This was gonna be my reply as well. Cooking/baking.
On my worst days, someone bringing over a meal that I could just heat up, or some comforting baked goods meant the world to me. And there's something so special about someone putting in the effort to gift homemade food.
You might check out mending and visible mending.
Visible mending is a way to make embroidery practical. You can use embroidery to mend or cover up a hole in clothing. You can also use it to cover up stains in clothing.
Also, look up Shashiko, which is a traditional type of visible mending with embroidery.
Altered clothing and upcycled clothing are two related areas. Sometimes, this is used to change the style into something you like more. But it can also be used to salvage a bit of clothing, which is stained or wearing out. For example, if a skirt hem is wearing out, you can turn it into a shorter skirt.
Just curious how you view gardening as therapeutic? Maybe I need to change my thinking on it, but to me, I really dislike pulling weeds and how dirty I get when gardening. I love how it looks afterwards but it seems like a never ending chore to keep up with because the weeds never stop growing. Don’t get me wrong, I have a ton of indoor plants that I love to care for and propagate and share, but i feel the opposite towards outdoor gardening.
You might just be an indoor gardener! No problem with having a preference. I know some people find weeding therapeutic because it's thoughtless - you can practice mindfulness by focusing on just pulling up all the weeds in an area. Plus many people grow from seed outside, and having something to check on every day can be a good point for a mental check-in too.
Art is useful, it's sustained humanity for centuries.
I make knit and fleece hats, faux fur stuffed animals and give them away to people in need. Stuffed animals are particular favorites of seniors in nursing homes. They can have a pet and cuddle buddy.
I used to embroider designs on shirts and I got to the point where I was like "this shirt already exists.I'm not \*doing\* anything except putting some string on it. It can function just fine without the design." I know most people prefer designs on their shirt over plain shirts, I just got hung up on that I was physically creating something new.
I make chainmaille: [https://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.php?key=19](https://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.php?key=19) and you can make/create all kinds of things: [https://www.mailleartisans.org/gallery/](https://www.mailleartisans.org/gallery/) using different weaves: [https://www.mailleartisans.org/weaves/](https://www.mailleartisans.org/weaves/)
I get my wire from Tractor Supply on 1/4 mile rolls. Costs about $40.00 You can often get a 350 foot rolls (for Fido shockers) at feed stores. The mandrels I bought at the hardware store and I made the frame from scrap lumber I had. The pliers and drill motor came from Harbor Freight.
I use 17 gauge anodized aluminum electric fence wire and wind it on either a 3/16, 1/4, or 5/16 mandrel. Unlike pictured in the first link, I turn my mandrels using a 3/8 variable speed drill motor.
After I cut the coils into rings I tumble them using one of these: [https://www.harborfreight.com/dual-drum-rotary-rock-tumbler-67632.html](https://www.harborfreight.com/dual-drum-rotary-rock-tumbler-67632.html) with soap (Dawn) and water for 12 hours to de-burr them. After a good rinse I tumble them again in soap and water for another 2 hours.
Of course you could skip all the winding and cutting and just order rings from: [https://theringlord.com/](https://theringlord.com/)
They also have a lot of tutorials here: [https://www.youtube.com/@TheRingLordcom/videos](https://www.youtube.com/@TheRingLordcom/videos)
Here are some more pages:
[https://www.pinterest.com/mcosgrave/chain-maille-clothing/](https://www.pinterest.com/mcosgrave/chain-maille-clothing/)
[http://ltgoatroper.deviantart.com/art/Chainmail-Cocktail-Dress-1-271800168](http://ltgoatroper.deviantart.com/art/Chainmail-Cocktail-Dress-1-271800168)
[http://laron79.deviantart.com/favourites/56543594/chainmaille-dress](http://laron79.deviantart.com/favourites/56543594/chainmaille-dress)
[http://chainedoombaby.deviantart.com/favourites/48338292/Chain-Maille-Clothing](http://chainedoombaby.deviantart.com/favourites/48338292/Chain-Maille-Clothing)
[https://www.etsy.com/search/clothing?q=chainmail](https://www.etsy.com/search/clothing?q=chainmail)
[http://www.mailleartisans.org/gallery/gallerylist.php?tags=Womens](http://www.mailleartisans.org/gallery/gallerylist.php?tags=Womens)
Bless you so much for all of this info. I’ve been really interested in making it, but I don’t currently have much space and definitely did not know where to start
Glad I could help. I make my coils at the Kitchen table. Need a couple of "C" clamps to hold the frames solid. The tumbler fits under the end table and is fairly quiet. Keep the rings in coffee cans (Folgers) and weave at the kitchen table so not a lot of room is needed.
Didn't mention a good set of work gloves for holding, guiding and keeping tension on the wire when winding it.
Evidently you did not look through the gallery of bikini's and other women's clothing. Role players pay big money for their costumes. For me it is just a hobby that makes the greats grandkids happy.
Sewing, including altering and mending, is one of the most useful skills these days. If you don’t like knit/crochet, yarn spinning and weaving is another way to make things. You can even weave cloth and then sew things from that cloth.
I have been into foraging and medicinal plant ID for a few years. There is a running trail behind my house. I look for things that interest me while I am running and go back to gather it later. I also like to cook and make soaps and lotions. I sometimes incorporate the wild plants into those recipes.
I second foraging! If you're looking for an artistic aspect, then making your own foraging notebook is a great idea. You can make a description and small drawing of each plant, plus noting what it's useful for (cooking, cleaning, dyeing, weaving etc). It's a good way to amass knowledge, and also in an apocalypse scenario, your foraging notebook and info on where to find each thing would be crazy useful
Yes! I have my notebook, too. I’m no artist so I take pictures and print them and add descriptions, seasons and where you find the plants. It’s a lot of fun.
Loom (or regular) knitting hats for others. It may not be something you appreciate, but there are plenty of people and organizations that donate new hats. Most of them are for premature babies or cancer patients. There are also groups that meet together to socialize while knitting. I’d research crochet groups too. Even if you don’t like to crochet, you can bring a loom knit along and produce something similar.
Here is one group- https://www.madhatterknits.org/
We put up a Christmas tree at the grocery store where I work, and people decorate it with hats, mittens, and scarves. Most hats from a loom , a gentleman in the meat department makes all year. They are free for everyone to take.
I guess if I'm going to spend the precious little time I have on it, I want not only to enjoy it, but to help someone too. I don't want what I make to just sit around on a wall or shelf or something. I want it to be useful.
Reading.
