(Photo: new knitting needles & yarn sitting on a blanket I crocheted a few weeks ago.)
I am now the owner of a pair of size 6 knitting needles and a skein of 100% organic cotton yarn (which, by the way, is GORGEOUS and so soft!). Using my 40% off coupon made the yarn affordable. And tonight I will search for video tutorials online and learn to knit. First project: a nice, rectangular hand towel. LOL. Yep!
Last week I bought a spindle and some wool fiber on Etsy and learned to spin yarn, using YouTube tutorials. I'm not going to be spinning award-winning artisan yarn anytime soon, but it's a good start just to know some basics.
And the week before that, I was ordering organic, heirloom seeds online and got a couple of packets of cotton seeds. You just never know how handy that might be someday! Now I can grow fiber and make my own thread to repair clothes if I need to. Simple skills, inexpensive purchases - but they will make a whole world of difference in a post-peak oil world if I can't get basic supplies. And it reduces my potential "stockpile" of STUFF if I am able to make my own things. I like that!
I registered to have a spot in the County-sponsored community garden this year. I will be able to learn to grow an organic garden hands-on. I don't know how to garden. I thought I did, actually, because when I was a kid my Mom always grew a summer veggie garden. I helped plant seeds, weed, water the garden and harvest. A couple of years ago I mentored a child and we grew a garden. Sort of. I learned that just planting and watering does not guarantee garden success. We got a couple of small cucumbers and a bunch of radishes, mostly. Nothing else grew very well, but we did have a fun time trying. This year will be a more serious gardening effort, however. I will keep a notebook, read, watch videos and take any cheap/free classes I can find, to learn to grow a healthy and productive garden. I intend to use my harvest to learn to can and preserve food, and see how long it will last me throughout the year.
So, you may have already gleaned that the point of this post is that learning sustainable skills is important! I don't think I need to hoard a bunch of stuff to "survive." If I develop some basic,old-fashioned homesteading skills I will be way ahead of the curve!
This is where I suggest starting to plan for the future: make a list of skills you have and of those skills you would like to learn. Then add skills you think you probably need to learn (even if they don't sound fun). Then go online and start searching for local groups, craftspeople and artisan collectives who can teach you these skills. Reach out to them or simply sign up for a class or lecture. Go to YouTube and look for DIY (do it yourself) videos and bookmark them- and actually practice the skills. Buy inexpensive tools, locally made, if possible.
I can't tell you what skills you'll need - that will depend on your lifestyle and what is important to you. Brainstorm. Make lists. Prioritize.
If you need a starting point, this is a good article:
http://www.activistpost.com/2010/11/10-skills-needed-to-thrive-in-post.html
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