this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2023
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Asklemmy

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[–] Blaze@discuss.tchncs.de 138 points 2 years ago (5 children)
[–] ValiantDust@feddit.de 59 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Also: cleaning. I've had flatmates who managed to take the same time for cleaning the bathroom or the kitchen and yet it somehow still wasn't clean.

[–] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 29 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

My mom was a fast order cook and when I was a teen she got me to help her run a fast food shop our family ran for a few years. She taught me how to work in a kitchen and how to cook.

Her basic rules were ... if you aren't cooking you're cleaning, if you aren't cleaning you're cooking, and if you aren't cooking or cleaning, get out of the kitchen.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 18 points 2 years ago (1 children)

If you aren't cleaning as you go, the food prep area will get gross and unsanitary fast. This goes for cooking at home, too.

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I learned one of my best cooking lessons from Hell's Kitchen: taste taste taste!

As long as your food is safe to taste (i.e. not raw poultry or something), taste it, at every stage of cooking. You'll find you get better at tasting foods and predicting what things your dish needs.

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[–] DeltaTangoLima@reddrefuge.com 85 points 2 years ago (4 children)

Critical thinking. Not enough people stop and think openly about a given problem, situation, or interaction. If everyone took just a moment or two to take into consideration someone else's perspective, circumstances, or goals, the world would be a lot less divisive.

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[–] PhantomPhanatic@lemmy.world 80 points 2 years ago (5 children)

Everyone should learn the basics of troubleshooting!

When trying to resolve a problem it's really important to keep as many variables under control as possible so that you can find the root cause and fix it.

I see lots of people who try a bunch of things without isolating the issue first but can't figure out what is wrong. Then because they messed with it so much it's almost impossible to figure out.

This is important for car maintenance, home maintenance, electronics, computers. Just about everything that can break or stop working right in your life.

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[–] sxan@midwest.social 69 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Swimming. It could save your life.

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[–] andrewta@lemmy.world 69 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Learn where all the shut off valves for your waterlines are at your house or apartment. When you have a leak is not the time to find out or rather figure out where your shut off valves are at. if you don’t know where your shut off valves are at, what could’ve been a minor water mess could turn into a major bill.

[–] neonbeige@lemmy.dbzer0.com 60 points 2 years ago (7 children)

I wish I’d learned a few useful knots earlier in life. Saves so much time when you know how and which one to use.

The ones I use the most are the square knot, taut line hitch and once a year the truckers hitch for tying down the Christmas tree to the top of the car.

https://scoutlife.org/outdoors/176401/how-to-tie-the-7-basic-scout-knots/

[–] Anonymouse@lemmy.world 19 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Video guides are nice, but I prefer Grog's Knots. He even has an app for offline knot learning, say, when you're deep in the woods and it's raining hard and your tent's rain cover blows off into the lake and you thankfully brought a tarp and rope but don't know how to make one of those adjustable knots that you can just slip-tighten. You know, theoretically speaking.

On a side note and completely unrelated, bring one of those big grout sponges when you go camping. In addition to mopping up all the water in your tent, it makes a nice pillow if your inflatable pillow decides to run away in the night in a storm and go swimming in the lake.

TL;DR: I hate camping.

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[–] MrFunnyMoustache@lemmy.ml 58 points 2 years ago (8 children)

CPR. You may not think about it in your day to day life, but in an emergency it's a very low hanging fruit to save someone's life. If someone is not breathing, chest compressions baby... go to town.

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[–] God_Is_Love@reddthat.com 57 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

First off, love this question!

Active listening and validating someone's emotions. Relationship skills in general honestly! Like how to adress the core attachment need in a disagreement instead of just the surface issue.

[–] NickwithaC@lemmy.world 56 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Swimming.

It's easy and it will save your life.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 21 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

Parents threw me in a class when I was 5. Scared shitless, screaming bloody murder, all that.

And I did indeed save my own life. And I was swimming with a certified lifeguard. Read on...

19, second year of college, fucking around with my neighbor, who I got to fuck, because I lived.

Perfectly still pond, nothing crazy. We were a bit drunk but had our wits about us. For some reason, I lost it. No idea what happened.

Went down like a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Literally. Hand sinking for the third time.

(At this point, I would recommend you all watch a video of what drowning looks like. It probably ain't what you think. You might save someone's life.)

Thought, "Figure this out or die. This very second."

