11 Old-Fashioned Skills That Are Making a Comeback • Schisandra & Bergamot

In a fast-paced, digital world, more people are turning to the past for inspiration—and practicality. Old-fashioned skills once considered outdated are now seen as empowering, sustainable, and even trendy.

Canning and Preserving Food

Jars of preserved fruits, vegetables, and sauces are arranged on a market table alongside bottles and bags of grains or condiments. — Photo Credit: stockfilmstudio/Envato

Home canning is no longer just your grandma’s hobby. People are preserving garden harvests, reducing food waste, and stocking pantries with homegrown flavor.

Sewing and Mending Clothes

Hands sewing dark blue fabric with a white sewing machine, surrounded by spools of thread, scissors, and a measuring tape on a wooden table. — Photo Credit: Yakov_Oskanov/Envato

Fast fashion has people rethinking waste. Mending torn clothes or sewing your own garments is now a badge of sustainability—and personal style.

Baking Bread from Scratch

Person shaping dough on a wooden surface, with several dough pieces resting in proofing baskets beside them. — Photo Credit: ADDICTIVE_STOCK/Envato

Sourdough starters and handmade loaves are back in home kitchens. This age-old skill offers comfort, flavor, and the satisfaction of creating something from nothing.

Growing Your Own Food

A woman kneels in a vegetable garden, holding a purple watering can and tending to plants with tomatoes and cucumbers visible in the soil. — Photo Credit: prostooleh/Envato

Victory gardens are making a comeback in yards, balconies, and windowsills. Even a few pots of herbs or tomatoes help people feel more self-sufficient.

Making Natural Cleaning Products

Three red apples, a bottle of apple cider vinegar, a measuring cup, a metal spoon, a yellow cloth, and a green spray bottle on a white background. — Photo Credit: ThamKC/Envato

Old-school cleaning tricks using vinegar, baking soda, and lemon are in style again. They’re cheaper, healthier, and better for the environment.

Knitting and Crocheting

Person sitting on a patterned rug knitting with beige yarn and red knitting needles, wearing a brown sweater and teal pants. — Photo Credit: westend61/Envato

Crafting handmade blankets, scarves, and dishcloths has found new fans among all ages. It’s meditative, creative, and produces useful, heartfelt items.

Keeping a Handwritten Journal

A person writes with a pen in an open notebook on a worn wooden table. — Photo Credit: wirestock/Envato

Writing by hand is making a quiet return. From garden logs to gratitude journals, it’s a screen-free way to reflect, plan, and preserve memories.

Cooking Over Fire

A person pours liquid from a bottle into a pan of meat cooking over an open fire outdoors. — Photo Credit: astrakanimages/Envato

Whether it’s cast iron on coals or grilling with hardwood, open-fire cooking adds flavor and brings people together. Campfire meals and outdoor bread ovens are trending again.

Raising Backyard Chickens

A woman stands by a wire fence in a garden holding greens, with a dog beside her and three chickens walking nearby. — Photo Credit: ira_evva/Envato

Fresh eggs, fertilizer, and a closer connection to food are making chickens popular in cities and suburbs. It’s old-school homesteading with a modern twist.