SS "must haves"?

[sumi]

I've been reading threads here for awhile and getting ideas from the postings and others' activities, often thinking "I must get one of those…". I would like to hear what you all consider important or essential tools and equipment needed for more self-sufficient living. Tools, kitchen appliances, etc.

 

[SustainableAg]

Excellent question. One of my more recent ventures started when I purchased a Nesco Food Dehydrator. It is small - only has 4 trays. However, I was very impressed with the quality of dehydrated foods. It is good enough to just get my feet wet and decide if this is another food preservation method that I would like to use. So far, all signs point to yes! The Apple chips I made will not last long.

 

[baymule]

#1. Meat grinder. I have a small electric meat grinder with sausage stuffer attachment. I have used the clamp on hand grinder before, but it was a long time ago......need to have another one.
#2. Dehydrator. I have an Excalibur 9 tray dehydrator and I got the solid sheets for liquids also. I dehydrate lots of foods.
#3. Grain mill. I bought a Family Grain Mill with the electric motor and hand crank along with a grain flaker. I can mill wheat or corn.
#4. Half gallon Mason jars for food storage. I use them for rice. beans, pasta, brown sugar, you name it.
#5. Cast iron cookware. You can never have too much.
#6. Gardening tools-2 or 3 of everything.
#7. Hand tools of every description.
#8. Hand saws. Crosscut, hacksaw, keyhole, coping, bow, and pruning (on a long extendable handle).
#9. Come along. Wire stretcher. T-post puller(I love mine!)
#10. Axe (single bit and double bit), wood splitting maul, wedges.
#11. Chainsaw. Extra bar and chain (two of them), 4-6 extra chains, several cases of high octane chainsaw fuel.
#12. Cordless drill. Drill bits, lots of them. Mine is a Hitachi and it is lightweight. I've used other brands, and my arm gets tired because they are heavier.
#13. Cordless skill saw. Extra blades. Hitachi, batteries interchange with drill.
#14. Screws. Boxes of several different sizes.
#15. Fence staples and T-post clips.
#16. Garden seeds, a wide variety of different kinds.
#17. Books. How-to books on every subject you can think of.
#18. Fruit trees.
#19. Nut trees.
#20. Berry and grape vines.
#21. Chickens for meat and eggs. Livestock is important, But chickens will fit even on a small lot.
#22.Livestock. Small livestock will fit on just a few acres. Goats for milk and meat, sheep for fiber and meat, rabbits for meat and fur, it's easy to raise a couple of feeder pigs. Cattle for milk and/or meat. Bees for pollination and honey.

 

[lcertuche]

Just a few things I think I couldn't live without. Of course I'm thinking SHTF scenario. Probably a ton of other stuff but this is all I could think of now. I don't have all of these but would like to get them.
1. Iron cookware
2. Small livestock (chickens, rabbits, pigs, goats) for eggs, meat, dairy on the hoof (foot).
3. A solar dehydrator
4. Fishing gear
5. Wood stove
6. Lots of wild fruit, edible and medicinal plants.
7. A garden, garden seeds
8. Garden tools
9. Axe
10. Pressure canner, jars and lids
11. Books on food preservation, emergency medicine and treatments, food foraging
12. Work boots
13. Know how to sew, knit, quilt, repair
14. Supply of vinegar, baking soda, sugar, salt for cleaning and food preservation.
15. Cloth napkins, rags, etc. instead of paper products
16. Good books for entertainment. Along with board games, decks of cards, dice.
17. I would love to have a hand crank grain and meat grinder both.
18. Fencing and fence posts
19. A water filtration system
20. A root cellar
21. A rifle, shotgun, 22 with lots of ammunition
22. Large tubs, metal trash cans for storing water, feed, etc.

 

[Beekissed]

A few of the things we use daily or at least weekly here on the homestead:

Zip ties~I find myself using these almost daily, but definitely weekly. In the past 5 yrs I'm guestimating I've been through literally thousands of zip ties. They've become an essential tool here on the homestead. Who knew those things would become such a fixture in my life?

Cattle panels~multiple uses, invaluable to have on hand for constructing quick shelters(green houses, coops, wood sheds, carports) or even more long lasting ones, fencing, trellising, gates, cold frames, etc.

Utility carts~hand carts and one that hooks to the lawn mower. Used daily for various jobs around the place, we couldn't function without them at all. They last for many a long year, while taking a huge beating and bearing incredible loads...there are few things more essential to homesteading than utility carts and wheelbarrows.

Hardware~various and sundry types of hardware...one can never have enough, nor enough variety of, hardware. Save it up, scavenge for it, keep it handy. Any given time you will need screws, nails, hinges, hooks, staples, handles, etc. as you rig up or construct various and sundry solutions for living on the land.