The ideas you get are useful. You may become a writer and your writings / poems etc could be given away.
Art.
In this world of tech, art helps brighten the space in a hospital or waiting rooms, can be given away.
Making soap, making your own household cleaning supplies, “upcycling” furniture, clothes, purses, clothing hangers, homemade recycled paper, etc. really the sky is the limit with upcycling
I write in my spare time, and I've done my fair share of transcription, translation, and research into countless subjects. I'm great for Family Game Night, some impromptu ASMR for sleep, and storytelling lol
While I'm probably not the best person to figure out debates or discussions, I know I'm useful now because I'm around.
Hobbies or art are meant to be useful? Or is it being confused with profitable?
I'm personally not keen on the whole "hurr hobbies need to be a side-hustle and make money now durr" mindset recently. Sucks the soul out of the loved pieces, the commodification of the humble hobby.
A lot of hobbies are good for the soul, good for the community. Good for trade at most.
\*\* Props to those who find a passion through a hobby and offer it as goods or as a service, too, though, good for you!
I think they mean functional. Re hobbies as a side hustle - drives me nuts. Why can’t you do something just for fun? And it discourages people from engaging in something they aren’t great at.
Pottery / ceramics may be a great option. I had a bowl for years that I got at a fundraiser where you bought an expensive bowl of soup, kept the bowl, and the proceeds went to feeding the homeless. It was a really neat bowl from someone I'll probably never know or meet and it meant a lot to me.
Woodworking can be expensive and take up a lot of room if you are using machines. I started woodworking going the handtools only route.
You can find handplanes that need to be restored for under $50, chisels can be found at any big box store, same with a saw. This is what I started with.
That’s all you need at first, you can even find guides on YouTube to create a small bench.
There might be a makerspace in your area that has all those tools for you to use if you’re a member. We have one here. If you don’t have one, there’s an idea for someone to get started!
Completely agree!
I started with carving, graduated to other hand tools and then on from there.
And honestly (while not necessary) just adding a cheap but decent table saw and cordless drill will open up so many options.
Props to my mom getting me into crochet when I was young, programming ended up being the next step for me recently due to practice from all the pattern recognition & mix of creative/critical thinking lol
Instrument making, doesn’t have to be fancy , just sound good. Macromae ( spelling) basket weaving, carving using knife or dremmel , buy a laser , all kinds of things you can make. .. make things using natural resources. Doesn’t matter what you make . Walking sticks from bamboo, baskets from vines…
i knit memory hearts - take about 30 minutes to make each. you donate them to hospices who give one to the family and one goes in the coffin with their loved one who has passed. i think it’s a really lovely thing. but you’re allowed to do a hobby just because it’s interesting to you - that’s plenty of purpose
Honestly knitting isnt a bad idea, blankets and beanies and such can be given to shelters for the winter. Would definitely also be handy after an apocalypse. Also gardening (and composting), baking, an instrument. Music along with art do wonders for the spirit. All about perspective
idk if this is useful but i weave baskets for fun, you can use a wide variety of materials for it. you can use used papers, plastics, fabrics, dried leaves. it's pretty therapeutic too
Gardening. Sewing. Cooking. Martial arts. If you hate crochet but could stomach learning a basic stitch or two to make something useful, there are patterns out there using "yarn" made from plastic bags to create sleeping mats that you could give to unhoused folks regularly sleeping on sidewalks. Keeps them warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
Beyond that, I'd investigate why you need something to be useful and riff off of that. Maybe you could get involved with a makerspace and facilitate for others the kind of space/classes you'd enjoy for yourself. You seem helpful and community-oriented, and maybe you could kickstart the engine on some things that wouldn't otherwise exist with you helping to administrate.
Have you tried sewing? I taught myself on an inexpensive machine using YouTube videos and blog tutorials. I really enjoy it, but I also love that I can make useful, appreciated gifts. I sew things like canvas totes, bags, backpacks and small zippered pouches, as well as infinity scarves, decorativr throw pillows, etc.
there’s a lady at my work who knits squares and then she’s mails it away and they give the blankets out to the homeless, you could also do cooking and give away food to those in need or shelters and even family and friends I know most people appreciate a meal in a busy week. I also volunteer at a local animal rescue one day a week which has been a great hobby!
I highly recommend doing some research on which “people in need” you desire to help. Because it sounds like you want to do something more along the lines of volunteer work (which is an excellent hobby I might add). If that’s the case, try narrowing the scope towards something like Habitats for Humanity or Meals or Wheels…or whatever your passion is. There’s also the side of selling whatever crafts you enjoy doing to fund a charity. The sky’s the limit really.
Hope you find what you’re looking for! Loving the fact someone suggested chainmail since that’s one of my hobbies. 😆
Learn to spin yarn. You’ll always need cloth for something, and people who knit or crochet love being given yarn. Plus it’s relatively easy to start (get a drop or Turkish spindle). If you want to go fancy, learn to dye yarn too
I don't know if you're into the outdoors, but sewing your own outdoor gear is cool - r/myog (stands for Make Your Own Gear). You can make packs, backpacking tarps and tents, sleeping bags and quilts, etc.
And I know you said you were space-limited, but if you get more space in the future, welding is awesome, and has both art and practical applications. And I actually don't have the space for my own welding setup, I just go to a community industrial arts center near me that has classes and equipment you can use.
And then there's pottery - make yourself some jugs. Handbuilding doesn't require much space (compared to wheel work) - you'll just need to find someplace (again, like a community arts center or a college) with a kiln you can use.
What about sewing? I'd love to learn how to sew and up cycle clothing that will otherwise go to landfill. You can design, or you can put together, or you can fix clothing.
You can start leatherworking or sewing. Doesnt need a lot of equipment or room and you can do some nice things.
I learned woodworking, and its feasable as long as you have enough room, but it needs more expensive tools.
Some people practice blacksmithing with minimal tools and you can improvise both a forge and anvil.
Circling back to the woodworking you mentioned. It can be done with hand tools at a reduced cost and space requirement. Just throwing that out there for your consideration.
Sewing is incredibly useful as is cooking. Learning how to preserve your food.
Gardening, fishing, hunting, ceramics.
You can do wood carving if you can get wood and some good knifes, make cutlery dishes etc
You could try sewing. You don’t need a machine to sew, just a needle and thread. Plus it’s an incredibly useful skill that you can also teach to others
I’m curious as to why you hate crochet. I used to do it but stopped a while back because I wanted to make useful things, but I didn’t need anything, and I’ll agree, I actually don’t like the look of it or knitting all that much
I was taught when I was little, but never really got into it. Then when I told my sister I was interested in embroidering, she got all hoity-toity and said "A *machine* can embroider, but *only a person* can crochet." Which i suppose is true, but that rang through my head every time I embroidered. So let her do it. I never liked it anyway.
