10 Essential Tools

[melissalw]

So I got to thinking. In the last year or two, I've done a fair amount of buying that will save me money in the long run (or so I imagine). I'm curious as to what others consider their necessaries- the tools you've just got to have to make things run more smoothly? If you had to pick 10 tools for simple living, what would they be?

Mine would be:
1. A shovel
2. A hammer
3. A screwdriver
4. A computer (because being able to look up how to do things online HUGELY simplifies my life!)
5. A bicycle
6. A pressure canner (which does triple duty in my house as a pressure cooker and a water bath canner)
7. A sewing machine
8. A broom
9. A sharp knife
10. A saw

What would yours be?

[bae]

1 - Axe
2 - Knife
3 - Vice Grips - "The Wrong Tool For Every Job"
4 - Ipad
5 - Blastmatch firestarter
6 - Leatherman multitool
7 - LED headlamp
8 - DMT sharpening stone(s)
9 - Anvil
10 - Hammer

[razz]

1.Matches or the means for making a fire
2 Axe
3.Saw
4.Needles for sewing and knitting with yarn
5. wheelbarrow
6. shovel
7. Reader's Digest How-to manual
8. windup radio
9. Haybox with pot
10. container for carrying water.

[KayLR]

1.Matches or the means for making a fire
2 Axe
3.Saw
4.Needles for sewing and knitting with yarn
5. wheelbarrow
6. shovel
7. Reader's Digest How-to manual
8. windup radio
9. Haybox with pot
10. container for carrying water.

Haybox with pot??? :confused:

This thread reminds me of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: "You must know at all times the whereabouts of your towel." Actually a stash of rags would be something I would add to you-all's very good lists.

[Fawn]

1) sharp knife
2) cooking pot and fire
3) computer
4) shelter
5) the whereabouts of your towel
6) means of procuring more food (hunting, barter, enslavement, a sharp knife....)
7) means of procuring your freedom (divorce, rebellion, a sharp knife....)
8) means of betterment of humanity (service, rebellion, children, a sharp knife)
9) means of making peace w/ yourself (age, forgiveness, religion, family that loves you)
10) stunning black dress/tuxedo

[iris lily]

You know what, I really use my stash of toweling rags a lot. Daily. More often than a hammer.

[Crystal]

5) the whereabouts of your towel
6) means of procuring more food (hunting, barter, enslavement, a sharp knife....)
7) means of procuring your freedom (divorce, rebellion, a sharp knife....)
8) means of betterment of humanity (service, rebellion, children, a sharp knife)
9) means of making peace w/ yourself (age, forgiveness, religion, family that loves you)
10) stunning black dress/tuxedo

Fawn for President! :+1:

[razz]

Haybox with pot??? :confused:

This thread reminds me of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: "You must know at all times the whereabouts of your towel." Actually a stash of rags would be something I would add to you-all's very good lists.

A haybox is a container for slow cooking and the pot fits inside. http://www.solarcooker-at-cantinawest.com/build_a_hay_box_cooker.html

I forgot about the sharp knife!!!! What do I delete to make room for the knife?

[Fawn]

Fawn for President! :+1:

You are too funny.:laff:

I would never make it past the metal detectors at the White House with my sharp knife.;)

[Mrs-M]

This is a great thread!

Stove.
Pressure canner.
Vacuum.
Bucket.
Automatic washing machine.
Clothesline.
Broom.
Sewing machine.
Bicycle.
Computer.

[goldensmom]

Okay, I’ve been thinking about this. Limiting my answer to small tools used in and around the house so far I have 5:

1. Small Channellock pliers
2. Black and Decker Lithium ion cordless screwdriver with bits
3. Irwin utility knife
4. 12 oz. Estwing hammer
5. Kershaw kitchen shears/scissors

[melissalw]

Wow, fantastic responses! A sharp knife solves so many problems...

[reader99]

Computer
Cell Phone
Stove
Refrigerator
Sharp knife
Fork
Hammer
Screwdriver
Nail-clippers
Can opener

[kib]

1 ...3 - Vice Grips - "The Wrong Tool For Every Job"
Oh Indeed!!! I would never be without a pair of vice grips.

I'm not limiting myself to ten, I'm going to take a lot of what other people have said, and add these:

Buckets. I have about 10 buckets, I find them indispensable for water transport, flushing the toilet, saving the shower water, carrying a group of tools or cleaning supplies around, doing the actual cleaning. I even use them for hand washing dishes, collecting rain water off the porch roof, recycling storage, sieving compost, helping to straighten up the house, to put my reusable shopping bags of food in so they don't fall over in the car, as a carry basket at camp showers ...

A good thick feather quilt. My gas bill last month was, wait for it, ... $15. Even with temps down to the high 40s In My Bedroom, I was perfectly comfy warm overnight.

My "Life Index". I love my laptop but I could and often do get by with a 4*6 spiral index pad that pretty much serves as a second brain.

The clothesline.

A very simple set of gardening tools - a trowel, a screen for the compost, a baskety thing that serves as a wheelbarrow, and a great set of gardening gloves.