood with or without a chainsaw. There are some learning curves to saving yourself a lot of additional labor, like using the right ax and knowing where to hit a log. You need to learn which wood to cut for heat and what works best for cooking over an open fire. 

Here's how to split wood.

Cleaning without Electricity

A clean house is important to staying healthy. Robot vacuums, or vacuums in general are not always an option. If you don’t know how, learn how to wash dishes by hand while using the least amount of water possible.

Get familiar with sweeping, including your carpets. If you can find one, manual carpet sweepers will keep your carpets clean. Beating rugs with a broom handle is another option. If you can swing it, handheld vacuum cleaners could be charged with a solar charger.

Community Building

If you are simply unable to physically handle some of the manual labor that is required to survive, be prepared to rely on your community. Reach out and learn what skills people have now. If you can’t change a tire, trade your cooking skills to have someone help you out.

Building a community requires a lot of patience, understanding and compromise. It’s not always about loving they neighbor, but it’s about maximizing strengths and not getting bogged down in drama. 

Here's how to build a survival community.

Cooking from Scratch

This is something that has gone out of fashion in the last thirty years or so. Guess what, we all need to know how to make dinner without popping a complete frozen meal in the microwave.

This is going to require some cookbooks. Actual cookbooks, just in case you don’t have access to the internet. Learn how to make your own breads, pasta and sauces. This is a huge cost saver and you’re family will appreciate tailoring the recipe to suit your family’s needs. 

Here's a guide to cooking from scratch for beginners.

Cooking without Electricity

Cooking with a Dutch oven or cast iron over an open fire has a learning curve. You might be able to cook on a camp stove or even a charcoal grill. It’s not like cooking with an oven today. You’ll need to learn how much heat to cook something without turning it to charcoal. 

Here's how to cook without electricity.

Firearms

If you need to protect yourself, imagine police aren’t readily available, you need to know how to handle a gun. It’s also wise to learn how to clean it to keep it in good condition for when you need it. 

Here's a beginner's guide to guns.

First Aid Skills

If you can’t afford to run to the doctor for every booboo, you’ll need a stock first aid kit (look into plants and natural meds) to handle things at home. It’s a good idea to have a first aid manual on hand as well. Collect things like wraps, braces, slings and crutches from thrift stores and have at the ready for when an inevitable injury occurs. 

Here are some basic first aid skills you should learn.

Fishing

Fishing isn’t just for fun in a survival situation. It would be a better use of your time to learn how to make a fishnet or fish basket. You won’t have hours to waste hoping to catch a single fish, especially if you’re trying to feed a family. It’s also a good idea to learn about bait and what works for what you’re trying to catch. 

Here's a beginner's guide to fishing.

Food Preservation

If you don’t have electricity to run a fridge or freezer, you’ll need a way to preserve foods like cheese and meat. Dairy will also be tricky but people have been doing it for thousands of years, you can too. Learn how to smoke and dry meat. Look into something called dry canning and building your own dehydrator to preserve fruits and vegetables. 

Here's a beginner's guide to preserving the harvest.

Gardening

This is a skill you will find on just about every survival preparation checklist. That’s because it’s a crucial skill to have. You need to know how to grow your own food.

Knowing the ins and outs of natural fertilizers and pesticides ensures your labor into preparing soil, planting seeds and watering isn’t all for not. Learn companion planning and crop rotation to get the most from your garden.

Here's a beginner's guide to gardening.

Getting Around without a Car

If you get winded walking across the street, it’s a good idea to start getting in shape. It’s not about being skinny, it’s about endurance. You’ll be walking or if you’re lucky, riding a bike. Gas may not be available or too expensive to waste on quick trips that could be done via walking or biking. 

Home Security

Fancy security systems are great, but not always affordable or practical in a long-term power outage. You can take care of your own security by installing dead bolts or locking mechanisms on windows. Installing rustic alarms, think tin cans on a door, is also an option. 

Here are some basic home security tips.

How to Read a Map

GPS might be out. If you are going to be on the move, it would be wise to know where you are going or the best roads to use to stay off main roads. Reading maps is a skill few people know anymore. You’ll want to know what the terrain might be like and if you are going to encounter water. All of this is on a map. 

Here's how to read a map and contour lines.

Home Repair 

Little things like rehanging a door or how to hang plywood or a tarp over a broken window requires very little skill. Know the difference between a Phillips screwdriver and a star bit.

You’ll have to take on tasks around the house that you might normally pay someone to do. This includes some very basic electrical work, like replacing an outlet or disconnecting an obnoxious doorbell. 

Here are 98 home repairs you don't need to call a pro for.

Hunting

Again, this is on every survival list. You need food and a lot of people are carnivores and want their meat. Shooting an animal is not easy. Practice now. Learn how to track animals. Don’t rely solely on guns. Bow hunting and trapping are also options that won’t require expensive ammunition. 

Here is a guide to hunting for beginners.

Laundry without Electricity

Washing clothes like our ancestors is not hard. You could buy a hand crank washer now or in a pinch, a five-gallon bucket and a toilet plunger will do the trick. Check out some online tutorials on how to make a washing apparatus. A washboard is a hand tool to have as well. And for drying clothes, a clothesline or drying rack is the ticket. 

Here's how to wash clothes by hand.

Mechanical Skills

Along with knowing how to change your own tire, you should know how to change your oil, brakes and do tune-ups on your vehicle. Many of these things are pretty easy to learn. People don’t bother because there’s no need when there’s a mechanic on every corner. 

Here are 10 basic car maintenance skills everyone should have.

Plumbing

Plumbers are expensive if you’re lucky enough to get one to come out to clear a drain. Plumbing is a dirty job, but it’s not all that technical. You can snake your own drain with a manual snake.

Learn how to clear a drain or replace a broken pipe. This goes for toilets as well. Learn how to remove a toilet if you have to clear a clog that is too much for a plunger or fix a toilet that won’t quit running. 

Here's a guide to plumbing for beginners.

Recycling

Sanitation can get expensive. Not that you can do without garbage service, but if it’s not an option, you’ll need to know how to deal with your garbage. Recycling is one way to greatly reduce trash. Food scraps can be used in a compost pile (this goes to gardening).

Many containers can be reused to hold water or food. Always think outside of the box. You might not be able to buy a particular something, but you might be able to make do with something that would have normally gone to the trash. 

Here are some things you should stop trashing and start reusing.

Resource Management

No one likes the idea of rationing, but it might soon become a fact of life. Learn how to stretch things by rationing food and other supplies. It’s not that hard to do with a little less.

As a society, we are very wasteful. We don’t even realize how wasteful we are until we are counting pennies. You’ll need to plan meals and the ingredients. Look for substitutions that are easier and cheaper to find. 

Sewing

Sewing by hand will be needed to mend clothes, but it wouldn’t hurt to have and know how to use a sewing machine. You’ll need to understand how to make a pattern and follow it. You’ll also need to familiarize yourself with different stitches bases on what you are sewing and the fabric. 

Here are the basics of sewing.

Final Thoughts

These skills are not a complete list but it gives you a jumping off point to become more self-reliant now. Just think of all the money you’ll save by doing for yourself. You can put that money to getting out of debt or buying more supplies. 

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