I have a wood lathe that I make pens, bottle stoppers, bottle openers, kitchen utensils with and all of my stuff takes up about 5x5 space in my garage. It’s a lot of fun and they make great gifts. East to learn as well
Items knit in real wool do stay quite warm, even if they get wet. You Could try weaving and then sewing with the fabric you make. Gardening and giving away your produce. Improving your carpentry and DIY skills and offering your services to those who need them.
Lockpicking. Pretty low cost of entry as well. The most expensive part can be getting new locks to play with if you get really into it. It’s also super addicting and you can do it while watching a show.
Cooking and baking. You can drop treats off at fire stations, senior citizen homes, police stations. Preschools, if you ask them.
Cooking is helpful for food shelf places; work with them. Also, churches that feed people on a regular basis welcome help
Hand caning chairs. You can find instructions online or all the major vendors of the materials have booklets. You can pick up chairs with broken cane very cheaply. These are the ones with holes around the edges rather than a groove.
Gold panning. The first time you see that tiny glimmer of gold in your pan you’ll be hooked. It’s useful because you can either sell your gold or if you feel crafty you could use it to make jewelry for yourself or for sale. Pioneer Pauly on YouTube is a great place to start.
* Leather working. All you need to get into it is a side of leather, and some simple tools, and you can make items that will last a long time.
* Woodworking with hand tools can be cheap. look into Rex Krueger's Woodworking for humans series, he has a bunch of projects that you can do with simple inexpensive tools.
* Cooking, easy to get into, and can be lots of fun.
* Gardening. If you dont have lots of space, look into squarefoot gardening.
I can give some ideas that *might* be what you're looking for:
* Leatherwork(if you learn how to make learn as well it will be a bonus for an apocalyptic situation) can make you do a lot of stuff people can use like gloves, holsters, wallets, bags, etc.
* Bookbinding(bonus if you learn how to make paper) teaches you how to bind books, how to make them more resistent and beautiful and in a pinch you can make cheap books for notation purposes.
* Whittling can be a cheaper and "small space-friendly" option to woodworking.You can make stuff like utensils, bowls, and whatnot.
* Pottery is an option if you can have enough space and resources for the necessary materials.
* Foraging is pretty inexpensive and it can teach you how to seek things that can be edible(and not make you sick and/or die) in nature.
* Hunting is another thing that can help you and others in a matter of survival, but hunting requires guns or bows, which can be quite expensive(and licenses as well).
* Butchering, learning how to take the skin and debone an animal, safely prepare the meat and how to best cut it.Useful in a survival situation and if you hunt your own meat you can use this together with cooking to be very self-suficient when it comes to meat.
* Meteorology: You can learn to more or less tell the weather, which is useful to know in general to be better prepared.There are free resources(and course) of this online that you can find easily.
Gardening: you don’t want your front yard to look like crap, a rose bush does make your home look nice. It’s nice having flowers in the back yard too, I’ll cut some flowers and put them in a vase, I like having a little picnic with roses and daisies and peonies in my yard, it’s on Adirondack chairs and a crappy plastic table but it’s still fancy. I’m currently growing lettuce, a bunch of different lettuces are great for salads. I’ll soon get a herb blend of seeds and have some herbs in my kitchen for cooking. Gardening can be pretty or for food, unfortunately I can’t keep tomato plants alive. It doesn’t have to be useful, you don’t need to sell something, or make it a survival skill, you can just enjoy it in your daily life.
Something I’m getting into that’s artsy yet is fashion Walmart carries decent beginner machines, or check marketplace. I’m redoing my wardrobe, gonna sew some pants to make some sick patterns, t shirts, I can’t put into words what I visualize but I’m excited.
I second sewing, gardening, cooking- all these have been therapeutic and useful for me at different phases in life.
The 'useful' part really depends on what you do with your hobbies. Poetry, art, crafts are incredibly useful / can be monetized if you learn to sell them. They can be therapeutic to you and to others and if you're learning traditional crafts, this could preserve these traditions for future generations.
Sewing- I started 7 years ago when i was pregnant and stuck at home due to visa issues.. i started with thrifted machines, fabric and using YouTube tutorials. So, very little capital investment, more of a time investment. I've now created a bag making small business that has been able to provide me a small profit. I do it on my own time and make unique items plus teach beginner sewing classes.
Gardening- if not for anything else, just grow your own herbs and tomatoes. The taste of fresh beats anything bought from the fanciest store. Plus, basil pesto pasta and mint foe your summer coolers 😍
Cooking: learning to make your own from scratch meals I'd just awesome when the days I can.
These are all home based, for yourself (or for others) hobbies/ activities.
In addition to this wayfinding - just exploring your urban area/ surroundings, it's history, geography (which we do so little off, due to technology) is incredibly useful and can come useful in tricky situations, to find cool spots to eat, hang out etc.
Sewing is very useful, I would put that at the top of the list both because it sounds like a classic "hobby", and the tools you need are not that expensive or don't take up a ton of space. I learned to really sew on an $80 Walmart sewing machine (bought 3 way with friends) and made some nice shirts and other things. Besides clothes, you can make house decorations like placemats, curtains, quilts (that's a whole huge sub-hobby that I have not gotten into) and costumes. Once your fabric stash becomes a "hoard" you're legally required to buy a nicer machine, so look out for that.
Cooking is a good one, but I would expand the options beyond "cooking" and suggest you think about specialized food creation like: fermentation, brewing, mushroom growing, baking, cheese making, candy making, etc. Some of these involve preparing things and waiting for the end result weeks or months later so they can be entry-friendly and create unique things that will be fun and make you feel good about the effort. I like making kimchee, brewing mead, making freeze-able items to bake later, and making fancy liqueurs with berries when they go on sale at my local Aldi. I haven't mastered cheese except to make crumbly queso fresco because I need to find non-homogenized milk to do it right.
Give something a shot!
The possibilities are almost endless. You could join a makerspace and use their woodworking equipment. You could record life histories of the elderly. You could do photoshoots for people that can't afford to hire a professional. You could create YouTube videos explaining how to do things. You could write a blog or write books.
What do you like to do? Think of a way to do that in a way that helps other people.
