99 DIY Lifestyle Skills

Being a do-it-myself kinda gal, I have to say that this post at over at TLC intrigued me.  I went through the list, sort of halfway nodding my head, and then I realized that there are a lot of things on the list that I can work toward, either now or after I've relocated.  Feel free to check and see how you're doing.  I'd also love to hear more unlisted skills that those reading this deem to be valuable.

My personal grading scale: 0 - not doing this, or it doesn't apply to me, .5 - I know how to do this and have been working on doing better, 1 - this is a regular part of my life.

Essential Food Skills
1. Read and understand product labels 1
2. Bake bread 1
3. Make your own bread starter and keep it going .5 (I don't consume a lot of bread)
4. Make cheese, yogurt, and kefir from local milk .5 (I can do all but kefir)
5. Preserve food by canning 0 (scary!)
6. Preserve food by drying .5
7. Forage for local wild foods safely 0

8. Raise a couple of backyard chickens 0 (I wish I had the room!) 

9. Make your own tofu,tempeh, and soy milk .5

10. Eat locally and in season 1

11. Grind your own flour .5 (I've done it)

12. Grow your own produce 0

13.Grow your own herbs 1

14.Grow your own sprouts 1 

15. Blend your own herbal tea 1 

16. Have a repertoire of vegetarian recipes you can use for various occasions 1

17. Fish or hunt responsibly if you eat meat 1 (I don't hunt, but I know the basics.)

18. Make homemade pastas and other pantry basics  .5

19. Cook a variety of foods well 1

20. Utilize a menu to minimize food waste 1

21. Throw a party without compromising your green values 1

22. Make Your Own Vanilla Extract 1

23. Sharpen kitchen knives so they last 1

24. Make homemade granola bars, granola, waffles, and other breakfast items 1

25. Make baked goods from "scratch". 1

26. Understand terms like, "organic", "Fair Trade", "all natural", and "GMO" 1

Essential Household Skills 

27. Sew well enough to repair clothing 1

28. Sew well enough to make your own clothing and reusable shopping bags 1 (not all of my clothing is handmade, but several pieces are, as well as my storage.)

29. Sew fitted cloth diapers for your baby 1 (do bunny needs count?)

30 .Knit or crochet dishcloths 1 

31. Know how to reupholster a chair .5 (I know how to, and have done it - just not WELL.) 

32. Make your ownlaundry soap 1

33. Make your own dishwasher detergent  1

34. Make your own house cleaning supplies .5

35. Use diatomaceous earth, bay leaves, and other "eco-friendly" natural pest deterrents 1

Home Maintenance and Repair Skills 

36. Use non-electric appliances rather than electric 1

37. Know where to find non-electric appliances 1

38. Program a thermostat .5

39. Tile a counter top 0

40. Use 0 VOC paint 1

41. Repair a screen 1

42.Use a caulk gun 1

43. Make simple appliance repairs such as replacing belts 0

44. Find what you need by bartering, or using CraigsList, eBay, and thrift stores 1

45. Repair a leaky toilet 0

46. Repair a leaky faucet 0

47.Replace a faucet 0

48. Check your home for energy leaks using incense, a candle, or a device that is created for that purpose 1

49. Unclog a drain without using Drano or harmful chemicals 1

50. Insulate an attic with eco-friendly insulation 1

Gardening Skills 

51 .Build a compost system .5

52. Use compost to enrich your soil .5

53. Plan a garden for your climate .5

54. Understand xeriscaping 1 (kinda)

55. Plant a multi-seasonal vegetable garden 0 (no room! wahw!)

56. Build a simple cold frame for salad all year 0

57. Build frames for raised bed gardens 0

58. Make a rainwater catchment system 0

59. Use a manual reel mower 0

60. Use companion planting methods to control pests 0

61.Build a bat house to encourage bats and decrease mosquitoes .5 (soooo want to do this!)

