As I get older (yeah, that kinda crept up on me!), I have found that the stubbornness that comes from the Irish side of my family has hit a wall: there are now things that I just can't do anymore. Sure! I try to do them, and then I pay mightily later, limping around the homestead and muttering to myself about how very, very much my back hurts! OUCH!

The subject of this article is one tool that I could not do without, apocalypse or not, and that cost me less than $20 in an online auction: a simple hand truck.   

Pre-Apocalyptic Uses for a Hand Truck

Many years ago, I had the opportunity to use a hand truck that belonged to my building when I moved out. I noticed how much it helped to have it around. I could pile boxes on it and easily manoeuvre them around, even up the moving truck ramp. I noted these features, filing them away for future reference.

Fast forward a decade, and I'm living my dream out on a small homestead. One of the first things I bought when I moved onto my land was a hand truck. I found it on an online auction. It is a well-made one, with chipping paint and a veneer of usefulness on it. Today, I smile at my prescience, as I bought this baby well before my back injury. I just knew somehow that it would be useful.

On my homestead on my own, it has allowed me to do all kinds of outlandish things that you might imagine were impossible. I built a deck for my off-grid tiny home, moving huge, solid hardwood skids into place using my hand truck. It is amazing how much of a wide load it can handle!

Before my back injury, I used to haul around cement blocks by hand like it was nothing….Ah….the good old days! Now, no matter how short a distance they are being moved, I go and get my trusty hand truck and slide it into place. Numerous episodes of Irish stubbornness (too many to admit!) now remind me that….yes, I do need the hand truck to do that.