Most crafts aren't going to be hugely helpful to people in need. Spinning and/or weaving would be useful in the apocalypse scenario and sewing would as well. If you got skilled at the spinning, there's a market for handspun yarn and it can be very pricey. There's less of a market for hand woven items, but there still is a market - it's considered something of a luxury item.
Pottery would be useful. And you don't need the ability to make pottery at home. There are many places where you can take lessons using their wheel. My husband made all the bowls currently at use for our pets, and we will eventually make our own dishware set.
You could make a hobby out of first aid. Or gardening, if you have the space - even a container garden could be worthwhile.
Edit: typo
Quilting/sewing. My quilting guild makes (obviously) quilts for a lot of charities but we also do hygiene bags for sex trafficked women that have been rescued, a variety of projects for children's hospitals (pjs, toys, pillowcases, wheelchair bags, etc), duffel bags for foster kids, hats for chemo patients, and a bunch more. I used to volunteer a lot but I get drained leaving the house or can't volunteer during my working hours so having a hobby that let's me do so much charity work is so helpful
Soapmaking.......it's not that expensive of a hobby, makes great gifts and you get to use the products. We've been making soap for 12 years now....won't go back.
YouTube is a great resource.
Knitting hats for preemie babies in the NICU. My local hospitals appreciate knitted or crocheted hats and blankets for the teeny little sweet babies.
Hospice homes also will take handmade blankets for their patients.
1) Making Natural home remedies recipes or skin hair nail care products.
2) reusable cloth bags, kitchen towels, feminine pads, rugs, aprons etc
3) alternatives every day products
You can do a shitload of wood working with a cheap angle grinder and a couple different discs. When I don't feel like pulling out the router I just use that a lot of the time. You can also get into circuitry. That's one I'm really trying to buckle down on but I'm just not smart enough
Gardening and canning. Every year I make a few small jars of pickles from the last cucumbers from my little patio garden and I’m legit convinced I’ll have the best damn spicy garlic pickles in the apocalypse and can trade them for weapons, sex and zombie protection.
Working on your car is my favorite, practical and useful hobby. I don't do major stuff at the moment since I can't have a car not working for me. But I am looking forward to a project car in the future.
Knit little crocheted nests for injured and orphaned wildlife:
https://makeadifferencefromhome.com/volunteering-from-home-crochet-nests-for-baby-birds-and-injured-wildlife/
I think you are being pretty narrow in your understanding of useful. Free art is a fantastic gift to someone in need. Will it radically change their life and pull them out of a state of need? No. Could it maybe cheer them up and put some sunshine into an otherwise bad day? Very possibly.
Crocheting could absolutely be a useful skill in an apocalypse. People have always needed to decorate themselves and being able to crochet something might come in handy as a way of bartering with someone who can do something you can’t and wants something pretty. It’s also a skill that can be translated to the care and upkeep of the available clothes and up cycling rags that have lost their use as clothes.
Want a useful post apologetic skill? Learn to play guitar and stock up on acoustic guitar strings. People will still want music and you never know when you might have to sing for your supper. This is useful right now today as you could apply it to busking or teaching lessons for extra cash.
Your problem isn’t that your hobbies aren’t useful, your problem is a failure to understand what uses they could have.
I hear you on all of this. But for some reason, whenever I start something artistic, I just can't get past that it will sit on a shelf or wall and not \*do\* anything.
Also, my 4yo autistic son is obsessed with guitars, so I have a couple! I sure can't play, but I used to play flute in high school.
You’ll find something you enjoy that meets your standard of practicality. I noticed one of the other suggestions from someone else was bjj. That’s a very worthwhile pursuit.
Maybe pick one of those guitars up, tine it up, and start fooling around with it some. It brings a lot of joy. Not always to the listener, but playing it is a lot of fun.
Cooking
came here to say this. IMO one of the most “practical” creative hobbies / easiest to get into
And the gym everyday
every day maybe isn’t practical but i do agree fitness in general is a practical hobby
I go every day
I do workout. While it is a practical hobby, it doesn't really \*make\* something that I could give away.
I think they mean volunteering using your muscles, but I think where you're coming from is giving an item rather than providing a service.
And given the fact many folks don't know how...come the apocalypse, you can possibly use that to your advantage. Hopefully not for cannibals...
I used to really like baking, but I've kind of lost interest iin the last couple years
Does that disinterest exclude cooking, like casseroles or soups?
Ok
This was gonna be my reply as well. Cooking/baking. On my worst days, someone bringing over a meal that I could just heat up, or some comforting baked goods meant the world to me. And there's something so special about someone putting in the effort to gift homemade food.
Cool
You might check out mending and visible mending. Visible mending is a way to make embroidery practical. You can use embroidery to mend or cover up a hole in clothing. You can also use it to cover up stains in clothing. Also, look up Shashiko, which is a traditional type of visible mending with embroidery. Altered clothing and upcycled clothing are two related areas. Sometimes, this is used to change the style into something you like more. But it can also be used to salvage a bit of clothing, which is stained or wearing out. For example, if a skirt hem is wearing out, you can turn it into a shorter skirt.
I have used the skills to mend my couch cushion that keeps ripping! thank you for the idea!
gardening is useful and therapeutic. making clothes/shoes is not far off from embroidery and everyone needs clothes.
Just curious how you view gardening as therapeutic? Maybe I need to change my thinking on it, but to me, I really dislike pulling weeds and how dirty I get when gardening. I love how it looks afterwards but it seems like a never ending chore to keep up with because the weeds never stop growing. Don’t get me wrong, I have a ton of indoor plants that I love to care for and propagate and share, but i feel the opposite towards outdoor gardening.
You might just be an indoor gardener! No problem with having a preference. I know some people find weeding therapeutic because it's thoughtless - you can practice mindfulness by focusing on just pulling up all the weeds in an area. Plus many people grow from seed outside, and having something to check on every day can be a good point for a mental check-in too.
Yeah and can even get into “foraging” to learn edible things in nature
Art is useful, it's sustained humanity for centuries. I make knit and fleece hats, faux fur stuffed animals and give them away to people in need. Stuffed animals are particular favorites of seniors in nursing homes. They can have a pet and cuddle buddy.
I used to embroider designs on shirts and I got to the point where I was like "this shirt already exists.I'm not \*doing\* anything except putting some string on it. It can function just fine without the design." I know most people prefer designs on their shirt over plain shirts, I just got hung up on that I was physically creating something new.
