Skills to Learn for Increased Sustainability, Health, and Resourcefulness

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

Many skills are increasing in popularity as people are realizing their value in saving money, decreasing waste, and increasing self-sufficiency & health.

This list is not all inclusive, but is a great place to start if you want to start incorporating new skills into your toolbox. 

Knitting

Photo by rocknwool on Unsplash

I have been knitting since I was 11 years old. It is a time-honored craft, and the sky is the limit in terms of what you can imagine to knit. The ability to knit gives you the ability to make custom fitted & designed items that will outlast the fast fashion items that are filling stores. 

If you are interested in acquiring this skill, YouTube is a great place to start. You will want to start with gathering supplies, which are easy to find at common stores such as Walmart, Joann, or Michaels. I have a list of 100% natural fiber yarns available on Amazon here. 

Once you have your supplies, here is a list of beginner friendly free patterns to develop your new skill and start your collection of knitted items! (coming soon!)

Sewing

Photo by Mojor Zhu on Unsplash

Sewing is such a versatile and useful craft. Similar to knitting, it is useful in more than just making clothes. Your world of DIY possibilities expands dramatically when you add an ability to sew. Here is a list of free sewing patterns for beginner to help you get started. (coming soon!)

Another way that sewing can be beneficial to your wallet and the planet is by repurposing fabrics. Using old sheets, towels, blankets, t-shirts, and tablecloths are excellent ways to build your fabric stash and give that item a second or third life instead of going into a landfill. If you don’t have any of those items on hand, thrift stores have great selections available.

Mending & Altering Clothes

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

Being able to save that sweater that you have worn a hole in or make a pair of too-big jeans fit you perfectly is so satisfying! I’ve become my sister-in-law’s go-to mender when her favorite clothes start to fall apart, and it makes me so happy to be able to do that for her. :)  

Some of the skills included in mending are fixing seams, replacing buttons and zippers, and patching holes. Part of mending includes understanding fabrics and the way different weaves will affect the unraveling process. 

This article is a great starting place for getting started with altering clothing. 

Cooking & Baking from Scratch

Photo by LAUREN GRAY on Unsplash

Cooking and baking from scratch is another super satisfying skill! It takes time and patience, but according to Harvard Medical School, “the more people cook at home, the healthier their diet, the fewer calories they consume, and the less likely they are to be obese or develop type 2 diabetes”. Fast food has been shown to be full of harmful chemicals. The Milken Institute School of Public Health describes a study done revealing that a class of chemicals called phthalates are readily found in fast food and can cause cancer, obesity, diabetes, pregnancy complications and infertility. 

Making Home & Personal Care Products from Scratch

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

Food is not the only thing you can benefit from by making from scratch! Many household and personal care products are also full of harmful chemicals. Have you ever sat on the toilet or in the shower and read the back of a soap or shampoo bottle? Just the names are frightening without even considering what they could do to your body. Learning how to make these items for scratch will benefit your health and your budget. Here is a list of recipes to get started replacing your chemical-filled products with  simple homemade ones. (coming soon!)

Savvy Shopping

Photo by Scott Warman on Unsplash

If you choose to start your journey making food and household products from scratch, you can help out your budget by being smart about your purchases. Here’s how I save the most on groceries and ingredients for homemade household products:

1. Build your base of staples, and then build up a stock as items go on sale. For example, when I was building my pantry, I bought baking soda at a normal price so I could get started making things. However, now when I see baking soda go on sale, I get a few box to keep me stocked until the next time it goes on sale. This way I am able to stay well stocked on items and just replenish as items rotationally go on sale.

2. Shop at Aldi. Aldi makes a lot of cost-effective choices in their stores to keep their prices low. They also have great healthy food choices and include healthier options, such as using plant-based dyes for food coloring. 

3. Use coupons and rewards apps. This has saved me so much money! I have an app for almost every fast food place on my phone for when we do eat out.

Photo by Becca McHaffie on Unsplash

4. Scan your receipts. I use the Fetch app. You can use my code TVY7FT to get 100 points when you sign up. 

5. Buy used. This has saved me thousands of dollars over the years. I’ve had this happen to me too many times- you buy something new and it doesn’t work/fit/look the way you wanted, but it’s too late to return it. So, you either sell it for half of what you paid (or less) or donate it to a thrift store. Shopping on eBay, Mercari, or at local thrift store will allow you to gently used items at a significant discount.

Reducing Food Waste

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

This one is a challenge for me, but it has become more of a fun challenge instead of a frustrating one. I used to forget about containers of leftovers in the back of the fridge, and then have no clue what day I made it on. So, to be safe, I’d just throw it away. My biggest tip to combat that issue is to use a dry erase marker to notate what is inside your containers and when the food was made. I like to use white dry erase markers. Another handy trick is to meal plan for the week based on what you have in your fridge, and shop based on the remaining ingredients you need. Bonus points if those items are on sale! It helps to look at the weekly grocery store flier as you are planning for the week so you can incorporate sale items. 

Gardening

Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash

Gardening is a brilliant way to save money, increase your health, and benefit the planet. Produce starter seedsSeeds are inexpensive and can pounds of produce with a little water, soil, and sunshine. Not only is eating local food fresh out of the ground super beneficial for your health, but being outside and interacting with the earth is also very healing. One concept that is being studied more readily lately is called “grounding”. According to this Healthline article, “the most recent scientific research has explored grounding for inflammation, cardiovascular disease, muscle damage, chronic pain, and mood.”

In addition to growing produce, gardens are also great for growing herbs which can be used to flavor food, as ingredients for your homemade personal and household products, and for medicinal purposes.  

Find seed starter kits on Amazon here:

Vegetable & Culinary Herb Seed Kit

Medicinal & Tea Herb Seed Kit