I agree! I tell people all the time that I am convinced that I could make a pot of coffee with dirty dishwater and it would still taste better than Starbucks!!
Lots of people who feel nostalgic about those glorious old days remember them as kids, or stories. The truth is that especially women aged really fast. A thirty year old woman looked old from physical labor. Garden is great, but to feed a family, it takes time and energy. Washing clothes outside is a great idea until you spent a half of a day bent over washing, and caring to hang it outside during the winter. Lots of people didn't have warm clothes, or they were saved for better occasions. If your hands never went numb from frost, wind and heavy wet laundry, you don't know what you are missing. Cooking was a constant thing. Garden, taking care of kids, animals, sewing, doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, -you age very fast. That's if a woman survived giving birth to a child. Very common was not making it. I hope we will never go back to it.
I was only ten when my grannie died, but talk about hard times. She lost her house in the depression, lost her leg crossing the street and was hit by a truck. Lived in a cold water flat in Chicago, and supported herself by knitting and crocheting. All I remember is sitting in the big kitchen. The bathroom was a toilet. No bathtub in the apartment, just a big kitchen sink.😢 She came from Poland when she was 18, by herself. Oh, the stories she could tell.
My father, for all the years he worked, for lunch, he had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and an apple, and maybe a few pieces of celery or carrot. He didn't go out to eat lunch or buy a coffee, he drank water, or there was coffee available at his work. People think it's below them now, to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch (or dinner). And then, they wonder why they don't have money to pay the bills. It's because they are choosing, CHOOSING to eat out breakfast, lunch and dinner. When my husband lost his job, I started back making bread, and he was okay with homemade iced tea. We would save about 15.00 a week on our grocery budget just by baking bread and making tea. It doesn't take long, you just have to do it! Right now, I use my junk mail envelopes for making my lists. I put my grocery list on one, then if I have any coupons, they go in the envelope, or I'll put the receipt into the envelope so that I can check it and see where my money has gone. Enjoy your day, and I look forward to everyone's ideas and stories. Catherine
My Grandma made all my clothes until I was two or three years old. She had two boys, and was so excited to finally be able to make little dresses and jumpers! I was covered in satin and lace and bows!😂😂😂. She made all my doll clothes when I got tired of wearing "fancy" stuff
My ancestors lives were hard and my mama told me honey if you can find something that makes your daily life easier you do it because we worked ourselves to death. She was all about being frugal and she never liked to waste, she always made little notepads out of scrap paper and she would staple the corner. I still do that today. If she found something that cut down a task that was labor-intensive at all she was happy to get it. Her little hands were worn and tired and I was very happy to get her anything that made her life easier. She loved her microwave, crockpot, pressure cooker, electric coffee maker, and although she didn’t have very many cleaners she bought what she needed. One thing she did know how to do is to fall back on those skills when she needed them. ❤. One thing that used to be a real pet peeve of hers is the issue of sanitary napkins as she called them. Back when I was in my young teen years she would remind me how nice it to have them because she said the old days were hard and her only request was to not wrap them in toilet tissue. She would cut out squares of newspaper and put them under the bathroom sink and I was to use that to wrap them instead of toilet tissue before I threw them away. I was always embarrassed by that and I regret it to this day that I didn’t honor her request in this area, but I was a good caregiver and I feel like I redeemed myself. 😁
My grandson is allowed to keep his (EXPENSIVE) school uniform on from school until bedtime. Then his mother gripes when he gets them stained, dirty, torn.. well.....🙄
Great trip down memory lane. Some were good things to go back to incorporating into today's way of living. Other's I'm happy to leave in the past, like outhouses. Lol 😊
Hehe coming on seventy you described a life that is normal for me! I called it farm living. My three cleaning supplies to this day are Comet, Ajax dish soap, and bleach. My laundry soap is the ajax soap mixed in a pitcher with water before pouring it over the clothes. Last summer my neighbors were wondering what the devil I was up to in my cute little yard. I turned over the lazy grass, added all along grass mulch, then added manure and lime. Nearly every day someone asked, what are you doing??? I said making dirt. We used the same ideas in the field and it was called ‘no tilling’; organic before it was a catchword. I never got on with margarine and the like. Butter, eggs, all wholesome things. I have traveled, have a higher degree, and I ‘m considered a nerd. I have lived in a San Diego beach town besides living on a farm. My old methods stay with me because they are more respectful of the earth:) Maybe I AM the olden times… but I climbed to the top of 156 stairs yesterday to walk our State Park skyline trail:) That was the second day in a row to motivate my officer daughter’s healing from surgery😁 The whole lifetime of learning has made me fearless today. This lifestyle requires curiosity, respect for things that work rather than replacing it, and someone not lazy. My kids? Don’t get me started but the bottom line is I am proud & pleased♥️
My grandmother saved bread wrappers washed them out to reuse , used some to crochet throw rugs for the kitchen and back door she taught me how to crochet with bread wrappers made a dolls hat lol
Thank you!!! Finally a voice of reason! I see so many people spending money on gadgets and gimmicks that will help them “be more frugal” and it absolutely blows my mind! I grew up with my grandparents who lived and raised a large family through the depression era. They cooked on a wood stove, sewed on a treadle machine, used an outhouse, and washed on a wringer washer. They continued to live that way until the day they passed. I’m so grateful to have been taught how to use what I have to make do. I still cook on a wood stove and sew on a treadle machine and make do without very many modern conveniences.