Remembered my lessons on floating, got my lips above water and took a sip of air. Stopped fighting, floated back up, did it again. After 3 or 4 tries, I had enough air to calm down, lay on my back and breathe. Just dandy after that. Went home, got laid, and here I am typing this dumb comment 30+ years later.

Learn to swim no matter if it scares you or not.

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[–] Jamie@jamie.moe 52 points 2 years ago (4 children)

For those in the US: Learn how to file your own taxes. It's really simple for the large majority of people, and usually just consists of copying numbers into boxes off a sheet your employer made for you. After you've done it once, subsequent times you'll probably have it done yourself in less than half an hour.

You can do it for free on a ton of sites unless you make significant income, freetaxusa is typically the most highly recommended one.

[–] Chozo@kbin.social 35 points 2 years ago (1 children)

FreeTaxUSA is the best. TurboTax can eat my ass.

[–] admiralteal@kbin.social 12 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Intuit and H&R Block are the reason we have this depraved, inhumane, anti-consumer tax system. They've created the laws that make it necessary to use tax prep software. They should not be rewarded for this by getting business for that very tax prep software. Everyone should say no to TurboTax.

irs.gov/freefile

There are always a bunch of perfectly good competitors to them listed. Use those competitors. For most people it's totally free.

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[–] sndmn@lemmy.ca 51 points 2 years ago (2 children)

In this economy? Lock picking.

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[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 51 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Sewing, by hand or by machine.

Pollution from "fast fashion" is one of the most insidious types of pollution and one of the highest source of microplastics.

Knowing how to sew has allowed me to keep some garments looking new for over 15 years.

I still have a "snakes on a plane" themed hoodie from 2007 that is still going strong, thanks to sewing and proper washing/drying.

Knowing how to separate your clothing for washing is also helpful in this regard, because it also can make clothes last longer. T-shirts can last a decade if they're washed on a delicates cycle and hung out to dry.

I honestly could give a flying fuck if everything I own is out of style, I'm fucking old anyway.

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[–] heron@lemmy.world 49 points 2 years ago (5 children)

Mindfulness. You may not be able to turn off the (insert negative feeling here), but you absolutely can turn off the suffering.

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[–] max@lemmy.blahaj.zone 40 points 2 years ago (3 children)
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[–] slampisko@lemmy.world 37 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Touch typing, if you spend more than an hour a day in front of a computer screen.

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[–] ActualSimulation@lemmy.ca 30 points 2 years ago (1 children)
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[–] Spacebar@lemmy.world 29 points 2 years ago (2 children)
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[–] Helix@feddit.de 27 points 2 years ago (8 children)

Programming or scripting; usually Python would be enough to reduce the average repetitive workload of office workers by about 20%.

[–] spencer@lemmy.ca 16 points 2 years ago

Especially with ChatGPT you don’t really need to be that good at it, just good enough to read the script over and to know how to execute it.

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[–] otter@lemmy.ca 26 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Some basic first aid

Even a quick YouTube session on some common cases should help. If you want, getting certified is pretty easy and it looks good on resumes (or at work, you could be the designated person in emergencies)

If someone close to you has an emergency, it's nice to have an idea of what to do while you wait.

On the flip side, I had someone open up about regret from not learning; it was heartbreaking hearing it. Their family member may have died anyways, but they felt like a few extra minutes could have helped the odds, and regretted not knowing what to do

[–] oxjox@lemmy.ml 25 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Cooking.

It's shocking to me the number of people I've come across who've no idea how to cook or find it to be too troublesome to do. Moreover, feeding yourself should be the single most primal skill for anyone to have.

I realize there's a lot to unpack here. Some people are taught / learn to cook at a young age while some people have parents who've never cooked for themselves. Personal preference, finances, and scheduling play a huge part. The definitions of "cooking" and "feeding yourself" can vary widely. So, I'm not claiming everyone should know how to make a roast chicken dinner for four with sides and dessert. Although, I do think people should be at a level above boxed mac and cheese and ~~microwaved~~ air-fried chicken nuggets.

Cooking is, in my opinion, shopping for fresh foods and turning them into a meal. It's about your health, your pleasure, and your finances.

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[–] MyDogLovesMe@lemmy.world 25 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (4 children)

Years ago, I learned to shave with just about any sharp, straight edge (yes, I even practiced with a razor sharp axe). It’s interesting how the β€˜fine edge control’ transfers to other activities; using a kitchen knife, swinging an axe, cutting with a Xacto, etc.

