Hello all - hoping this finds you all well. It is a lovely morning here - around 44* and sunny. Yesterday was lovely as well. Took a walk around the yard and noticed baby grape hyacinths and daffodils poking through the ground. Under leaves and then after all the snow - there are little signs of life. Enjoying it all while I can - this weekend gets colder again. Sigh!
Today let's talk a bit about how grandma lived and how they survived and made do with what they had. I know some of you are young, and your grandparents are probably not even my age - but others of us remember stories from our grands and our parents about living through the depression and those hard times surrounding it.
Now we can do many of those things, by choice and don't have to work hard to do it. It just takes a little dedication on your part. It can be fun and it sure is thrifty.
MEAT was a side dish. Maybe granny cooked a big chicken on Sunday - then later they had soup, sandwiches, flavoring, broth, meat pies, etc. After cooking those bones down for broth, many times they were crushed and used in the gardens or fed to chickens.
BONES - were always used for broth and stock. It is easy to do today and makes the most flavorful stock you can have (also use up the scraps of veggies making it).
BACON grease was gold. Lard was pretty much the only other grease available back then - and bacon grease had so much flavor to add to all cooked items. Many of us still do this!
INVENTORY meals - were normal. Shopping didn't happen often (espec. rural) and many were limited by funds and stamps and places to go. They figured out how to make meals with what they had on hand. They knew how to stretch that food. Meals were kept basic and simple.
I know growing up we had a lot of oatmeal and grits (wasn't a fan) and eggs at breakfast. Those were basics and filled the belly. I more enjoyed the biscuits and jelly and toast and jelly.
BAKED at home - cookies cakes, bread, biscuits, etc.
HUNG their laundry - way back there were no driers to be seen. Line drying was the norm. I know many places today won't let that happen, but there are ways around it. Hanging racks in the garage, uses your back patio, the basement, hanging some things over the tub, etc.
Nothing smells as great as sheets off the line and a freshly made bed.
They used cold water for most laundry or heated water over a fire for really bad things (a lot of work). I use cold water for 99% of my laundry today. They get clean and last longer. Hot water breaks down fiber.
VINEGAR was the item used for cleaning most everything. Windows, floors, walls, hair, baths, even laundry. It is cheap and can be used in so many ways. Also helped to pickle garden goods.
USED things UP. Clothes were given as hand me downs, often remade into new items, rags (no paper towels back then), quilts, etc. Leftovers made in new ways. Bread - bread pudding, French toast, breadcrumbs. PCIKLE BRINE used to make other veggies last longer, used for brine in seasoning and tenderizing meat. SCRAPS - BONES - made broth/stock. Kept every screw, nail, button, zipper that they could and reused. You get the idea.
Now you can shop thrift stores and garage sales. Beware many thrift stores are charging more and more today - if possible try yard sales and family and friend trades.
Nothing was WASTED. One item had MANY uses.
GROW your own. Everyone had a garden of some sort back in the day. Look at growing a small garden, growing in pots on the patio or the porch. Regrow various items, green onions, lettuce, celery etc. Herbs are easy to grow and make great flavorings and products for health.
Good QUALITY was important. Things that were well built were always a plus (usually handmade). They didn't have funds to replace at a whim - so quality was very important. It should be today as well - a good value is nice, but quality is better.
Life looked so different back then.
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Today - track your spending! Take at least a month and keep track of EVERY single penny you spend and what it was for. It can eye opening - how much is spent of frivolous items. Wants NOT needs! We did this for ages back in the day - and it really made us look at things differently. It altered how we shopped and the silly things that ate our money.
NO impulse shopping. Take a good 72 hours to think on major purchases. Impulse shopping is a great grabber of funds. Now, I do often buy things at the grocery that weren't on the list, but only because it is clearance, and likely won't be available again for that price.
SMALLER homes - creates less stress. Less to clean, less to heat and cool, less stuff fits in it! Usually costs less. I find my home is easy to take care (even maintenance) with it being smaller. That gives you more time for LIVING a peaceful life and enjoying those quiet moments.
DON'T try to keep up with others. The grass may look greener - but odds are they spend more dollars to maintain that look!
Do you - and be ever so proud of what you have. Maintain it and love it.
Ok, enough chatting for today. Just remember you can do much of what grandma did and save some funds in the meantime. It can be fun and a great challenge. No one thing makes a huge difference in funds, but if you add them all up over a year - you can save a generous amount.
Make it a game and give things a try for a while - t may become a habit.
Have a beautiful day my friends.