Back then u had more things to use Paper bags from groceries and later used for garbage Cardboard box with string for baked goods String was saved Also elastics Old clothes for rags Save the buttons Also we had newspapers Used for wrapping Later picked up buy the boy scouts
We''ve gone back to living a much more frugal lifestyle; it's simpler, saves money, and has brought us peace and contentment. Your list brought back so many memories for me. My grandmother would take me school clothes/shoe shopping in Paterson, NJ. We'd go to one of the big department stores and then to Buster Brown. Afterward, she'd treat me to a hot dog and fries at a local place called Johnny and Hanges. This was a once-a-year occurrence, so it was very special.❤
I think the big thing is that we did not judge our grandparents and parents for their being frugal (to a fault by today's standard). I don't buy what I can't afford. I just today got my new gas range. Mine went out in July and I made it through until now when they were on sale. I saved $181 over what I would've had to pay this summer. Also, I took out a credit card which posted $250 back to me which is making my stove cost me a little over $400 installed, instead of the $729 plus installation. My friend Donna's husband took my old gas stove away for free which saved me $50. He is hauling that heavy thing across the scales for scrap metal. The new stove is not as good of quality as the one that left, but the old one was going to cost me as much to repair as a new one according to the appliance repair person. He told me that the best thing would be to buy a new one because if any of the electrical boards went out next, he would not be able to repair that as those parts are no longer available. I do feel sometimes that my kids make fun of me for being so frugal. They made fun of me for putting up food the way I do until the pandemic hit. That was an eye opener for my kids.
Yep, I recall, a lot a the little girls would be wearin them black patent leather shoes; some of them that had well to do families, they wore theirs to school. My momma got me them 'saddle shoes'. Yep, I got made fun of, but I was just happy cause I got new shoes. I recall my granny always had them glass containers with glass lids to put her leftovers in her fridge. My momma, before daddy bought her a dryer, she always hung out the clothes to dry on the clothes line. Oh, and when she hung out them sheets and pillowcases on the line to dry, there ain't nothin smells better than laying y'alls head on the pillow at night with that fresh line dried pillow case on it.
My grandparents made their own butter, milk, honeybutter, dried fruits, had a party line rotary phone, and a outhouse! I remember when uncle installed a bathroom at grands house I was ten years old, it was amazing to hear uncle trying to convince grandpa to use a shower and toilet! Old folks didn't like wasting the water, they had a spring and carried water for a half century before they pumped cold spring water into the house.❤
I live without running water. I live in a shed 200 sq ft. My electric is less than 40 a month I hang my clothes out to dry. I wash everything with rain water by hand. I have only 2 pair of shoes. This is in 2024. Most could t do what I do. But our forefathers knew no other way
I love this video. Thank u. Loved reading the comments too! we dont buy paper products. I save the inside bag of cereal boxes to use. I cut the cereal boxes up for my little grandgirls to color on when they come over to visit. i dont buy paper products like paper towels or napkins. we have cloth napkins. i dont buy ziplock bags. i got a big box of sandwich bags for free at a yard sale. i save alot of monies but i dont guess i realize how much. i keep a journal of my days. today was a great day. snowy and icy out. we stayed home. didnt spend gasoline or run the truck...cooked and ate home food. no washing machine or dryer going today. we saved all kinds of monies by just staying home.
I have my grandmother's refrigerator dish and lid. I use it to store carrots. They keep forever in her dish - I put a little piece of paper towel (yes, paper towel) between each layer. Maybe I should switch to some old washcloths, instead. I have gradually switched to all glass containers. Comet is still my favorite cleanser for the bathroom. Yes, please keep going with this series. Diane
I've been trying to get back to glass storage, both for economy and for health. We drank the best, ice cold water from a dipper hung at the well house. Scraped hogs with used canning lids. Dishwater was diverted to the garden. The good old days! I miss them.
I am currently purging all things I don't use anymore. This includes all of my office work clothes. Everything is donated to Veterans Organizations. You're right, we buy too much stuff! Love Ya'll ❤️
So true! I grew up in Brazil : my mom never bought aluminum foil, plastic wrap, plastic ziploc , paper plates, Everything was reusable and everything lasted forever
That's one sad point actually: many of the new things only last till next week. And you're told this is our new improved formula (thinking of a brand of underwear, you'd pay the price for it to last 10 to 20 years - you still oay that price, mind you). Also, mother had a coffeemaker as good as new, decades after buying it as she looked after things, but the gaskets were of a size no longer made, and that was it).
I received Pyrex butterfly gold casserole dishes with lids for wedding presents back in 1973. My G'ma used washed out milk cartons for freezing fish fillets....fish fillets covered with water and fold over the top of carton and tape carton shut....then freeze. Was it Buster Brown shoes that you got a golden egg with purchase? G'ma hated paper towels! Oh, G'pa & G'ma used the piece of cardstock in a pair of hose for their monthly bills and finances....sort of a ledger. They also saved greeting card and candy boxes during the year to line with foil and fill with fudge & divinity for each of us for Christmas. What great memories!
