Survival Skill #4 Make Stuff

Another skill to help you survive hard times? Make stuff. If you take a look around your home, you will find many consumer goods that you can make yourself. Aside from complex technological goods and alloying metal, many things can be created with your own hands (and with practice the items can look quite professional). Here's some ideas:

• Food (everything from pot roast to yogurt to bread)
• Furniture (bookcases, bed frames, desks, etc)
• Jewelry (a great activity for the kids)
• Clothing (with a sewing machine and pattern you will be on your way)
• Medicine (plants are the basis of many medicines)
• Crafty things (paper, candles, weaving)
• Home decor (curtains, paintings)
• A car (some people piece together working vehicles from parts)
• Personal products (soap, toothpaste, laundry soap)
• Grow a garden or flowers (grow your own food and medicine)
• Breed animals (technically you are helping to make a new animal)
• Raise chickens for eggs and meat (make your own eggs in a manner of speaking)
• Treats (candy, cookies, cinnamon rolls)
• Music (if each family member plays an instrument you will have a band!)
• Special food (dog food, baby food)
• Write a poem to your beloved (instead of buying a trinket that will soon be forgotten)
• Make a special card for a birthday or anniversary instead of buying one (ditto)
• Special skills will allow you to make shoes, weld a fireplace insert, even build a house

There are many more things you can make yourself if you just think about it. And, if there is something you want to make but don't know how, simply Google the topic and you will find a wide range of instructions.