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Saturday, April 11, 2009

Can you do it yourself?

As the economy becomes more unstable, the power of our dollar will continue to decrease. What does that mean? It means the dollars in your pocket will buy less tomorrow than they did today. This will probably mean that some of the things we've been paying others to do or make for us will have to be done without or we'll have to learn to do them ourselves.

Think about some things you are paying others to do for you right now. Can you do them yourself if the need arises? Here are a few things you can learn to do yourself right now.

1. Cut your family's hair - Invest in a pair of clippers and it's really not hard at all to cut a simple hair style.

2. Bake your own bread - You don't need a bread machine to do this. There are a number of sites with simple bread recipes but I like the simple artisan bread recipe found in Mother Earth News. They have it available on their site.

3. Simple car repair - Can you change a tire, change the oil, put new wiper blades on, add water, anti-freeze, windshield washer fluid? I admit this is one area I'm sadly lacking.

4. Care for your own lawn and garden - Are you paying someone to come in and care for this for you? Invest in a simple gardening book for the type of garden you have and learn to take care of it yourself.

5. Clothing repair - Do you toss out a sock as soon as it has a hole? Even those of us who are not gifted in sewing can do simple clothing repairs as well as make simple cloth napkins or similar items.

6. Basic home repair / remodelling - Can you paint? Change a fuse? Change the filter in your furnace? Fix a leaky faucet? Re-caulk the bathtub? You'd be surprised what you can learn when you need to.

The first thing I do when I want to try something new is look for information. Right now, the internet is my main source of information but your library may have books as well. Keep your eyes open for second hand books on topics you think you may need to learn about and collect them as you find them.

Start learning new skills now because you never know when you may need them.


Original: http://vermontpreppersnetwork.blogspot.com/2009/02/can-you-do-it-yourself.html

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