62. Use predator insects like Praying Mantis to control garden pests 0

63. Know what heirloom seeds are and why you should use them 1

64. How to plant open pollinated vegetables for best yields 1

65. How to save seeds from your own produce 1

66. Plant trees and bushes to cut your energy bills 0 

67. Use soaker hoses to conserve water 0

68. Sharpen and maintain tools 1

Health Skills 

69. Know how to use herbs and natural remedies to treat common illnesses 1

70. Make your own soap 1

71. Make your own skin care products 1

72. Use essential oils for health and cleaning 1

73. Make your own deodorant .5

Transportation Skills 

74. Tune up a bicycle and make repairs 0

75. Do simple maintenance on your car  0

76. Arrange or locate a carpool 0

77. Learn to use hypermiling techniques 0

78. Plan eco-friendly air travel 1

Energy Skills 

79. Install exterior solar lighting 0

80. Install a solar panel 0

81. Know where to find the most eco-friendly, green power source available to you 1

82. Connect home electronics to power strips for easy shut off 1

83. Check the wattage of an appliance 1

84. Calculate annual kilowatt usage 1

Conservation Skills 

85. Use email rather than conventional mail 1

86. Switch to a paperless office .75 (I am soooooo close!)

87. Locate the local library and use it rather than buying books, DVDs, and tapes 1

88. Adjust your settings on the computer to make it more energy efficient 1

89. Use skype and other technology to limit the need for travel to conferences 1

90. Learn to plan eco-friendly vacations, such as camping (and leave no trace) 

91. Replace a hobby with an environmentally friendly hobby 1

92. Locate and use recreational green spaces such as hiking trails, parks, and public gardens .5

93. Understand and be able to explain what cradle to cradle means 1

94. Understand and be able to explain what carbon emissions are 1

95. Understand and be able to calculate a carbon footprint as well as explain what it is 1

96. Know where to recycle technological items like computers, microwaves, televisions etc. 1

97. Identify and sort a variety of recyclable materials 1

98. Know where reusable items can be substituted for disposables 1

99. Understand and be able to explain cap-and-trade 1

My final score = 68.25%

Hmmm, that's a "D."  To be fair, a lot of it is stuff I can't help (like keeping chickens or installing solar panels, as I'm not a homeowner).  But I should try harder on the stuff that I can change!  Still, that was pretty interesting.  I'll have to see how I can streamline things a bit.

Clean-Up Time

Fuzz and I don't typically make New Years' resolutions, per se, but since 2010 has brought so many changes to both of our lives, we've decided to stay on trend and continue making more changes  -- positive ones.  In the past few months, I have acquired a trash bag filled with undesireable objects for which I have no use -- a bunch of worn-out clothes, CDs of lame music, a coffee maker that was sitting inside a dirty mold-filled house -- and I've been meaning to get rid of these things for some time now.  I've also been in the process of purging other areas in the house to prepare for a major transition, so it seemed like a great idea to resolve to get rid of our extra shit.

Rather than do a full-on insane sweep of the house, I opted for an easier idea: We'll get rid of a few boxes each month, either until the end of the year or until our house is clean, whatever comes first.  Moving a heap of boxes is a hassle, though.  We've got a longstanding relationship with a number of non-profit organizations to whom we like to give extra money and items whenever we can.  Because our favorite donation organization, the Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans of America, doesn't do door-to-door pickup in our "new" local area, we opted for our other favorite charity, the Big Brother & Big Sister Foundation.  It turned out to be a fabulously successful undertaking... all we needed to do was fill out the form online, have our boxes on the porch for them on the day of the pickup, and Bob's your uncle -- the stuff's out of our lives, and ready to go into the lives of someone who wants them.  Best of all, it helps a wonderful organization to do great things!  Since the January pickup went over so well, I'm already thinking of what I want to donate next month.  I may just decide to tackle the ever-so-nasty Bedroom Closet O' Doom!

Here are a few tips to help you get started donating...

1.  The general rule of thumb is that if you haven't used an item within the past year, and you're not sure you'll be using it within the next year, get rid of it!

2.  Start small.  There's no need to purge every square inch of your living space right away; do it in small, manageable steps.  For example, choose a room -- or part of a room, such as getting all the drawers in one dresser -- and get that done first before moving onto another section of your space.

3.  As FlyLady says, "Never take out more than you can put back in one hour."  I know it's exciting to get things purged, but take your time and do it right.

4.  Schedule your pick-up or drop-off day well in advance so that you can work on the mess in small, manageable bits.  Even if your house looks like an episode of Hoarders exploded all over it, an emergency cleaning session is just gonna stress you out.  Take it slow and make the process as easy and stress-free as possible.  You did not accumulate the clutter in the space of one day, so you need not feel pressured to get it immaculate in one day, either.

5.  Don't let guilt or regrets weigh you down.  Just because you got something for free and/or got a good deal on it (or, worse yet, spent WAY too much on it) doesn't make you obligated to keep it.  Likewise with presents that just aren't "you."  If you don't love it, let it go -- maybe there's someone out there who needs and wants it.  Give those things a good home where they'll be appreciated and loved.

6.  Donate and recycle as much as you can.  It's good for the environment, the economy, and the soul. 

7.  Don't feel the need to put it off because you "haven't gotten it all done yet."  Do what you can, you can always schedule another pick-up, or find local thrift shops and make dropping things off a regular habit!


...And, in the interest of recycling and reusing, I have found these lovely pics on Flickr.  Thanks to the talented ed.ward for his awesome "messy room" photo, and the whimsical joebeone for the "moving boxes" pic!  I'm thrilled to give them credit in accordance with Creative Commons.  I do try to take my own pics when I can remember to do so, but I appreciate the sharing spirit of my fellow Flickr users.  Thanks!