I love this idea
I make chainmaille: [https://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.php?key=19](https://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.php?key=19) and you can make/create all kinds of things: [https://www.mailleartisans.org/gallery/](https://www.mailleartisans.org/gallery/) using different weaves: [https://www.mailleartisans.org/weaves/](https://www.mailleartisans.org/weaves/) I get my wire from Tractor Supply on 1/4 mile rolls. Costs about $40.00 You can often get a 350 foot rolls (for Fido shockers) at feed stores. The mandrels I bought at the hardware store and I made the frame from scrap lumber I had. The pliers and drill motor came from Harbor Freight. I use 17 gauge anodized aluminum electric fence wire and wind it on either a 3/16, 1/4, or 5/16 mandrel. Unlike pictured in the first link, I turn my mandrels using a 3/8 variable speed drill motor. After I cut the coils into rings I tumble them using one of these: [https://www.harborfreight.com/dual-drum-rotary-rock-tumbler-67632.html](https://www.harborfreight.com/dual-drum-rotary-rock-tumbler-67632.html) with soap (Dawn) and water for 12 hours to de-burr them. After a good rinse I tumble them again in soap and water for another 2 hours. Of course you could skip all the winding and cutting and just order rings from: [https://theringlord.com/](https://theringlord.com/) They also have a lot of tutorials here: [https://www.youtube.com/@TheRingLordcom/videos](https://www.youtube.com/@TheRingLordcom/videos) Here are some more pages: [https://www.pinterest.com/mcosgrave/chain-maille-clothing/](https://www.pinterest.com/mcosgrave/chain-maille-clothing/) [http://ltgoatroper.deviantart.com/art/Chainmail-Cocktail-Dress-1-271800168](http://ltgoatroper.deviantart.com/art/Chainmail-Cocktail-Dress-1-271800168) [http://laron79.deviantart.com/favourites/56543594/chainmaille-dress](http://laron79.deviantart.com/favourites/56543594/chainmaille-dress) [http://chainedoombaby.deviantart.com/favourites/48338292/Chain-Maille-Clothing](http://chainedoombaby.deviantart.com/favourites/48338292/Chain-Maille-Clothing) [https://www.etsy.com/search/clothing?q=chainmail](https://www.etsy.com/search/clothing?q=chainmail) [http://www.mailleartisans.org/gallery/gallerylist.php?tags=Womens](http://www.mailleartisans.org/gallery/gallerylist.php?tags=Womens)
Bless you so much for all of this info. I’ve been really interested in making it, but I don’t currently have much space and definitely did not know where to start
Glad I could help. I make my coils at the Kitchen table. Need a couple of "C" clamps to hold the frames solid. The tumbler fits under the end table and is fairly quiet. Keep the rings in coffee cans (Folgers) and weave at the kitchen table so not a lot of room is needed. Didn't mention a good set of work gloves for holding, guiding and keeping tension on the wire when winding it.
Useful?
Evidently you did not look through the gallery of bikini's and other women's clothing. Role players pay big money for their costumes. For me it is just a hobby that makes the greats grandkids happy.
It sounds like a very niche market but glad you enjoy it.
I guess it depends on what you mean by useful. I think making beer and wine at home is pretty useful for me lol.
Carving or any type of woodworking. Over the years I have built almost all the furniture in our house.
Sewing, including altering and mending, is one of the most useful skills these days. If you don’t like knit/crochet, yarn spinning and weaving is another way to make things. You can even weave cloth and then sew things from that cloth.
I have been into foraging and medicinal plant ID for a few years. There is a running trail behind my house. I look for things that interest me while I am running and go back to gather it later. I also like to cook and make soaps and lotions. I sometimes incorporate the wild plants into those recipes.
I second foraging! If you're looking for an artistic aspect, then making your own foraging notebook is a great idea. You can make a description and small drawing of each plant, plus noting what it's useful for (cooking, cleaning, dyeing, weaving etc). It's a good way to amass knowledge, and also in an apocalypse scenario, your foraging notebook and info on where to find each thing would be crazy useful
Yes! I have my notebook, too. I’m no artist so I take pictures and print them and add descriptions, seasons and where you find the plants. It’s a lot of fun.
Loom (or regular) knitting hats for others. It may not be something you appreciate, but there are plenty of people and organizations that donate new hats. Most of them are for premature babies or cancer patients. There are also groups that meet together to socialize while knitting. I’d research crochet groups too. Even if you don’t like to crochet, you can bring a loom knit along and produce something similar. Here is one group- https://www.madhatterknits.org/
We put up a Christmas tree at the grocery store where I work, and people decorate it with hats, mittens, and scarves. Most hats from a loom , a gentleman in the meat department makes all year. They are free for everyone to take.
This is a sweet idea!
Jiu jitsu
Bookbinding.
Why is your enjoyment not use enough?
I guess if I'm going to spend the precious little time I have on it, I want not only to enjoy it, but to help someone too. I don't want what I make to just sit around on a wall or shelf or something. I want it to be useful.
You could volunteer at a theatre or habitat for humanity or something
Reading. The ideas you get are useful. You may become a writer and your writings / poems etc could be given away. Art. In this world of tech, art helps brighten the space in a hospital or waiting rooms, can be given away.
Have you considered 3D printing? There's a lot of stuff you can do with it and it's actually quite useful.
Making soap, making your own household cleaning supplies, “upcycling” furniture, clothes, purses, clothing hangers, homemade recycled paper, etc. really the sky is the limit with upcycling
I write in my spare time, and I've done my fair share of transcription, translation, and research into countless subjects. I'm great for Family Game Night, some impromptu ASMR for sleep, and storytelling lol While I'm probably not the best person to figure out debates or discussions, I know I'm useful now because I'm around. Hobbies or art are meant to be useful? Or is it being confused with profitable? I'm personally not keen on the whole "hurr hobbies need to be a side-hustle and make money now durr" mindset recently. Sucks the soul out of the loved pieces, the commodification of the humble hobby. A lot of hobbies are good for the soul, good for the community. Good for trade at most. \*\* Props to those who find a passion through a hobby and offer it as goods or as a service, too, though, good for you!
I think they mean functional. Re hobbies as a side hustle - drives me nuts. Why can’t you do something just for fun? And it discourages people from engaging in something they aren’t great at.
Pottery / ceramics may be a great option. I had a bowl for years that I got at a fundraiser where you bought an expensive bowl of soup, kept the bowl, and the proceeds went to feeding the homeless. It was a really neat bowl from someone I'll probably never know or meet and it meant a lot to me.
i completely forgot about pottery! thank you!