My grandmother saved every container and reused them. I needed butter one time and finally found the actual butter in the 4th bowel as the other 3 had leftovers in them
My grandparents lived through the depression, and the grandparents on my mother's side were farmers. I remember my grandma telling me that she dropped out of school in the 3rd grade to help raise her younger siblings. My grandma used to save those bank calendars from back in the day, and used the back side for what she called scratch paper. As a little girl I was always looking for paper to write on. My mom grew up using an outhouse, and using newspapers for toilet paper, and it wasn't until my mom was 17 that they could afford to put a bathroom inside the house. My mom is 74 ( my grandma had her when she was 40, or 41 ), and I'm 51. I learned a lot from spending time out on the farm, and have fond memories of those times.
My MawMaw washed her clothes out by hand and hung them on the line to dry. Today, I wash my clothes out by hand and hang them out on the line to dry. In between jobs at the moment, my washing machine broke. It does take time to do the laundry now, and I could imagine it would be almost too much if I had a house full of people to wash for. I'm home and have time to wash the clothes. If I was working, it would be different.
We lived with my Grandma for a period of time. I recall having 3 dresses, 2 dresses were rotated for school and I had 1 dress that was an after school dress which you changed into as soon as you got home from school. I don’t recall having but maybe one or two pair of shoes. We didn’t have a shower at that time but took a wipe off bath out of a large metal pan (cannot remember what it was called).
We used wax paper for Pap's lunch.... we used to freeze fruits and veggies in waxed canning boxes, We used comet and windex... can't remember what we used on the floor..... I know in the 60s we bought Pledge... same shoes for the whole school year and then barefoot until the week before school...LOL.... oh those were the days... Saddle shoes here... HUgs~ Lea
I really miss paper grocery bags--they were useful in all kinds of ways. They claim it's cheaper to make the plastic bags so they're more economical, but when my groceries are delivered there's one bag for a bell pepper, one each for other small things, so I don't see how that's a cheaper bag.
I remember when my grandma ran out of pancake syrup, she used to make a simple syrup out of water and sugar. It was delicious 😋. She made her own jams, biscuits and bread. Awesome video. It's always great seeing you again. I love you Granny 💜💐🦋☺️
When I was growing up in the 50s & 60's, we never had paper towels. We didn't miss them, either! We are definitely the willing victims of advertising nowdays😮 You are pointing out so much truth!
I’m 76, and my mom had a pressure cooker which she used on the stove. Of course the canning pressure cooker too, but I’m talking just about a little presto. Made soup and beans a lot faster.
My over the range microwave has been broken since the summer. I have not replaced it yet. I decided to do what people did before microwave ovens. I am using the stove top and the oven. More dishes, but solves the problem. 😌
i use vinegar and water as my cleaner. bar keeper friend for scrubbing. I still go barefoot inside and out except if I leave the house and need to drive.
Frugality is not a 4-letter word. I love refrigerator dishes and find them at thrift stores. I make my own cleaners, compost, and scratch cook. I also buy used clothing and periodically work on paring down what we don’t need and pass it on. Thank you for your perspective. You are a wonderful voice of reason. Continued blessings…
My husband and I talk about how things are so different and easy now. My husband is 79 yrs old and grew up poor. He says he hears people say they were poor and he says, they weren’t poor, they had food. He would hunt for dinner at 12 yrs old. He always says he is grateful for how he grew up and wouldn’t change anything about it. He is smart, tough, worked hard to get to where he is now and is grateful for what he has. And I am grateful for him. It is quite different how kids are growing up today.
My mom grew up in the country during the later half of the 1930s in a house with 6 girls and 5 boys. They would walk home barefoot from school with their shoes tied together and slung over their shoulders. They did it to preserve the shoes as long as possible and then pass it on to the next younger sibling. They lived in the mountains so those shoes would've taken a beating in no time at all.
My mom and my grandmother always saved the christmas wrapping paper for next years gifts.. Also, My grandmother would save colorful sections of cardboard containers, like spaghetti and macaroni boxes, and cut circles and little squares from them, and we used them to create designs.
My grandmother used to make homemade starch for our dresses. Hang them up to dry and then iron for the week. We also had the old Coke bottle sprinkler to iron the clothes.
My grandparents lived through the depression, so everything was used. They washed out bread bags and used for food storage in the freeze, and lots of there thing. They never throughout a sliver of bar soap. It went into a jar which they adding a little water to make it soft and they used to wash hands.
You and I grew up the same way. We washed dishes! Never paper plates. Maybe on a picnic. We ate out once or twice a year and that was on vacation. We used newspaper for everything.
My great grandmother had a hand pump in her kitchen sink for water. This was the only plumbing in the house. She would send me out to collet Gardner snake shedded skins to use as band aides over our cuts. She had a small cup in the center of the table for all the spoons to go in…. Not sure why she didn’t put the spoons in a drawer. My great grandparents went from driving horse and buggy ( a cutter in the winter ) to seeing a man walk on the moon. I love to think of their life and how content they seemed.
I use a lot of Pyrex dishes with lids, my canning jars with used lids for left overs. And I have a blue speckled roaster with lids. And I have one round Pyrex dish that a plate fits on. No dryer sheets here. I use the wool balls. Cleaning…. Vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, orange peels and vinegar works. Salt can be a good abrasive.
