Do you prep by learning new skills?

[CupOhTea]

And if so, which skills and how did you learn them please?

I’m not really a prepper per se, but I have built up a little buffer of long shelf life food, first aid supplies etc in case of financial hardship, illness, whatever.

I’m now thinking what skills I could learn and what we could learn as a family which might be useful.

Commode would work too.more comfortable for those with dodgy knees.

Or those seats with handles that fit over a toilet for the elderly and infirm

My grandad used to be responsible for emptying the long drop toilet at bottom of the garden in the 30s.

I recall my own grandad telling the story of The Cockerel. They shared a 'pit' with next door and the woman of that house was an old besom - according to him. Anyway, one morning, after she'd had at them for something, they grabbed a cockerel and pushed it in - on their side. She went to use the toilet - had to lift the lid of course- and the bird doubtless saw sky and thought 'Wey Hey!'. The rest of the tale I leave to your imaginations.

I would like to know how to plant and grow vegetables properly. Prepping the soil , fertiliser etc. Storing after.

monkeys

See if you can find a nearby allotment whose 'owner' could use a hand........

@Dontgiveamonkeys1350 , good tip from cozie . There might be community gardening programmes in your area you could take a look at. also check out Huw Richards "Veg in one bed". He's also on YouTube. As is the mighty Lee on the Project Diaries channel. Lots of budget friendly ideas there.

If you eat meat, learning how to skin a rabbit, pluck poultry, and prepare fish,... are handy skills to have. I am not a hunter but decent enough when it comes to fishing. Plus, I reckon worst case, people might be more inclined to sell meat to someone they know will take care of preparing it themselves rather than those that need someone else to do it. Youtube should have some videos for this.

Changing a toothbelt or motor oil is a bit tricky but the rest of car maintenance tends to be easier to learn, so I'd start with the motor oil. If there is a privately run garage nearby and you asked nice they might be able to show you the next time you are there to change the oil. Or if you get enough women together, you might be able to convince them to do a mini-course on car maintenance. It is always a good thing to know how to look after the car. If you do get a course together, take a picture of the underside of your car. If it looks different to the demo car, you can ask and they should be able to explain it.
The more modern and pricier the car, the less you can do yourself, though With some cars we looked at, we would have had to drive to a garage just to top up the cooling liquid, it was insane (and we were looking for used, "oldish" and cheap, not the latest BMW...). Not all cars come with a lug wrench and a jack anymore, so it worth checking if your's does.