With sites like Upwork and TaskRabbit existing these days, you can outsource just about any skill you want to. There’s a certain pride you get to take in yourself for being able to perform the skill yourself though; not to mention the fact that many skills can either save you tons of money or even safe a life.
With that in mind, here are 10 skills that, in my opinion, everyone should possess themselves.
How to Build a Campfire
Not only should you be able to successfully build a campfire, but you should be able to do so without the use of matches or lighters. Should you ever find yourself stranded somewhere, building a fire is one of the most important skills you can have to help ensure your survival. It keeps you warm and keeps your spirits up while you either make your way to safety, or wait for it to come to you.
How to Tie a Bowline Knot
The rabbit comes up out of the hole, around the tree, and back down into the hole; easy-peasy. The Bowline know is one of the easiest and most useful knots you can know how to tie.
How to Change a Tire
This is one of the most important skills in this list. You can change a tire on your car with just a couple basic tools: a car jack and a lug wrench, both of which you should keep in your car at all times. It helps to have work gloves and tire wedges as well.
Most cars in North America come with a spare tire either under the surface of the trunk or attached to the back of the vehicle. Knowing how to swap out a flat can make all the difference – it can even keep you from having to use the first two skills in this list 🙂
How to Paint a Room
Painting a room is one of those skills that is both easy to learn, and can save you thousands of dollars in the long run. Yes, painting a room properly can take a bit of time and patience, but the money you’ll save by doing it yourself instead of hiring a crew of painters is often well worth the effort.
How to Replace a Light Fixture
Replacing a light fixture – or a light switch, for that matter – is dead-simple once you know how it’s done. There are plenty of videos and articles online that walk you through the process.
The most important thing when replacing a light fixture or switch is to do it with the power to the fixture – or the whole house – completely off. You don’t want any shocking surprises when you go to connect the wires.
How Hold a Chef’s Knife
Using a chef’s knife properly is not only safer, but it actually speeds up your chopping and cutting. The key to holding the knife properly is to loop your middle, ring and pinky finger around the handle while grasping the base of the blade with your thumb and forefinger. Holding the knife this way gives you more control with less exertion; once you try it, you’ll never go back!
How to Repair or Replace a Faucet
Whether you’re just changing a washer to stop a faucet from leaking, or replacing the entire faucet, this is a task that sounds daunting to many homeowners, yet is actually really simple in reality. I’ve done it successfully with some basic house tools and nothing more than an online article as my guide. Just remember – turn the water to your faucet off before disconnecting any pipes, and keep a bucket and/or rag handy to soak up any excess that spills out!
How to Unclog a Toilet
If you don’t know how to properly plunge a toilet, we’ve got a problem. Again, unless you’ve REALLY messed things up, this is another task you should never need to call a plumber for. Start with your plunger, and layer in other solutions – like hot water and dish soap, or an auger if you’re really feeling adventurous – as needed from there.
How to Perform CPR
This is right at the top of the list in terms of important skills to have. Knowing how to properly perform CPR can literally make the difference between life or death for someone else, and for that reason, it’s a skill I firmly believe we should all possess.
If you’re not trained in CPR but would like to be, reach out to your local St John Ambulance branch about booking yourself into a training session.
How to Swim
You don’t need to enjoy swimming to grasp the importance of knowing how to do it. If you ever find yourself in a body of water that is deeper than your head, knowing how to swim again can mean the difference between life and death. You owe it to yourself to learn to do it, and it’s never too late to take lessons.
Wrapping it Up
The list of skills everyone should know is way longer than this, and I know I left off a bunch of really useful and important skills in putting this one together. So tell me, what skills would you add to the list? Self-defense? Jump-start a car? Grow your own vegetables? Stave off the zombie apocalypse? I’m all ears – tell me about them in the comments!