I can relate to everything you are saying. I still do a lot of those things. I use saved glass jars for leftovers, I have my Grands cast iron. Junk mail gets shredded for fire starter.
From WV here..............love hearing you talk.........it brings back memories for me. My Mamaw Kidd was the most practical woman I have ever known........she lived to be 98 years old.......and very independent. She taught me many skills that have helped me in my journey in life.
I'm sick of so many choices in shampoo and conditioner, I just want something that leaves my hair clean and soft, I don't need to see dozens of different brands.
just found your channel and subbed. I loved this! thank you! I still do lots of the old ways yet and I laughed when my daughter had to replace her garbage disposal in her sink. What?? I use the junk mail I get so much of today for lots of that, potato peels, egg shells and such. So many frills today that the youngsters think are essentials I find to to be frivolous. thank you so much for this video and I look forward to more. God Bless You and Us All.
My mom always used Tide for laundry when I was a kid and hung clothes on the line. Sadly, I inherited severe allergies from my dad. My mom was clueless to it and I was sick with sinus and ear infection for my childhood from the untreated allergies. I remember having a hard time breathing with the smell of clean sheets hung out on the line. I gave up on hanging out laundry when I got married. 😊 I find other ways to save money. So thankful for the non drowsy Rx that came out +45 years ago. Got the allergies under control!
Great video❤. I have 3 pair of shoes(2 walkingshoes and 1 nice cowboyboots i wore at my wedding) and one flipflop😁. And i'm so happy with all of the shoes.
Thank you for the video. As a chef working in a restaurant, I caution against reusing disposable kitchen items. The trade-off in cost is not worth getting ill from bacteria. Trust me, food poisoning is not something to play with.
My Grandma used wax paper to grease her pans before baking. She also used the very end of the bacon grease that had too much grit in it and put it out for the birds... suet, I believe it was called!
Ah, the memories that you brought to mind.I can still remember going to the outhouse and using the Sears catalog, etc. for toilet paper. Can also remember using corn cobs for cleaning when you did No. 2. You are right. Too much commercialism for every day things. To this day I try to be frugal...I sleep in nightgowns that are 20 years old and they still look good. Have several other clothes that are 25-30 years old. They still look good.
I’m 39 and use my clothes line as much as I can 😊 use cloth napkins, coffee filters after dried from my coffee machine to wipe any excess grease before washing my pans. I only 1 set of pot/pans 😅 another thing is I use Fabulioso for all my cleaning it’s a deodorizer and disinfectant 😊
Grandma made us new pajamas for Christmas each year!!!
Please do not stop !!! THANKS !!!
I can’t believe the number of people who pay 6 to 10$ for Starbucks coffee!!!
I agree! I tell people all the time that I am convinced that I could make a pot of coffee with dirty dishwater and it would still taste better than Starbucks!!
@@ericpass9749I bet it would taste better! They burn their roast. Awful and awfully expensive.What a racket!
I agree, we don't eat out very often
Isn’t the owner of sb a billionaire
I can't believe when I go to the city, how many people are in line for fast food instead of cooking.
I use the back of envelopes from junk mail, to make out my grocery list, etc. 😊
Me too xx
@@susangetz9202 i do this as well!!
My dad said there was a saying during WW2 use it up wear it out make it do or do without
I like that!!
My elementary school art teacher had that saying on the paper towel dispenser with an addition: one per customer.
I grew up with reuse, repurpose, and recycle ,
Lots of people who feel nostalgic about those glorious old days remember them as kids, or stories. The truth is that especially women aged really fast. A thirty year old woman looked old from physical labor. Garden is great, but to feed a family, it takes time and energy. Washing clothes outside is a great idea until you spent a half of a day bent over washing, and caring to hang it outside during the winter. Lots of people didn't have warm clothes, or they were saved for better occasions. If your hands never went numb from frost, wind and heavy wet laundry, you don't know what you are missing. Cooking was a constant thing. Garden, taking care of kids, animals, sewing, doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, -you age very fast. That's if a woman survived giving birth to a child. Very common was not making it. I hope we will never go back to it.
I was only ten when my grannie died, but talk about hard times. She lost her house in the depression, lost her leg crossing the street and was hit by a truck. Lived in a cold water flat in Chicago, and supported herself by knitting and crocheting. All I remember is sitting in the big kitchen. The bathroom was a toilet. No bathtub in the apartment, just a big kitchen sink.😢 She came from Poland when she was 18, by herself. Oh, the stories she could tell.
Why do people long to get back to such discomfort and deprivation?
@@marianhunt8899 I don't know anyone who would!
Sounds like my life right now but I have no water sink or toilet.
I loved it when my Dad brought scrap paper home from work so we could color on the unprinted side.!!
My Dad used old coffee cans to store nails, screws etc in our garage
My Dad used old baby food jars!😊
Please do more! Love it
Same 🎉the old metal red coffee cans 😊 memories!
And baby jars
And mayo jars.