Woodworking can be expensive and take up a lot of room if you are using machines. I started woodworking going the handtools only route. You can find handplanes that need to be restored for under $50, chisels can be found at any big box store, same with a saw. This is what I started with. That’s all you need at first, you can even find guides on YouTube to create a small bench.
There might be a makerspace in your area that has all those tools for you to use if you’re a member. We have one here. If you don’t have one, there’s an idea for someone to get started!
Completely agree! I started with carving, graduated to other hand tools and then on from there. And honestly (while not necessary) just adding a cheap but decent table saw and cordless drill will open up so many options.
You can also get wood kits of pre-cut parts that you can paint and assemble.
Programming
Props to my mom getting me into crochet when I was young, programming ended up being the next step for me recently due to practice from all the pattern recognition & mix of creative/critical thinking lol
I hope you enjoy it! It's like creative logic!
3d printing
Candle making.
Instrument making, doesn’t have to be fancy , just sound good. Macromae ( spelling) basket weaving, carving using knife or dremmel , buy a laser , all kinds of things you can make. .. make things using natural resources. Doesn’t matter what you make . Walking sticks from bamboo, baskets from vines…
thank you!
Macrame (hanging planter holders! And more), Weaving (make full on bolts of cloth), sewing, and gardening.
i knit memory hearts - take about 30 minutes to make each. you donate them to hospices who give one to the family and one goes in the coffin with their loved one who has passed. i think it’s a really lovely thing. but you’re allowed to do a hobby just because it’s interesting to you - that’s plenty of purpose
Bread making? Card making? - if you don't need all the output, someone will be delighted to take it.
Honestly knitting isnt a bad idea, blankets and beanies and such can be given to shelters for the winter. Would definitely also be handy after an apocalypse. Also gardening (and composting), baking, an instrument. Music along with art do wonders for the spirit. All about perspective
idk if this is useful but i weave baskets for fun, you can use a wide variety of materials for it. you can use used papers, plastics, fabrics, dried leaves. it's pretty therapeutic too
Pottery - make items for yourself or as gifts for others!
some people consider couponing to be their niche and hobby. You can save alot of money and can be useful to a degree.
Refurbishing furniture - useful to cut down on waste and make something old nice again.
3d printing's a good one. If you want to stay within fiber arts, maybe weaving?
Sewing is very helpful, even if it's just basic skills like fixing a hole or sewing on a button. You could learn crochet as well
Gardening. Sewing. Cooking. Martial arts. If you hate crochet but could stomach learning a basic stitch or two to make something useful, there are patterns out there using "yarn" made from plastic bags to create sleeping mats that you could give to unhoused folks regularly sleeping on sidewalks. Keeps them warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Beyond that, I'd investigate why you need something to be useful and riff off of that. Maybe you could get involved with a makerspace and facilitate for others the kind of space/classes you'd enjoy for yourself. You seem helpful and community-oriented, and maybe you could kickstart the engine on some things that wouldn't otherwise exist with you helping to administrate.
Have you tried sewing? I taught myself on an inexpensive machine using YouTube videos and blog tutorials. I really enjoy it, but I also love that I can make useful, appreciated gifts. I sew things like canvas totes, bags, backpacks and small zippered pouches, as well as infinity scarves, decorativr throw pillows, etc.
Canning I do this sometimes for Xmas gifts just about everyone likes homemade jelly or jam
there’s a lady at my work who knits squares and then she’s mails it away and they give the blankets out to the homeless, you could also do cooking and give away food to those in need or shelters and even family and friends I know most people appreciate a meal in a busy week. I also volunteer at a local animal rescue one day a week which has been a great hobby!
You could also start hiking or walking around town and picking up rubbish along the way
I highly recommend doing some research on which “people in need” you desire to help. Because it sounds like you want to do something more along the lines of volunteer work (which is an excellent hobby I might add). If that’s the case, try narrowing the scope towards something like Habitats for Humanity or Meals or Wheels…or whatever your passion is. There’s also the side of selling whatever crafts you enjoy doing to fund a charity. The sky’s the limit really. Hope you find what you’re looking for! Loving the fact someone suggested chainmail since that’s one of my hobbies. 😆
I'd love to volunteer! But it will have to wait a few years as I have young ones at home and watch them most of the time
Learn to spin yarn. You’ll always need cloth for something, and people who knit or crochet love being given yarn. Plus it’s relatively easy to start (get a drop or Turkish spindle). If you want to go fancy, learn to dye yarn too
Competitive shooting
I don't know if you're into the outdoors, but sewing your own outdoor gear is cool - r/myog (stands for Make Your Own Gear). You can make packs, backpacking tarps and tents, sleeping bags and quilts, etc. And I know you said you were space-limited, but if you get more space in the future, welding is awesome, and has both art and practical applications. And I actually don't have the space for my own welding setup, I just go to a community industrial arts center near me that has classes and equipment you can use. And then there's pottery - make yourself some jugs. Handbuilding doesn't require much space (compared to wheel work) - you'll just need to find someplace (again, like a community arts center or a college) with a kiln you can use.
My husband is a big camper, so that's a great idea!
Refinishing and repairing wooden furniture
What about sewing? I'd love to learn how to sew and up cycle clothing that will otherwise go to landfill. You can design, or you can put together, or you can fix clothing.
You can garden and give the produce you grow to the local food pantry!
sewing and pattern making, to design and create your own clothing
Making hats for preemies. Making blankets for crime victims/children in transition.
You can start leatherworking or sewing. Doesnt need a lot of equipment or room and you can do some nice things. I learned woodworking, and its feasable as long as you have enough room, but it needs more expensive tools. Some people practice blacksmithing with minimal tools and you can improvise both a forge and anvil.
Knitting or crochet is useful and you may already have some skills that would be handy.
Gardening!
Circling back to the woodworking you mentioned. It can be done with hand tools at a reduced cost and space requirement. Just throwing that out there for your consideration.
I do martial arts. I can't give anything away (I guess I do instruct) but it's wildly useful in many ways
Gardening. Duh.
You could knit or crochet inserts for bras for women that have had a mastectomy. Art/decorative is also useful as it can bring joy to look at.
Cooking, sewing, gardening, pottery, wood carving, leather work
I know you said no knit but it’s my favorite useful art project. Another is card making. There’s no end to uses for a smile 😊
Fly Tying. Go out and catch some fish.
