Get out the needle and thread and start melting that wax. Here are just some of the usual things our forerunners did during their everyday lives, that we truly take for granted!

1. Sewing clothing by hand is going to be the norm after shopping malls and department stores become a thing of the past. You’ll need to know how to use a needle and thread and make patterns. Additionally, you’ll need to know how to sew buttons and apply patches to clothing as needed. If you’re new to all this, here’s a guide on how to sew.
2. Candle making that uses animal fats or beeswax will ensure you always have light. Your candle making ability will also give you plenty of candles to barter with. Here’s how to make emergency candles with beeswax.
3. Fire starting without matches or a lighter is one of the most important skills you can learn. Lighters and matches are going to run out eventually, so you need to know how to start a fire without them. Start learning some of the primitive methods for starting a fire and how to keep it burning for hours without going out.
4. Gunsmithing is a skill that will not only ensure your guns are kept in good working order, but could also become your trade in a post-collapse world. Learn the inner workings of various types of guns and what it takes to repair them. If you’re interested in learning this skill, check out the American Gunsmithing Institute.
5. Gardening is something many people dabble in, but you need to have a very firm grasp on how to till fields, when to plant, how to combat plant diseases, and when to harvest. Gardening will be one of the main food sources after TEOTWAWKI and you won’t have time to practice when your life depends on it. You need to learn how to grow in bulk and how to raise crops you wouldn’t typically grow like wheat, oats, and pinto beans. For this, I highly recommend the book, Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre.
6. Construction knowledge that includes how to frame a house or build log cabins will be very useful. Very few people know how to make a home that is structurally sound. You’ll want to know how to make trusses, how to make foundations from stones, and the best kinds of wood to use. Here’s how to build a log cabin for $100.
7. Food preservation without the luxury of electricity is going to be a necessity. You need to learn how to build a solar dehydrator and how to preserve meat in order to store it for months at a time without putting it in a freezer or refrigerator. Learn how to make a smoker to preserve the meat you harvest as well. Check out the food storage archives for more info.
8. Herbal medicine will help you take care of yourself and your family members in a world without drug stores. That’s why you should learn how to identify medicinal plants that are found in the wild and how to use them to cure your ailments. For more info, check out The Herbal Apothecary. It has full-color pictures of medicinal herbs and explains how to use them.

There are others, including the already mentioned soap-making, woodworking, butchering and blacksmithing and you can read about all of them on Urban Survival Site.

While some may think of our ancestors as backward, never having known anything about moon landings, computers or even wearing few clothes they did not make themselves, they really did know what it was to be self-sufficient.

No, they did not have cell phones but what they did have was a know-how that took them far when times were bleak and less privileged.

And, believe it or not, they had fun and a sense of accomplishment while doing it all!