My father, for all the years he worked, for lunch, he had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and an apple, and maybe a few pieces of celery or carrot. He didn't go out to eat lunch or buy a coffee, he drank water, or there was coffee available at his work. People think it's below them now, to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch (or dinner). And then, they wonder why they don't have money to pay the bills. It's because they are choosing, CHOOSING to eat out breakfast, lunch and dinner. When my husband lost his job, I started back making bread, and he was okay with homemade iced tea. We would save about 15.00 a week on our grocery budget just by baking bread and making tea. It doesn't take long, you just have to do it! Right now, I use my junk mail envelopes for making my lists. I put my grocery list on one, then if I have any coupons, they go in the envelope, or I'll put the receipt into the envelope so that I can check it and see where my money has gone. Enjoy your day, and I look forward to everyone's ideas and stories. Catherine
100%. We spend too much. Always great advice on your channel. :)
My Grandma made all my clothes until I was two or three years old. She had two boys, and was so excited to finally be able to make little dresses and jumpers! I was covered in satin and lace and bows!😂😂😂. She made all my doll clothes when I got tired of wearing "fancy" stuff
My ancestors lives were hard and my mama told me honey if you can find something that makes your daily life easier you do it because we worked ourselves to death. She was all about being frugal and she never liked to waste, she always made little notepads out of scrap paper and she would staple the corner. I still do that today. If she found something that cut down a task that was labor-intensive at all she was happy to get it. Her little hands were worn and tired and I was very happy to get her anything that made her life easier. She loved her microwave, crockpot, pressure cooker, electric coffee maker, and although she didn’t have very many cleaners she bought what she needed. One thing she did know how to do is to fall back on those skills when she needed them. ❤. One thing that used to be a real pet peeve of hers is the issue of sanitary napkins as she called them. Back when I was in my young teen years she would remind me how nice it to have them because she said the old days were hard and her only request was to not wrap them in toilet tissue. She would cut out squares of newspaper and put them under the bathroom sink and I was to use that to wrap them instead of toilet tissue before I threw them away. I was always embarrassed by that and I regret it to this day that I didn’t honor her request in this area, but I was a good caregiver and I feel like I redeemed myself. 😁
yes please keep these frugal ideas coming
My mother was not frugal, but I learned. I enjoy not just going thru money, but being frugal.
I am 87 years young ,reminder all the things you said and more ,love your show all the best NL Canada
Remember rag rugs, bread wrappers over my feet then into boots and foraging for greens for salads.
Why bread wrappers? To keep your feet from getting wet?
We changed our clothes from school, and church
Yep! We also did that! ❤😊❤
My grandson is allowed to keep his (EXPENSIVE) school uniform on from school until bedtime. Then his mother gripes when he gets them stained, dirty, torn.. well.....🙄
Great trip down memory lane. Some were good things to go back to incorporating into today's way of living. Other's I'm happy to leave in the past, like outhouses. Lol 😊
Yes, so do we!
me too. I grew up on the farm. There were chores to do.
My Mom made oatmeal every day and said if people want to save money, stop buying cereals and do oatmeal.
Hehe coming on seventy you described a life that is normal for me! I called it farm living. My three cleaning supplies to this day are Comet, Ajax dish soap, and bleach. My laundry soap is the ajax soap mixed in a pitcher with water before pouring it over the clothes.
Last summer my neighbors were wondering what the devil I was up to in my cute little yard. I turned over the lazy grass, added all along grass mulch, then added manure and lime. Nearly every day someone asked, what are you doing??? I said making dirt. We used the same ideas in the field and it was called ‘no tilling’; organic before it was a catchword.
I never got on with margarine and the like. Butter, eggs, all wholesome things.
I have traveled, have a higher degree, and I ‘m considered a nerd. I have lived in a San Diego beach town besides living on a farm. My old methods stay with me because they are more respectful of the earth:)
Maybe I AM the olden times… but I climbed to the top of 156 stairs yesterday to walk our State Park skyline trail:) That was the second day in a row to motivate my officer daughter’s healing from surgery😁
The whole lifetime of learning has made me fearless today. This lifestyle requires curiosity, respect for things that work rather than replacing it, and someone not lazy. My kids? Don’t get me started but the bottom line is I am proud & pleased♥️
My grandmother saved bread wrappers washed them out to reuse , used some to crochet throw rugs for the kitchen and back door she taught me how to crochet with bread wrappers made a dolls hat lol
We would use bread wrappers to slip our feet in before we put our boots on. Boots probably leaked and this was mom’s way to keep our feet dry.
My granny did the same.
Saving bread sacks for sack lunches.
Definitely hand me downs from clothes to bikes, toys etc…all food made at home.
I still wash my ziploc bags.. I don’t really need them. But I have them!!! ❤ hugs from Eileen
Thank you!!! Finally a voice of reason! I see so many people spending money on gadgets and gimmicks that will help them “be more frugal” and it absolutely blows my mind! I grew up with my grandparents who lived and raised a large family through the depression era. They cooked on a wood stove, sewed on a treadle machine, used an outhouse, and washed on a wringer washer. They continued to live that way until the day they passed. I’m so grateful to have been taught how to use what I have to make do. I still cook on a wood stove and sew on a treadle machine and make do without very many modern conveniences.
Back then u had more things to use
Paper bags from groceries and later used for garbage
Cardboard box with string for baked goods
String was saved
Also elastics
Old clothes for rags
Save the buttons
Also we had newspapers
Used for wrapping
Later picked up buy the boy scouts
Also thermos for coffee
And don’t forget to wash out plastic bags
My mother-in-law cut up the paper grocery bags and used them for scratch paper around the house!