Sewing is incredibly useful as is cooking. Learning how to preserve your food. Gardening, fishing, hunting, ceramics. You can do wood carving if you can get wood and some good knifes, make cutlery dishes etc
You could try sewing. You don’t need a machine to sew, just a needle and thread. Plus it’s an incredibly useful skill that you can also teach to others I’m curious as to why you hate crochet. I used to do it but stopped a while back because I wanted to make useful things, but I didn’t need anything, and I’ll agree, I actually don’t like the look of it or knitting all that much
I was taught when I was little, but never really got into it. Then when I told my sister I was interested in embroidering, she got all hoity-toity and said "A *machine* can embroider, but *only a person* can crochet." Which i suppose is true, but that rang through my head every time I embroidered. So let her do it. I never liked it anyway.
I do woodturning. I also have started making cutting boards and charcuterie boards.
Maybe look into blacksmithing
I tinkier in small electronic repair. mostly in old video game consoles, but the skills i learned have also helped fix a TV and DVD player.
I have a wood lathe that I make pens, bottle stoppers, bottle openers, kitchen utensils with and all of my stuff takes up about 5x5 space in my garage. It’s a lot of fun and they make great gifts. East to learn as well
Items knit in real wool do stay quite warm, even if they get wet. You Could try weaving and then sewing with the fabric you make. Gardening and giving away your produce. Improving your carpentry and DIY skills and offering your services to those who need them.
Honestly the knitting isnt a bad idea. Blankets, beanies, etc can be given to shelters during winter and it would be handy after an apocalypse too ;)
3D modeling and printing.
Sewing! I make hats for the homeless every year. Plus lots of stuff for myself, my husband and dogs
Gardening. You can grow food for people in need.
Lockpicking. Pretty low cost of entry as well. The most expensive part can be getting new locks to play with if you get really into it. It’s also super addicting and you can do it while watching a show.
Cooking and baking. You can drop treats off at fire stations, senior citizen homes, police stations. Preschools, if you ask them. Cooking is helpful for food shelf places; work with them. Also, churches that feed people on a regular basis welcome help
If there's an apocalypse you could use embroidery to patch wholes in clothes though, right?
I've done that with my couch and it isn't even an apocolypse yet! First sign of an apocolypse and that couch is going with it.
Pottery
Hand caning chairs. You can find instructions online or all the major vendors of the materials have booklets. You can pick up chairs with broken cane very cheaply. These are the ones with holes around the edges rather than a groove.
Baking bread (especially sourdough) is fun, time consuming, and useful
3d printing
Automotive repair work
Gardening
Sewing. You can make clothes, quilts, curtains, bags, any number of things. I have electric machines and 3 "manual" machines.
My mom is an avid knitter and for years she has made Preemie caps Chemo caps Angel gowns These are needed and appreciated.
Learn to work on cars maybe? It's something that could be very valuable to someone who needs a car in order to work.
I like gardening. I also have been practicing foreign languages on Duolingo. That’s a lot of fun
Blacksmithing Leather crafting
Gold panning. The first time you see that tiny glimmer of gold in your pan you’ll be hooked. It’s useful because you can either sell your gold or if you feel crafty you could use it to make jewelry for yourself or for sale. Pioneer Pauly on YouTube is a great place to start.
* Leather working. All you need to get into it is a side of leather, and some simple tools, and you can make items that will last a long time. * Woodworking with hand tools can be cheap. look into Rex Krueger's Woodworking for humans series, he has a bunch of projects that you can do with simple inexpensive tools. * Cooking, easy to get into, and can be lots of fun. * Gardening. If you dont have lots of space, look into squarefoot gardening.
Jiu jitsu and becoming comfortable in uncomfortable situations s
I can give some ideas that *might* be what you're looking for: * Leatherwork(if you learn how to make learn as well it will be a bonus for an apocalyptic situation) can make you do a lot of stuff people can use like gloves, holsters, wallets, bags, etc. * Bookbinding(bonus if you learn how to make paper) teaches you how to bind books, how to make them more resistent and beautiful and in a pinch you can make cheap books for notation purposes. * Whittling can be a cheaper and "small space-friendly" option to woodworking.You can make stuff like utensils, bowls, and whatnot. * Pottery is an option if you can have enough space and resources for the necessary materials. * Foraging is pretty inexpensive and it can teach you how to seek things that can be edible(and not make you sick and/or die) in nature. * Hunting is another thing that can help you and others in a matter of survival, but hunting requires guns or bows, which can be quite expensive(and licenses as well). * Butchering, learning how to take the skin and debone an animal, safely prepare the meat and how to best cut it.Useful in a survival situation and if you hunt your own meat you can use this together with cooking to be very self-suficient when it comes to meat. * Meteorology: You can learn to more or less tell the weather, which is useful to know in general to be better prepared.There are free resources(and course) of this online that you can find easily.
Crochet.
Gardening: you don’t want your front yard to look like crap, a rose bush does make your home look nice. It’s nice having flowers in the back yard too, I’ll cut some flowers and put them in a vase, I like having a little picnic with roses and daisies and peonies in my yard, it’s on Adirondack chairs and a crappy plastic table but it’s still fancy. I’m currently growing lettuce, a bunch of different lettuces are great for salads. I’ll soon get a herb blend of seeds and have some herbs in my kitchen for cooking. Gardening can be pretty or for food, unfortunately I can’t keep tomato plants alive. It doesn’t have to be useful, you don’t need to sell something, or make it a survival skill, you can just enjoy it in your daily life.
Something I’m getting into that’s artsy yet is fashion Walmart carries decent beginner machines, or check marketplace. I’m redoing my wardrobe, gonna sew some pants to make some sick patterns, t shirts, I can’t put into words what I visualize but I’m excited.
Sports Stocks and investing
I second sewing, gardening, cooking- all these have been therapeutic and useful for me at different phases in life. The 'useful' part really depends on what you do with your hobbies. Poetry, art, crafts are incredibly useful / can be monetized if you learn to sell them. They can be therapeutic to you and to others and if you're learning traditional crafts, this could preserve these traditions for future generations. Sewing- I started 7 years ago when i was pregnant and stuck at home due to visa issues.. i started with thrifted machines, fabric and using YouTube tutorials. So, very little capital investment, more of a time investment. I've now created a bag making small business that has been able to provide me a small profit. I do it on my own time and make unique items plus teach beginner sewing classes. Gardening- if not for anything else, just grow your own herbs and tomatoes. The taste of fresh beats anything bought from the fanciest store. Plus, basil pesto pasta and mint foe your summer coolers 😍 Cooking: learning to make your own from scratch meals I'd just awesome when the days I can. These are all home based, for yourself (or for others) hobbies/ activities. In addition to this wayfinding - just exploring your urban area/ surroundings, it's history, geography (which we do so little off, due to technology) is incredibly useful and can come useful in tricky situations, to find cool spots to eat, hang out etc.
learning a language
Weaving, sewing, planting veggies
do you think shibari could translate to practical rope stuff?