Buckets~used daily here for various reasons, one can never really and truly have too many buckets. Oh, I think I do and every once in awhile I'll corral them and try to store them neatly, but very soon I'll find them sitting everywhere once again. One of the most versatile tools for a homestead is the lowly bucket, particularly a 5 gal. one with a lid. So many uses and tough enough to last decades.

Cordless hand drill with quick change gadget~I use this daily or at least weekly and am VERY protective of my drill, and especially the quick change fitting. It allows me to drill a starter hole, then flip the bit to a screw head in half a second's time...this is invaluable to me. I use my drill constantly and keep the batteries charged at all times. That is the power tool I use the most and I find the most valuable to me here.

Sawsall~another nifty tool that comes in handy for so many, many things. Tough, can saw through most anything, great for breaking down pallets, construction, cutting cattle panels, etc. I find myself using this over other saws simply because it's the most versatile.

Tarps~one can never have too many or too many sizes of tarps. We couldn't function here without them. Tarps are the unsung hero of homesteads all over the world and there's few things so valuable as a tough, heavy mil tarp when it comes to survival in many situations~they protect, separate, hold together, collect, transport, shade, sun, and hide. They are essential to living here on Earth.

Bungee cords~all sizes and kinds. The lowly bungee is as much an unsung hero as zip ties and tarps. We all use them but never give a second's thought as to what life would be like without them. I can tell you..horrible. I use bungees daily here and they are integral to a life lived on the homestead.

Bailing twine~another unsung hero of any farm or homestead. One can never have too many little rolls of bailing twine tucked here or there around the place. When I can't find one, I start to feel a little desperate. One can get by with pieces of 550 cord and it will last longer but there's just something about bailing twine that I love...always have.

Various hand tools~hammers, screwdrivers, staple guns, utility knives, shovels, pitchforks, rakes, etc. Can't do any of this without those. Used daily for some purpose or other, one can never have too many of each kind and I'll tell you why....they grow legs and walk off, sometimes playing hide and seek until they put you into a full blown temper tantrum at not being able to find a single one when you have a thousand of them and you "JUST saw them a few days ago but SOMEONE must have taken them and didn't put them BACK !!!!"


Whew! Well, anyhoo, you get the drift. Hand tools are just that important.

Canners and canning implements~essential to preserving foods, used frequently, last a long, long, long time, jars come in handy for more than just preserving foods.

Wood burning stove and tools for getting fuel for it~pretty essential for those of us in the backwoods. You can stay warm and cook on it, two of the essentials for survival. The chainsaw is another integral tool for the homestead, particularly if we want to reach civilization...if a tree falls across the road, we can't go anywhere from here. Fuel and ways to keep it sharp are a given.

Milk jug/water jug~we use them daily and constantly throughout the year for water storage, for keeping cold water in the fridge, etc. Can't really have enough sturdy jugs for holding and transporting water. Another essential to living, though we often take it for granted. We have gallons, 2 gallons and 5 gal. water jugs and all are currently in use.

Good knives~those that hold an edge and last forever, serving various purposes, but mostly related to food prep and butchering. A good set of knives of various sizes is one of the most valuable tools on the homestead. I use RADA knives exclusively, though the boys have their own favorite deer gutting/skinning knives.

Used daily, they must be the utensil or kitchen tool we take most for granted and the one I'm astounded that is such a second thought in most households...when I go to a home that has dull knives and the people don't seem to care, I know I'm in a home where the woman doesn't do much real food preparation,no matter what she may say. One cannot just haggle their way through life with dull, crappy knives...it's nigh impossible to use such a thing daily and not want to throw it against the wall. Then, when you find she doesn't even OWN a knife sharpener, you know the jig is up...she doesn't do any food prep in her house. At all. No way.

Tape~of all kinds and types, pretty essential for getting by each day in this world, but especially so on a homestead. Few things as versatile as a good tape store, with the star player being duct, then electrical, and finally, masking, but many bit parts played by strapping and marking. Can't ever really have enough good tape.

Ratchet straps~essential if you transport anything, want something to stay put tightly, etc. One can have WAY too many of these things but you really only need a few really good ones to realize that they are pretty much essential to a working, homesteading kind of life.

I'm sure there are more, but I'm just sitting here looking through the window and naming all those that come to mind when I look out there where we use them most.

 

[baymule]

Oh, Bee- I like your list!

 

[lcertuche]

Great ideas. I had to laugh about the tools growing legs. I have a couple of teenage boys that constantly use and lose our tools and no amount of fit-throwing will cure them of it. Also they use up every bit of nails, staples, wood, etc. or ruin it for what I had intended the use for. That's why I haven't been able to move my laying hens into a hoop house. Very aggravating.

 

[Mini Horses]

SAME tool disappearing, left laying happens here!!! SO frustrating -- especially since I am the only one here

 

[sumi]

I love the list, Beekissed! And I feel you all's pain on things disappearing. Here it is everything. The few tools I bought since moving here, my sewing scissors, misc kitchen bits and pieces and now and then, the cat. (I have a 10yo. Child, not cat)