Paper bags where used to cover our school books ❤.
@@karenkaren5013Popped in to say this, lol.
We''ve gone back to living a much more frugal lifestyle; it's simpler, saves money, and has brought us peace and contentment. Your list brought back so many memories for me. My grandmother would take me school clothes/shoe shopping in Paterson, NJ. We'd go to one of the big department stores and then to Buster Brown. Afterward, she'd treat me to a hot dog and fries at a local place called Johnny and Hanges. This was a once-a-year occurrence, so it was very special.❤
I think the big thing is that we did not judge our grandparents and parents for their being frugal (to a fault by today's standard). I don't buy what I can't afford. I just today got my new gas range. Mine went out in July and I made it through until now when they were on sale. I saved $181 over what I would've had to pay this summer. Also, I took out a credit card which posted $250 back to me which is making my stove cost me a little over $400 installed, instead of the $729 plus installation. My friend Donna's husband took my old gas stove away for free which saved me $50. He is hauling that heavy thing across the scales for scrap metal. The new stove is not as good of quality as the one that left, but the old one was going to cost me as much to repair as a new one according to the appliance repair person. He told me that the best thing would be to buy a new one because if any of the electrical boards went out next, he would not be able to repair that as those parts are no longer available. I do feel sometimes that my kids make fun of me for being so frugal. They made fun of me for putting up food the way I do until the pandemic hit. That was an eye opener for my kids.
My grandmother sewed squares together from my clothes I outgrew still remember lying in bed and looking at them such beautiful memories
New shoes and one pair of sneakers for the new school year.
Yep, I recall, a lot a the little girls would be wearin them black patent leather shoes; some of them that had well to do families, they wore theirs to school. My momma got me them 'saddle shoes'. Yep, I got made fun of, but I was just happy cause I got new shoes. I recall my granny always had them glass containers with glass lids to put her leftovers in her fridge. My momma, before daddy bought her a dryer, she always hung out the clothes to dry on the clothes line. Oh, and when she hung out them sheets and pillowcases on the line to dry, there ain't nothin smells better than laying y'alls head on the pillow at night with that fresh line dried pillow case on it.
Yep! My life growing up! Great precious memories! ❤😊❤
@@kathy-zd2ns saddle shoes
Yup
And back then just a bar of soap to take a bath or shower..now they have to have body washes & all sorts of things.
Good morning Granny and Gizmo, the old ways are the best. Have a blessed day.
My grandparents made their own butter, milk, honeybutter, dried fruits, had a party line rotary phone, and a outhouse! I remember when uncle installed a bathroom at grands house I was ten years old, it was amazing to hear uncle trying to convince grandpa to use a shower and toilet! Old folks didn't like wasting the water, they had a spring and carried water for a half century before they pumped cold spring water into the house.❤
I use rain water. I have no plumbing or water inside
Thanks for the walk down memory lane. Gosh, I miss my parents and grandparents!
I was raised by older parents and I still do the old ways. I put clothes on the line and no dish washer.
My Grandma made all of her and my mothers clothes . She sewed everything. She went blind and had to stop.
I lived with my grandparents for a while and one thing I remember was using baking soda for toothpaste.
All my life I heard, "recycle, reuse, repurpose"
I live without running water. I live in a shed 200 sq ft. My electric is less than 40 a month I hang my clothes out to dry. I wash everything with rain water by hand. I have only 2 pair of shoes. This is in 2024. Most could t do what I do. But our forefathers knew no other way
Great video ! You are describing my childhood in 1950's
❤😊 Good ole Days brings back good memories 😊
I love this video. Thank u. Loved reading the comments too! we dont buy paper products. I save the inside bag of cereal boxes to use. I cut the cereal boxes up for my little grandgirls to color on when they come over to visit. i dont buy paper products like paper towels or napkins. we have cloth napkins. i dont buy ziplock bags. i got a big box of sandwich bags for free at a yard sale. i save alot of monies but i dont guess i realize how much. i keep a journal of my days. today was a great day. snowy and icy out. we stayed home. didnt spend gasoline or run the truck...cooked and ate home food. no washing machine or dryer going today. we saved all kinds of monies by just staying home.
I have my grandmother's refrigerator dish and lid. I use it to store carrots. They keep forever in her dish - I put a little piece of paper towel (yes, paper towel) between each layer. Maybe I should switch to some old washcloths, instead. I have gradually switched to all glass containers. Comet is still my favorite cleanser for the bathroom. Yes, please keep going with this series. Diane
You mentioned a bunch of stuff I remember or heard about from my parents. Please continue the frugal series! Yes it is way more than recycling.
I've been trying to get back to glass storage, both for economy and for health. We drank the best, ice cold water from a dipper hung at the well house. Scraped hogs with used canning lids. Dishwater was diverted to the garden. The good old days! I miss them.
I am currently purging all things I don't use anymore. This includes all of my office work clothes. Everything is donated to Veterans Organizations. You're right, we buy too much stuff! Love Ya'll ❤️
I agree about that, Grandma 🤍🤍
So true! I grew up in Brazil : my mom never bought aluminum foil, plastic wrap, plastic ziploc , paper plates, Everything was reusable and everything lasted forever
That's one sad point actually: many of the new things only last till next week. And you're told this is our new improved formula (thinking of a brand of underwear, you'd pay the price for it to last 10 to 20 years - you still oay that price, mind you). Also, mother had a coffeemaker as good as new, decades after buying it as she looked after things, but the gaskets were of a size no longer made, and that was it).
