What everyday skills make you feel more self-sufficient?

There's a particular pleasure in solving a small problem yourself. The wobbly table that stops wobbling. The puncture fixed by the roadside. The dinner made from half an onion, a tin of chickpeas and some stale bread. It's not about never needing anyone. It's about having a few more answers in your own hands.

Italians have a word for this kind of resourcefulness, which we explore in what arrangiarsi means.

Cooking from the cupboard

Following a recipe is a skill. Cooking without one is a bigger one. A handful of base methods covers a surprising amount:

• A basic tomato sauce from a tin, garlic and olive oil.
• A pot of beans or lentils that becomes soup, salad or pasta.
• Eggs, several ways: a frittata rescues almost any leftover vegetable.
• A simple dressing that you make by taste rather than measurement.
• Rice or pasta with whatever's around, seasoned properly.

The real skill is seeing a meal in an apparently empty fridge. It comes from practice, and it means you're never stuck.

Fixing small things

You don't need to be a builder. A modest toolbox and a few skills go a long way:

• Tightening loose screws, handles and hinges.
• Changing a tap washer or clearing a slow drain.
• Hanging a picture or shelf straight.
• Resetting a tripped switch at the fuse box.
• Sewing on a button and doing a quick hem.
• Fixing a bike puncture and adjusting brakes.

Online tutorials have made this far easier than it used to be. Start with one job, slowly, and enjoy the small victory. For anything involving gas, mains electrics or structural work, call a qualified professional.

Finding your way

Phones are brilliant, until the battery dies in an unfamiliar city. A few navigation habits make you calmer anywhere:

• Look at the map before setting off and notice a couple of landmarks.
• Know roughly which direction you're heading in.
• Read a paper map now and then, especially on walks and hikes.
• Learn to ask directions and actually follow them.

There's a confidence that comes from knowing you could get home without the blue dot.

Paperwork and admin

Unglamorous but powerful: knowing how to read a bill, a contract or a payslip, how to make a complaint that gets results, and where your important documents are. A folder (paper or digital) with your passport, insurance, tenancy or mortgage papers and key passwords stored safely saves a lot of panic later.

Knowing where your money goes

You don't need a spreadsheet obsession. Just a rough sense of what comes in, what goes out and what's left. Check your statements once a month, cancel the subscriptions you've forgotten, and have a small buffer for surprises. Feeling in charge of your money, even modestly, changes how you face unexpected bills.

Looking after things

Caring for what you already own is a kind of self-sufficiency: sharpening knives, oiling a chopping board, cleaning and waxing walking boots, airing a tent, keeping a bike chain clean. Things last longer, work better and are more pleasant to use.

Learning one at a time

Pick one skill per season. Make it practical and tied to your life: the bike if you ride, the knife skills if you cook, the basic repairs if you rent. Learn it properly, use it a few times, then move on. In a couple of years you'll be surprised what you can handle.

Self-sufficient, not solitary

Being capable doesn't mean refusing help. The most self-sufficient people often know exactly who to ask for the jobs they can't do, and swap skills with friends. More on that balance in becoming more self-reliant without shutting people out.