Beautiful post! Clothing lasts so much longer when lt is line dried!
ReplyDeleteMaura
Thank you kindly. I agree - we put a lot of unnecessary wear on our clothing with hot water and driers.
DeleteI enjoyed reading your post, I brought back many memories. When I was young most of my clothing came from hand me downs from my cousins. It was done out of necessity not practicality.There is a lot that can be done to cut back and save money. Cooking at home for sure saves...
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, I love the chair! My middle brother inherited one of the remaining chairs that my mom and dad went to housekeeping with. I hadn't thought about it but I bet it was a little shorter over the years due to wear.
ReplyDeleteCold water prevents shrinkage. Line drying is very satisfying to the soul. I can remember my mom hanging things on the line in freezing weather. Love the colorful bloomers! Yup, that has to be a confident woman to wear those...what fun.
Queen Elizabeth actually was thrifty in her own way. Many of her garments were remade or altered for a new look.
Speaking of the Queen, I often see headlines that Catharine is “recycling” her clothes. No, she is wearing them more than once. Some items are restyled but fortunately she has the sense to wear her wardrobe. Thank goodness!
DeleteYour colourful line drying photo reminds me of when my American brother-in-law came to the UK for the first time and was horrified to see washing lines with undies flapping in the breeze where everyone and anyone could see them. I had to explain that since it is not an unusual thing over here nobody takes any notice, but I don't think he was convinced!
ReplyDeleteMy mom died last night. She was ill for 6 months. She got hospitalized for a condition unrelated to breaking her hip 6 months ago - couple weeks after she broke it. But because of her age and having broken her hip they were reluctant to do beyond the bare minimum. But doing the bare minimum made things worse and that caused other things to happen. If I told you what she overcame repeatedly you'd be amazed. But yesterday we knew it was now too much and she wasn't going to bounce back. My brother believes it was medical malpractice and wants to sue. I just want to cry and not think about how they treated her and how I had to battle them for 6 months.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, so sorry for the loss of your sweet mom.
DeleteMy heart goes out to you Margaret. It is hard enough to lose a parent, but losing your mom to negligence is beyond heartbreaking. I do hope you are able to find some solace in your memories. She will be with you in your heart every day.
DeleteI understand. I’m so sorry for your loss. I know for the rest of your life you’ll have beautiful memories of your mom’s better times. (((Hugs))) Barbara M.
DeleteLife was not easy, but there are lessons to be learned. Sadly, we tend not to learn from history until it is forced on us.
ReplyDeleteMy house is too big for me but downsizing isn't really an option ( seem to cost more than what I'd get selling mine after all the closing costs), so I'm trying to live smaller if that makes sense. Since retiring and my health insurance is a small fortune, tracking spending and not being frivalous is essential. I want to travel, not frivalous, but that means other things need to be simple.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Cheryl
ReplyDeleteI do remember the stores my mom and grandparents told of the depression. They lost their home in the city and moved to Montana because my grandfather got a job on a big ranch as a foreman. My grandmother had to do the cooking for the ranch hands but that meant that the family always had plenty of food too, my mother was the oldest daughter so eventually she helped with the baking. They didn’t leave the ranch until WW2 and grandpa started working at the shop yards in Portland Oregon, My mom finished High School there and my uncle became a pilot at that time.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up both my parents acted like it was still the Great Depression. My dad always raised a big garden and we perservered food. Everything had a second life. In the spring we got chicks and in the fall we had a big butcher day. We also helped my grandparents butcher and I would help my grandmother in the kitchen render lard. My grandparents never used shortening because they always raised pigs.
I grew up with a wringer washing machine and no drier. We had the wringer washer well into my teen years, we did buy a drier in about 1960. We lived in the PNW were hanging clothes out in the winter was very problematic. Mom was so tired of clothes racks in several rooms. She worked outside the home so Saturday was laundry day. You used the same water for each load of clothes, you started with whites and worked your way to my dad’s work clothes. I feel so spoiled with my washing machine and drier.
I am also very grateful to have a shower. We never had one growing up. Only the high school had showers. Most homes did not. Mom talked about bath day on the ranch and my grandmother having to heat water on the stove to fill the metal tub. They used the same bath water too with some warming in between. Cleanest person usually went first in their household but mom says sometimes it was really hard to tell who that might be. When everyone was done then the tub had to be emptied one bucket at a time until it was lite enough to lift and carry outside. The miracle of indoor plumbing had not come to the ranch yet. Running water is a wonderful thing.
Well this has been a fun trip down memory lane. It certainly makes me appreciate everything we now take for granted.