I received Pyrex butterfly gold casserole dishes with lids for wedding presents back in 1973. My G'ma used washed out milk cartons for freezing fish fillets....fish fillets covered with water and fold over the top of carton and tape carton shut....then freeze. Was it Buster Brown shoes that you got a golden egg with purchase? G'ma hated paper towels! Oh, G'pa & G'ma used the piece of cardstock in a pair of hose for their monthly bills and finances....sort of a ledger. They also saved greeting card and candy boxes during the year to line with foil and fill with fudge & divinity for each of us for Christmas. What great memories!
Pyrex 😊
My grandmother saved every container and reused them. I needed butter one time and finally found the actual butter in the 4th bowel as the other 3 had leftovers in them
My grandparents lived through the depression, and the grandparents on my mother's side were farmers. I remember my grandma telling me that she dropped out of school in the 3rd grade to help raise her younger siblings. My grandma used to save those bank calendars from back in the day, and used the back side for what she called scratch paper. As a little girl I was always looking for paper to write on. My mom grew up using an outhouse, and using newspapers for toilet paper, and it wasn't until my mom was 17 that they could afford to put a bathroom inside the house. My mom is 74 ( my grandma had her when she was 40, or 41 ), and I'm 51. I learned a lot from spending time out on the farm, and have fond memories of those times.
My MawMaw washed her clothes out by hand and hung them on the line to dry. Today, I wash my clothes out by hand and hang them out on the line to dry. In between jobs at the moment, my washing machine broke. It does take time to do the laundry now, and I could imagine it would be almost too much if I had a house full of people to wash for. I'm home and have time to wash the clothes. If I was working, it would be different.
We called them shower caps .. we covered bowls of leftovers with these.
I use bread bags as long as I got them.Then I start on plastic bag's.I remember all this from my Grandparents and parents.
We have refrigerator dishes. We bought them from antique stores. I no longer use dryer sheets. I still like Comet. Great video.
Save buttons from old clothes.
We lived with my Grandma for a period of time. I recall having 3 dresses, 2 dresses were rotated for school and I had 1 dress that was an after school dress which you changed into as soon as you got home from school. I don’t recall having but maybe one or two pair of shoes. We didn’t have a shower at that time but took a wipe off bath out of a large metal pan (cannot remember what it was called).
We used wax paper for Pap's lunch.... we used to freeze fruits and veggies in waxed canning boxes, We used comet and windex... can't remember what we used on the floor..... I know in the 60s we bought Pledge... same shoes for the whole school year and then barefoot until the week before school...LOL.... oh those were the days... Saddle shoes here... HUgs~ Lea
We only used pine sol for floors and comet for bathrooms
I really miss paper grocery bags--they were useful in all kinds of ways. They claim it's cheaper to make the plastic bags so they're more economical, but when my groceries are delivered there's one bag for a bell pepper, one each for other small things, so I don't see how that's a cheaper bag.
I reuse mine. I haven’t bought actual trash bags in a long time
I remember when my grandma ran out of pancake syrup, she used to make a simple syrup out of water and sugar. It was delicious 😋. She made her own jams, biscuits and bread. Awesome video. It's always great seeing you again. I love you Granny 💜💐🦋☺️
When I was growing up in the 50s & 60's, we never had paper towels. We didn't miss them, either! We are definitely the willing victims of advertising nowdays😮 You are pointing out so much truth!
I too grew up in the 50s and 60s and we used handkerchefs instead of kleenex when we had a cold.
My Mom would rub vaseline on my patent leather shoes to spruce them up!
Vinegar and water and newspaper still the best window cleaner ❤
Love your talks like this Granny- it needs to be said.
I’m 76, and my mom had a pressure cooker which she used on the stove. Of course the canning pressure cooker too, but I’m talking just about a little presto. Made soup and beans a lot faster.
Please continue the old ways.
My grandma never had paper towels.
My over the range microwave has been broken since the summer. I have not replaced it yet. I decided to do what people did before microwave ovens. I am using the stove top and the oven. More dishes, but solves the problem. 😌
i use vinegar and water as my cleaner. bar keeper friend for scrubbing. I still go barefoot inside and out except if I leave the house and need to drive.
Frugality is not a 4-letter word. I love refrigerator dishes and find them at thrift stores. I make my own cleaners, compost, and scratch cook. I also buy used clothing and periodically work on paring down what we don’t need and pass it on. Thank you for your perspective. You are a wonderful voice of reason. Continued blessings…
I loved this!!!😁❤️❤️❤️
I remember going on picnics and my mom wrapped the fried chicken in newspaper It smelled so good in the back seat of the car !!!
My mom used paper sacks for fried foods...
My husband and I talk about how things are so different and easy now. My husband is 79 yrs old and grew up poor. He says he hears people say they were poor and he says, they weren’t poor, they had food. He would hunt for dinner at 12 yrs old. He always says he is grateful for how he grew up and wouldn’t change anything about it. He is smart, tough, worked hard to get to where he is now and is grateful for what he has. And I am grateful for him. It is quite different how kids are growing up today.
