Important Skills For The Apocalypse

Today, we live in a fast pace replaceable world. Nothing seems to last longer than a few days, but we as a society have grown accustomed to this. Why take care of things when we can replace them just as fast as we bought them? You can order just about anything you could think of online, and have it on your doorstep by nightfall the next day. Many people forget that this luxurious on-demand lifestyle could end in a blink of an eye. Here are some skills that’ll be useful in the apocalypse that many of us forgot how to do.

Clothing Repair

Today, we live in a world where clothes are designed more for looks than functionality. We toss 400 million pounds of clothes away every year. People are always in a hurry these days, so it’s easier and faster to replace a garment than to fix it. Because of this, 60% of people in the US. cannot sew or mend clothing. Even though over the last few years we’ve seen a slight interest in those wanting to learn this skill, it still made no significant change in these numbers. In the apocalypse, you’ll need to make your clothes last, as this might be the last shirt you’ll own for a while.

Cobbler Work

No, I’m not talking about the baked treat. A cobbler is someone who makes shoes, and sometimes socks, for consumers. Back in the day, shoes were hand-crafted in mom-and-pop shops across the country. Today, they are mass-produced and sold at low prices in big box stores. Because of this, we usually make them out of poor quality material, resulting in them falling apart faster than usual. During the apocalypse, you’ll be doing a lot more walking than you are used to, so you should splurge on good-quality hiking boots. You should also learn how to take care of them.

Doing Laundry

We as a society have become so dependent on our electric washer and dryer that we forgot how to do laundry by hand. 96% of people in North America use them to clean clothes regularly, hand washing only those that require it. Doing laundry is an unavoidable task that, without electricity, will become a long and difficult one. Depending on the size of your family, it will take you all day to do a single load of laundry. If you don’t want to spend all your time scrubbing dirty underwear, then invest in a hand-crack washing machine like a Wonder Wash. It might only handle a couple of articles, but it will speed up the process for you.

Cooking

Most people don’t have time to cook, so they depend on those dinner box meals or frozen family-style TV dinners to feed their home. According to a recent survey, 28% of Americans can’t cook basic dishes, with one in four lacking the ability to even boil an egg. Cooking during the apocalypse though is going to be vastly different from what you think it will be. 99% of households own a cooking appliance of some kind, with 63% of that being an electric stove. All cooking appliances from an air fryer to a toaster runs on electricity. The gas lines are all on an electric operating system. With blackouts being the most common disaster, you’ll need to learn to cook over an open fire or with a grill.

Orienteering

Ever since the GPS was released to the public in 1983, we slowly have moved away from the art of map reading. Now, since they come built-in on our phones, many of the newer generations often go their whole lives without ever seeing a map book. The problem with depending on electrical devices to guide is they require frequent charging from a power source. Electronics are often the first victims of an EMP attack. Most are not waterproof and can get destroyed by flooding or heavy rains. This is probably the most difficult skill to learn, but in the end, it’ll be worth it. By gaining a basic understanding of Orienteering, you’ll be able to plan scavenging trips better or set up bartering routes.