Life skills?

[Ultralight]

Pardon any redundancy in this post, but I was thinking about life skills.

Some of us seem to have them almost innately. Some of us seem to not have them (almost innately)! haha

And a few of us probably worked really diligently to develop them as the need manifested itself.

So my questions are:

What are the life skills you have or developed that served you best in your simple living goals?

What are some life skills you are currently working on? How do they serve your simple living?

And, if you are a parent, which life skills did you teach to your kids and how did that go?

[Zoe Girl]

I have a few life skills that I passed on to my kids that I think are really important (maybe unique)

* how to cook from scratch
* how to live on very low income, and the value of always having a savings account
* how to pack up a camp (properly) in under an hour

Some minor ones are how to go to a concert and take a shower in under 5 minutes.

[herbgeek]

Life skills:
how to grow, prepare and preserve food in a variety of ways, under a variety of budgets.
how to find stuff I like for cheaper
how to organize/break down a project to get it done the most efficient way- with the least time and money consumed

[Zoe Girl]

I almost forgot! How to sew! I learned from mom and grandma and a home ec class. I found out many years later that my mom hated to sew, but she did all our Halloween costumes, some simple curtains, things like that. As soon as I left for college she gave me the sewing machine and started having the dry cleaner do simple repairs. She is much happier for it. But now and then she will bring me something to fix up. The last project I did for her was to turn a favorite sweater with a lighthouse on it into a pillow for her guest room with a beach theme. I can't tell you how many times being able to sew (and crochet) has helped me make great personalized gifts on a budget and without going to a mall.

[pinkytoe]

Definitely cooking from scratch, sewing and being resourceful in general.
I'd like to learn more about growing food and maintaining things like toilet and faucet "guts".
I taught my daughter to be self-directed/determined/congruent - meaning not dependent on others to tell her what/how to be. I guess that's a core life skill? She refuses to sew but grows food like a champ.

[iris lilies]

Just musing, but I cant see that sewing is a basic life skill (other than sewing buttons, hemming, and fixing straight seams) so I think your daughter made the right choice. I am saying this as somene who has a sewing machine and whodrags it out now and then. I could live without a machine and doing all necessary sewing by hand.

[rodeosweetheart]

I think more than anything, I stressed respect for others and kindness, which go a long, long way in the life skills department.

[Ultralight]

Just musing, but I cant see that sewing is a basic life skill (other than sewing buttons, hemming, and fixing straight seams) so I think your daughter made the right choice. I am saying this as somene who has a sewing machine and whodrags it out now and then. I could live without a machine and doing all necessary sewing by hand.

This makes sense to me. A friend taught me to mend a few things by hand-sewing. You need to be quite a hobbyist to need a machine.

[Chicken lady]

We homeschooled. When was new to it and working on curriculum, a friend told me she stuck to the three basics.

i said "reading, writing, and math?"

She said "no. Manners, how to ask an intelligent question, how to find somebody who is willing to answer it."

they have served my children well.

we also covered nutrition, excercise, housekeeping, general healthy habits and first aid, budgeting, knitting, sewing, gardening, canning, cooking from scratch, carpentry, tile, plumbing, auto mechanics, driving with a clutch, electrical wiring, pottery, animal husbandry for milk, eggs, meat, and fiber, bicycle maintenance, playing at least one musical instrument, how to use a chainsaw, swimming, and using a gun safely.

dd2 picked up crochet on her own. Ds dabbled in black smithing and welding.

[Zoe Girl]

Totally reminded me of the lifetime sport part! I wanted each of my kids to have a sport that they could participate in for the long term. So they swam, lots of masters league or just solo swimming. If they had like football I would have encouraged an additional sport since it is harder to find adult football to play on a regular basis. Softball and soccer seem easier to keep playing as an adult.

[JaneV2.0]

If I have one, it's endurance.

[iris lilies]

This makes sense to me. A friend taught me to mend a few things by hand-sewing. You need to be quite a hobbyist to need a machine.

Maybe we ARE talking about the basic sewing skills, then, a life skill. Sewing by hand, but not by machine.

[Ultralight]

If I have one, it's endurance.

:treadmill:

[Zoe Girl]

Maybe we ARE talking about the basic sewing skills, then, a life skill. Sewing by hand, but not by machine.

I think the basics are a life skill, buttons, emergency hem, etc. Now replacing a zipper or sewing your clothes? that is another category

[Ultralight]

I have worked really hard the past 3 years to become financially literate and responsible.

That is a life skill I wish I had learned as a kid.

[LDAHL]

All I really need to know I learned in my MBA program:

Consider the marginal utility of any contemplated action.

You can't avoid risk, but you should manage it.

Set a reasonable hurdle rate, and you can avoid a lot of wasted effort.

Know your counterparties.

Leverage is a two-edged sword.

Keep good records.

Time is in fact money, provided you assume a reasonable discount rate.

There is a credit for every debit, anyone claiming otherwise is trying to sell you something.

[rodeosweetheart]

Its so funny you flashed on MBA school with this one. I definitely flashed on Sunday School, learning about the golden rule, can remember just where I was sitting, and thinking, when I heard it--Yeah, this is the secret to life!

[Chicken lady]

So, I left out drywall, flooring, balancing a checkbook, filing your taxes, how and why to use birth control, painting a house inside or out, driving a motor boat with or without a skier, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, riding a horse, roller and ice skating, water and snow skiing, and how to polish a pair of shoes.

i never taught any of them to fish or shoot a bow and I don't know why.

and right now I wish one of them knew how to roof or install hvac.

[iris lilies]

So, I left out drywall, flooring, balancing a checkbook, filing your taxes, how and why to use birth control, painting a house inside or out, driving a motor boat with or without a skier, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, riding a horse, roller and ice skating, water and snow skiing, and how to polish a pair of shoes.

i never taught any of them to fish or shoot a bow and I don't know why.

and right now I wish one of them knew how to roof or install hvac.
Hvac isnt for amateurs.

that said, dh did install the ductwork in our house. We let the pros determined the size of heat/air units. It is commen in our neghbehod to have two systems. Our house is not huge at under 2,000 sq ft, but it is vertical space, a tall skinny house. 4 stories.

[rodeosweetheart]

So, I left out drywall, flooring, balancing a checkbook, filing your taxes, how and why to use birth control, painting a house inside or out, driving a motor boat with or without a skier, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, riding a horse, roller and ice skating, water and snow skiing, and how to polish a pair of shoes.

i never taught any of them to fish or shoot a bow and I don't know why.

and right now I wish one of them knew how to roof or install hvac.

I like your list, Chicken Lady, and I would have enjoyed being a kid at your house!

[Chicken lady]

I enjoyed being a kid at my house. That's one of the cool things about homeschooling your own kids - you get a lot of do-overs on your own childhood - mine was pretty great, I had terrific parents, but I spent so many hours in school....

sometimes dd dd complains about her unconventional upbringing and my future son in law says "what are you talking about?! You had the childhood every kid dreams about!" The grass is always greener, but I love him.