Putting the Smackdown on "Perfect"

OK, I’ll admit it. I am a recovering perfectionist. Within the past couple of years, however, I realized that always trying to give 999% is not always the best course of action. It’s not an easy process, but I have begun to extract myself from the hold that “Perfect” has over my life.

Have you ever been so focused on doing everything right that you feel too overwhelmed to do anything at all? Check out my story and see if it rings any bells:
I remember when I first started my own retail business. I’d perpare orders for my customers, worrying incessantly that everyone’s names or addresses were spelled correctly, that a label wasn’t straight, or — cue the scary background music! — ZOMGZ, maybe a hair had somehow slipped onto the packing tape while I was using it to close a package!! (This last nightmare scenario was what probably caused me the most grief, as the first two can usually be prevented with a little care. The hair, however, was not so easily avoided, as my office was flooded with hundreds of pounds of synthetic hair at any given time. I remember being so horrified by the appearance of a stray hair that I’d have to toss the packaging and start again!)
What I hadn’t yet learned at the time is that, regardless of what our inner voices tell us, perfection is not always the answer to everything. I didn’t realize that while I was doing my best Hyacinth Bucket impersonation, making sure that every stamp lined up exactly with every envelope corner, I was also wasting my valuable time and energy on something that only I gave a shit about.
My friend, Sabrina, also helped me realize that my package obsession was pretty lame; “I get so excited when something comes in the mail for me, I don’t even care! I just rip the package open because I’m so happy to get my cool new stuff!” she told me once, as I struggled to remove a stray synthetic hair that’d gotten stuck under a piece of tape on a customer’s package. Maybe I’m unusual in my own observational skillz, but once I got something that had the sender’s *own* hair stuck to the UPS packing slip thingy, and I was almost physically ill by just the sight of it.
After realizing that no one else cares nearly as much as I did, I lighted up a bit on some of the other details. Now I slap the stamp onto my envelope someplace in the upper-right quadrant and finish living the rest of my life without losing sleep over it. The mailman knows where to look for it, and he’s probably sleeping just fine also. I am still a stickler for spelling people’s names and addresses just as they indicate, even if it’s wrong, and find creative ways to avoid {or at least reduce} the amount of flyaway fake hair in my office. A person’s still got to have some standards, after all. :)

I am also wizened enough to now realize that the concept of “perfect” is a total pain in the ass, if it exists beyond our imaginations at all. Sure, sometimes striving for the absolute pinnacle of awesomeness is worth it. But do you REALLY need to spend that kind of time and energy on everything? If you do, you probably have OCD, and in that case, I applaud you; it’s hard living with that kind of stress. Also, may I extend an invitation for you to visit and clean my house?
A lot of times, having these expectations for oneself and others is extremely destructive and ridiculous. It wastes your time because you slave away trying to make everything super-awesome; it wastes your money, because (a) time is money, and (b) you’re likely using up valuable resources. It wastes energy because you’re stuck stressing endlessly about something when you could be doing something else — having fun, just chillin’, accomplishing something great — or anything else. Even having nothing to do is better than being in possession of that cold knot of “Oh shit, did I make a miniscule mistake that only I will notice?” at the pit of your stomach.
I’m not saying that there aren’t times when “Perfect” is important, such as when you’re performing brain surgery or dismantling a bomb. There are probably other circumstances too. But for the rest of the time, I think the focus can probably just stay on “Pretty Good.” Do you really think that your friends are going to check under your couch to see if it’s been vacuumed this week? If so, get some new friends, because the ones you have sound like total assholes!
Rather than stand immobilized in fear of failing to achieveperfect, let’s celebrate ourselves for accomplishing things that are pretty good.Perfect will keep you mired in self-doubt, dwelling on any perceived inferiorities. Pretty good enables you to forgive yourself (and others) while helping you move on to bigger and better things. Perfect is all about drama and bullshit for the sake of nothing. Pretty good is the stuff that makes up the rest of your life — messy, weird, and definitely not for the weak or self-delusional — but certainly more interesting than a bland, cookie-cutter existence.
Letting go of perfect will enable you to find joy and pleasure in even the most mundane things, instead of shitting your pants as you turn each corner. Letting go of perfect, and enjoying your life with all of its interesting flaws can be daunting, however. It's like crossing a bridge at night; it can be terrifying and tough to see the way, but all you really have to do is keep going until you reach the end, focusing on light spots along the way.
Although it is difficult to change a lifelong habit of perfectionism, it can be done. The journey is a long one, and it’s not always easy. But slowly, with some effort, even the tightest of asses can let go of his or her perfectionism paralysis, and venture into an awesome new world of non-perfection, and celebrate the greatness of pretty good. Try it and see!