Even before recycling was popular, my grandparents practiced it. My widowed grandma (photo on left) saved everything, and I do mean everything. She made a string ball on which she rolled any extra pieces of twine she found. You never knew when you’d need a piece to wrap something. She reused the colorful patterned cotton bags that held flour bought from the store for dishcloths or aprons.
My mom continued this tradition of recycling everything. When we cleaned out her house after her death, we found many little bottles filled with used paper clips, rubber bands, and safety pins. More than she could ever use in her lifetime.
My mom continued this tradition of recycling everything. When we cleaned out her house after her death, we found many little bottles filled with used paper clips, rubber bands, and safety pins. More than she could ever use in her lifetime.
No need for a garbage disposal, extra leftovers or scraps from the table were saved to feed the dog, cat or the chickens. Worn out clothing was recycled as rags or cut into patterns to be pieced together to make a quilt top, clothes for younger family members or strips to weave a rug for the living room. I think my grandparents’ frugality came out of necessity after surviving the Great Depression, and because there was no welfare system or social security benefits available.
Widowed with five young children to raise, my grandma had to work outside her home. Hard physical work was her lot in life as she only had a sixth grade education: taking in laundry, cooking for boarders, washing dishes, ironing, and assisting the local doctor on maternity cases. If she didn’t provide for her family, no one else would. Her oldest daughter Esther (photo on right), out of necessity, became the babysitter for the family while grandma worked.
My other grandparents always had a garden and some chickens. Grandpa hunted deer and other wildlife for food while grandma made their bread, bottled fruit, made jam, corned beef and sauerkraut, and filled their root cellar with garden produce stored for the winter. Able to sew their clothing and mend anything, they followed the pioneer adage: use it up, wear it out, make do or do without.
Grandpa was frugal and careful about always saving a little for a rainy day. He saved his money in the local bank until he had enough to buy a new car or any other expensive purchase, then he paid cash. Can you imagine us doing that today? They didn’t have credit cards but lived frugally and recycled all they could. We would do well to follow their example.
great entry. we sure do save more things and reuse them. it's actually more fun.
ReplyDeleteI used to have a business with my sister in law that we called
ReplyDelete"Twice Blest" because everything we made and sold was done from recycled materials. It was a going concern for a couple of years...
My mom used to darn our socks... ouch! Frugality caused blisters when the "darned" hole was in the wrong place. She mended holes in the sheets so often they looked like they were covered in polka dots. She put milk or cream in the mayonaise jar to get the very last bit of mayo out of it. She invented casseroles and soups to use evry last scrap of whatever she found in the kitchen. My dad always made really good money... so she didn't do this out of necessity, It was a source for her creativity, and a cause.
In my mind it's the best way to live. I'm a little frightened of a "disposable" mindset in any society.
I like this post! I'm pretty sure I'm going to think about it for some time. I'm also pretty sure it's going to encourage me to use more of what I have, and to do with less. I'm really just getting tired of consuming!
I actually have a neighbor who I just don't understand at all when it comes to recycling. She doesn't believe in it at all. In fact, she says it's a rule at their house that they don't recycle. We held book club at her house and my other friend collected all the pop cans from her house and took them home so she could recycle them.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter lives in Fort Morgan, Co. Out on the plains, recycling is apparently not practical. I hate to see what goes into the garbage can. But in other ways she and her husband are quite money conscious. they have to be.
ReplyDeleteMy son in Seattle is very "green". He drives his VW, which he bought used, on biodiesel. He recycles every thing he can. He has learned how to be frugal out of necessity too.
We recycle all that we can, but I kn ow we spend money wasrefully sometimes. It's nice to finally have the option.
Great post. Mu mother and grandmothers were much like yours.
My husband worked for the U.S. EPA so recycling is extremely important to him. We carry cloth grocery bags with us and try to reuse as much as we can. Unfortunately Hawaii does not have curbside recycling pick up. Sigh. We actually save our stuff and drive it to a recycling center when we're going in that direction.
ReplyDeleteYour description of your grandmother's and mother's frugality is very similar to the frugality I saw from my mother all her life. She saved and reused just about everything. I remember dresses made of flour sacks, handknit socks being mended, saving string and elastics, etc. Actually I think I have inherited a lot of these habits and consider reduce/reuse/recycle to be a smart way to live.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this post and I agree with you. Make do or do without. Wish I had learnt this lesson a lot earlier but have got it in enough time to try to install it in my son. He is a lot better about money than I have been. He will say' why do I need that... this one still fits me fine...'. It's a relief, especially in these tough economic times.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother also recycled everything....
ReplyDelete