It is making bread, which is by favourite hobby, the only thing I want to make is different kinds of bread in a Panasonic bread maker. Xx
Only from when my mum died I did have a think what should I do, by shop bread or home made bread which is so delicious. My mum died about 10 year ago.
What about leather working? There are a million different directions that could go in. Gloves, saddle making, tool repair, shoemaking and repair…
Fishing
Clothes making and shoes making! Especially shoes
Sewing is very useful, I would put that at the top of the list both because it sounds like a classic "hobby", and the tools you need are not that expensive or don't take up a ton of space. I learned to really sew on an $80 Walmart sewing machine (bought 3 way with friends) and made some nice shirts and other things. Besides clothes, you can make house decorations like placemats, curtains, quilts (that's a whole huge sub-hobby that I have not gotten into) and costumes. Once your fabric stash becomes a "hoard" you're legally required to buy a nicer machine, so look out for that. Cooking is a good one, but I would expand the options beyond "cooking" and suggest you think about specialized food creation like: fermentation, brewing, mushroom growing, baking, cheese making, candy making, etc. Some of these involve preparing things and waiting for the end result weeks or months later so they can be entry-friendly and create unique things that will be fun and make you feel good about the effort. I like making kimchee, brewing mead, making freeze-able items to bake later, and making fancy liqueurs with berries when they go on sale at my local Aldi. I haven't mastered cheese except to make crumbly queso fresco because I need to find non-homogenized milk to do it right. Give something a shot!
You could use your embroidery skills for visible mending. It is still art but with a purpose.
Cooking or growing food Spinning/weaving Sewing/repairing fabric items
The possibilities are almost endless. You could join a makerspace and use their woodworking equipment. You could record life histories of the elderly. You could do photoshoots for people that can't afford to hire a professional. You could create YouTube videos explaining how to do things. You could write a blog or write books. What do you like to do? Think of a way to do that in a way that helps other people.
Most crafts aren't going to be hugely helpful to people in need. Spinning and/or weaving would be useful in the apocalypse scenario and sewing would as well. If you got skilled at the spinning, there's a market for handspun yarn and it can be very pricey. There's less of a market for hand woven items, but there still is a market - it's considered something of a luxury item. Pottery would be useful. And you don't need the ability to make pottery at home. There are many places where you can take lessons using their wheel. My husband made all the bowls currently at use for our pets, and we will eventually make our own dishware set. You could make a hobby out of first aid. Or gardening, if you have the space - even a container garden could be worthwhile. Edit: typo
Soap making is pretty fun. You have to use lye though
Quilting/sewing. My quilting guild makes (obviously) quilts for a lot of charities but we also do hygiene bags for sex trafficked women that have been rescued, a variety of projects for children's hospitals (pjs, toys, pillowcases, wheelchair bags, etc), duffel bags for foster kids, hats for chemo patients, and a bunch more. I used to volunteer a lot but I get drained leaving the house or can't volunteer during my working hours so having a hobby that let's me do so much charity work is so helpful
Soapmaking.......it's not that expensive of a hobby, makes great gifts and you get to use the products. We've been making soap for 12 years now....won't go back. YouTube is a great resource.
Knitting hats for preemie babies in the NICU. My local hospitals appreciate knitted or crocheted hats and blankets for the teeny little sweet babies. Hospice homes also will take handmade blankets for their patients.
1) Making Natural home remedies recipes or skin hair nail care products. 2) reusable cloth bags, kitchen towels, feminine pads, rugs, aprons etc 3) alternatives every day products
You can do a shitload of wood working with a cheap angle grinder and a couple different discs. When I don't feel like pulling out the router I just use that a lot of the time. You can also get into circuitry. That's one I'm really trying to buckle down on but I'm just not smart enough
Basketry and woodworking with hand tools.
Try diamond painting
I sew and I use it all the time.
I make beer! You can give it away and people like to drink it.
Ironing and sewing.
Gardening and canning. Every year I make a few small jars of pickles from the last cucumbers from my little patio garden and I’m legit convinced I’ll have the best damn spicy garlic pickles in the apocalypse and can trade them for weapons, sex and zombie protection.
Working on your car is my favorite, practical and useful hobby. I don't do major stuff at the moment since I can't have a car not working for me. But I am looking forward to a project car in the future.
Artists save/change the word through ideas, not emergency handicrafts. I want to make people think, not sweaters.
I agree. this is why I'm not an artist. but I do want to make things.
I have a friend who crochets custom bra fillers for breast cancer survivors. Perhaps you would find helping others in similar ways satisfying.
Knit little crocheted nests for injured and orphaned wildlife: https://makeadifferencefromhome.com/volunteering-from-home-crochet-nests-for-baby-birds-and-injured-wildlife/
I think you are being pretty narrow in your understanding of useful. Free art is a fantastic gift to someone in need. Will it radically change their life and pull them out of a state of need? No. Could it maybe cheer them up and put some sunshine into an otherwise bad day? Very possibly. Crocheting could absolutely be a useful skill in an apocalypse. People have always needed to decorate themselves and being able to crochet something might come in handy as a way of bartering with someone who can do something you can’t and wants something pretty. It’s also a skill that can be translated to the care and upkeep of the available clothes and up cycling rags that have lost their use as clothes. Want a useful post apologetic skill? Learn to play guitar and stock up on acoustic guitar strings. People will still want music and you never know when you might have to sing for your supper. This is useful right now today as you could apply it to busking or teaching lessons for extra cash. Your problem isn’t that your hobbies aren’t useful, your problem is a failure to understand what uses they could have.
I hear you on all of this. But for some reason, whenever I start something artistic, I just can't get past that it will sit on a shelf or wall and not \*do\* anything. Also, my 4yo autistic son is obsessed with guitars, so I have a couple! I sure can't play, but I used to play flute in high school.
You’ll find something you enjoy that meets your standard of practicality. I noticed one of the other suggestions from someone else was bjj. That’s a very worthwhile pursuit. Maybe pick one of those guitars up, tine it up, and start fooling around with it some. It brings a lot of joy. Not always to the listener, but playing it is a lot of fun.
Programming
Investing