Suburban Homesteading – Frugal Living

I saw this list of 101 homesteading skills and thought it would be fun to see how many of them I already knew how to do. After reading it over and checking them off I was surprised at how many I already use or knew how to do. It also gave me a good list of new skills to learn. Not all of them will pertain to a suburban homestead, but the list would be a good stating point for anyone trying to improve their knowledge of homesteading. And, I’m sure if we put our minds to it we could come up with 1001 things a homesteader should know.

Just for fun see how many you already know then make plans to learn a few new ones in 2013!

1. to use a chainsaw safely
√ to grow a vegetables & herbs
√  to sharpen an edged tool – knife, axe, hoe, chisel etc.
√ to use and store firearms safety
√  to tan rabbit skins
6. to read the weather
7. to spin wool, cotton or angora into thread or yarn using a spinning wheel or drop spindle
√ to use long handles tools without hurting your back
√ to light a fire indoors or outdoors
√ to buy at an auction without paying too much

√ to mend clothes
√ to butcher rabbits or chickens
√ to hang clothes on a clothesline
√ to operate & maintain a tiller
15. the unique traits of different trees & their types of wood
√ to cook from scratch
17. to pasteurize milk
√ to conserve & save water
√ to recognize healthy plants & animals versus unhealthy

√ basic sewing skills
√ to ear tag or tattoo an animal
√ to tell an animal’s age by its teeth
23. to replace a broken window
√ to drive a stick shift

25. Learn how to thaw out frozen pipes without busting them

√ to graft a fruit tree
27. to hand thresh & winnow wheat or oats & other small grains
28. to train a working cattle or sheep dog
29. to read the moon and stars
√ to make cheese
√ to live within your means
√ to catch, clean & fillet a fish

33. to use a wash tub, hand-wringer and washboard
√ to make soap or detergent

√ to build a bunk planter
√ to can canning & preserve food
√ to save seeds
√ to de-horn livestock
√ basic leather work or repair
√ to plan for the future – orchard, livestock program, or energy sources
√ to repair with duct tape, baling twine or whatever is on hand
√ to read an almanac
√ to put down an animal
√ to cook on an open fire
√ entertain yourself without electronic media
√ to shear a sheep, electric & hand
√ to maintain shears
√ to swap, barter and network with like-minded people
√ to make candles
50. to dig & use a shallow well
√ to refinish furniture
52. to drive a draft animal
√  to realistically deal with life, death and failure
√ to use & maintain an oil lamp
√ to treat livestock injuries
√ to restrain large livestock
√  to use a sewing machine
√ to give an IM or Sub-Q injection
√ to properly use hand tools
√ to recognize your own physical and mental limits
√ how and when to prune grapes and fruit trees
√ to hatch out eggs
63. to use a scythe
64. to skin a furred animal & stretch the skin
65. to tell the time of day by the sun
√ to milk a goat, sheep or cow
√ to stomach tube a newborn animal
√  to butcher large livestock
√ to use a wood stove & to bank a fire
√ to make butter
71. to knit or crochet
√ to make & use a hot bed or cold frame
√ to deliver a piglet, calf, lamb or goat
74. to know when winter is over
√ to plant a tree
√ to brood day-old chicks
77. to dye yarn or cloth from plants
√ to haggle like a horse trader
√ to bake bread from scratch
80. to use a pressure tank garden sprayer
√ to halter break a horse, cow, sheep or goat
√ to graft baby animals onto a foster-mother
83. to weave cloth
√ to grow kitchen herbs
√ to make sausage
√ to set and bait traps for unwanted vermin and predators
√ to grind wheat into flour
88. to make paper and ink
89. to learn when it is more economical to buy ready-made or make it yourself
√ to castrate large livestock
√ to choose a location for a vegetable garden or orchard
92. to weave a basket
93. to use electric netting or fencing
√ to make fire starters

95. to use a pressure cooker
96. to correctly attach 3 point hitch implements to a tractor
√ to trim hooves of goats or sheep
√ to sew a quilt
99. to make wine or beer
√ basic plumbing & electrical
√ to shoot a rifle & handgun

73 down

28 to go!

Not bad. Not bad at all!!