Daily living · Skills, troubleshooting and resilience · living-19

Learn the core skills

Training makes you safer and more independent, and it tells you clearly where your limits are and when to call a professional.

How

First aid: take a recognised course, ideally one for remote settings (medical-6, medical-8). NOLS Wilderness First Aid is 16 hours, for help expected within 8 hours. UK workplace first aid certificates last three years, and HSE strongly recommends annual refreshers. American Red Cross renewal extends a certificate by two years.
Basic electrics awareness: learn how your system works, how to isolate it and how to read the monitor. Do not do mains or battery wiring unless qualified.
Plumbing basics: shutting off water, replacing washers and fittings, clearing blockages and draining pipes against frost.
Carpentry and general repairs: safe tool use, simple framing, fixing doors, fences and shelving.
Food preservation: take a class from your local extension service or equivalent. In the US, many extension offices also test canner gauges.
Write a skills plan for each adult and older child with target dates, and log certificates in the documents file.

Boiling Water Bath and Pressure Canning (Publication 348-585). Virginia Cooperative Extension, accessed 2026-11
Testing Pressure Canner Dial Gauges. University of New Hampshire Extension, accessed 2026-11
UC Master Food Preserver: Pressure Canner Gauge Testing. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, accessed 2026-11
Are you a first-aider?. UK Health and Safety Executive, accessed 2026-11
First Aid Renewal and Recertification. American Red Cross, accessed 2026-11
Wilderness First Aid (WFA). NOLS, accessed 2026-11