In the apocalypse, I will be the clean-shaven villain, who is surrounded by all the hot mutant ladies who adore my pretty jowls!

Edit: I use cannabis daily. I found I can shave quickly with a straight razor (after years if practice), or I can shave high. But not both. FTR: cutting yourself a bit here and there simply isn’t as bad as it sounds.

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[–] Sabakodgo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 24 points 2 years ago (5 children)

Taking regular breaks. Whether it's a quick hourly stretch or a longer weekly break, stepping away from your activities can help you avoid burnout and stay on top of your game.
Surprisingly this improved my overall gameplay in competitive games. And I am not exhausted from work anymore.

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[–] Rocky60@lemm.ee 23 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Changing brake pads. You do it for $50, they do it for $500

[–] MyDogLovesMe@lemmy.world 24 points 2 years ago (5 children)

Until they make it so hard to do it yourself, and you have to pay them. …even more.

Eg. removing the fucking bumper to put in a new headlight.

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[–] calypsopub@lemmy.world 19 points 2 years ago

Sewing on a button

[–] agent_flounder@lemmy.world 18 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Change a tire on your vehicle. Sure beats waiting for AAA or whatever. (Although some newer cars don't come with spare tires).

Jumpstart a car. With jumper cables or one of those battery jumpstart boxes.

Changing your oil can save some money. Add chassis lubrication too while you're at it. Can save quite a bit on service costs. (Just don't skip other regular services, lest your car fail you which will be expensive in the long run)

Repair a toilet by replacing internal parts such as: valve, flapper, float, flush lever.

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[–] DrMango@lemmy.world 17 points 2 years ago

How to change your vehicle's tire SAFELY.

Basic home maintenance or at the very least troubleshooting and diagnostics when something breaks so you can give the repair tech better info when they arrive.

Basic home cleaning. This one might sound obvious but the number of people I've worked with who've never held a mop before astounds me. Learn to do your own laundry and clean your bathroom and kitchen well and efficiently. Learn what it takes to do a quick clean and a deep clean and do them on a schedule.

[–] hushable@lemmy.world 17 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

NATO alphabet, or any phonetic alphabet for that matter.

It will take you less than an hour to learn it and doesn't need to be perfect, Mark or Mike, your interlocutor will know you mean the letter M

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[–] Smokeydope@lemmy.world 17 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

Wire stripping and crimping. Especially if you plan to do offgriding homesteading with solar but occasionally comes up in home applications when you want to revive a mangled extension cord or install a fixture. Specialized cables start to add up very quickly its much more cost effective to buy a big bag of connectors, a big roll of decent gauge wire, dig out an old set of wire cutters+needlenose and fire up a 2 minute instructions yt video. Like all other skills it takes time and error to get good at it but its not too terribly difficult as wel as very cool to essentially build your own electrical grid from the ground up with wires and connectors you made yourself..

[–] Longpork_afficianado@lemmy.nz 14 points 2 years ago (2 children)

About a year back I stumbled across these cool products that are a heatshrink sheath with a metal ring coated in low temp solder inside. They made all of my wire joining a million times easier. Just strip the end of two wires, push them into the sheath and blast them with a heat gun for 20 seconds until the ring contracts into a crimp and the solder flows onto the wires. Better physical and electrical connection than a crimp, with none of the futzing that comes with soldering and sheathing.

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[–] JoeBidet@lemmy.ml 17 points 2 years ago (1 children)

fermenting? to make healthy, cheap, useful, durable and more importantly delicious foods?

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[–] zwaetschgeraeuber@lemmy.world 16 points 2 years ago (7 children)

lock picking i guess? its not that hard and useful

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[–] Adalast@lemmy.world 16 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Formal Logic. Please, can this be a full k-12 course like English and Math? Just learn to think, analyse, and correlate ideas in ways that are communicable. Learn what the logical fallacies are and how to avoid them. Train a functional bullshit detector. This world would be so much better off if the bulk of the population could understand what a confirmation bias was. As much as I hate to link to a Grammarly blog post, it gives good examples. Obviously all of it needs to be made age appropriate, but we never bother to actually teach people how to think, we just expect them to know and that has not been working out too well.

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[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 14 points 2 years ago

Sewing. I've saved a lot of shirts putting buttons back on and fixing holes. You can also do your own alterations on clothes but I'm not brave enough to try that yet.

[–] jcrabapple 13 points 2 years ago (1 children)

CPR, first aid, basic self defense.

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