My mom grew up in the country during the later half of the 1930s in a house with 6 girls and 5 boys. They would walk home barefoot from school with their shoes tied together and slung over their shoulders. They did it to preserve the shoes as long as possible and then pass it on to the next younger sibling. They lived in the mountains so those shoes would've taken a beating in no time at all.
My mom and my grandmother always saved the christmas wrapping paper for next years gifts.. Also, My grandmother would save colorful sections of cardboard containers, like spaghetti and macaroni boxes, and cut circles and little squares from them, and we used them to create designs.
👍❤🙏 for everyone
I love the old refrigerator dishes too.
My grandmother used to make homemade starch for our dresses. Hang them up to dry and then iron for the week. We also had the old Coke bottle sprinkler to iron the clothes.
Yes please continue! Thanks
My grandparents lived through the depression, so everything was used. They washed out bread bags and used for food storage in the freeze, and lots of there thing. They never throughout a sliver of bar soap. It went into a jar which they adding a little water to make it soft and they used to wash hands.
My grandma used to wrap our gifts in cereal boxes and sugar bags. She used to braid rugs out of bread bags. They made excellent mats for the kitchen.
I'm 68. We didn't have ziplock bags back then. Yes, my Mom used Aluminum Foil and she would wipe off the pieces to use again.
You and I grew up the same way. We washed dishes! Never paper plates. Maybe on a picnic. We ate out once or twice a year and that was on vacation. We used newspaper for everything.
I put dryer lint in empty toilet paper rolls. I use them in the fireplace or as a firestarter in an outdoor fire pit.
When our TP ran out we used torn sheets of newspaper or catalog pages on a metal rack that hung on a nail in the outhouse.
My great grandmother had a hand pump in her kitchen sink for water. This was the only plumbing in the house. She would send me out to collet Gardner snake shedded skins to use as band aides over our cuts. She had a small cup in the center of the table for all the spoons to go in…. Not sure why she didn’t put the spoons in a drawer. My great grandparents went from driving horse and buggy ( a cutter in the winter ) to seeing a man walk on the moon. I love to think of their life and how content they seemed.
I use a lot of Pyrex dishes with lids, my canning jars with used lids for left overs. And I have a blue speckled roaster with lids.
And I have one round Pyrex dish that a plate fits on. No dryer sheets here. I use the wool balls. Cleaning…. Vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, orange peels and vinegar works. Salt can be a good abrasive.
I can relate to everything you are saying. I still do a lot of those things. I use saved glass jars for leftovers, I have my Grands cast iron. Junk mail gets shredded for fire starter.
From WV here..............love hearing you talk.........it brings back memories for me. My Mamaw Kidd was the most practical woman I have ever known........she lived to be 98 years old.......and very independent. She taught me many skills that have helped me in my journey in life.
I'm sick of so many choices in shampoo and conditioner, I just want something that leaves my hair clean and soft, I don't need to see dozens of different brands.
just found your channel and subbed. I loved this! thank you! I still do lots of the old ways yet and I laughed when my daughter had to replace her garbage disposal in her sink. What?? I use the junk mail I get so much of today for lots of that, potato peels, egg shells and such. So many frills today that the youngsters think are essentials I find to to be frivolous. thank you so much for this video and I look forward to more. God Bless You and Us All.
My mom always used Tide for laundry when I was a kid and hung clothes on the line. Sadly, I inherited severe allergies from my dad. My mom was clueless to it and I was sick with sinus and ear infection for my childhood from the untreated allergies. I remember having a hard time breathing with the smell of clean sheets hung out on the line. I gave up on hanging out laundry when I got married. 😊 I find other ways to save money. So thankful for the non drowsy Rx that came out +45 years ago. Got the allergies under control!
I use 1 cleaner, dish soap, that's about it. Too many cleaners out there. Waste of money. Baking soda and vinegar are good also!😊
That’s what I ended up doing. Good for everything even hair.
Nice talk Granny
Great video❤. I have 3 pair of shoes(2 walkingshoes and 1 nice cowboyboots i wore at my wedding) and one flipflop😁. And i'm so happy with all of the shoes.
Thank you for the video. As a chef working in a restaurant, I caution against reusing disposable kitchen items. The trade-off in cost is not worth getting ill from bacteria. Trust me, food poisoning is not something to play with.
My Grandma used wax paper to grease her pans before baking. She also used the very end of the bacon grease that had too much grit in it and put it out for the birds... suet, I believe it was called!
I only had 1 grandmother that lived with us so she did what mom did. Best pinwheel cookies ever!!
Ah, the memories that you brought to mind.I can still remember going to the outhouse and using the Sears catalog, etc. for toilet paper. Can also remember using corn cobs for cleaning when you did No. 2. You are right. Too much commercialism for every day things. To this day I try to be frugal...I sleep in nightgowns that are 20 years old and they still look good. Have several other clothes that are 25-30 years old. They still look good.
Well, hello granny! I'm a first time viewer (and now a subscriber). You sure are bringing back some memories for me. It was refreshing to hear.
I’m 39 and use my clothes line as much as I can 😊 use cloth napkins, coffee filters after dried from my coffee machine to wipe any excess grease before washing my pans. I only 1 set of pot/pans 😅 another thing is I use Fabulioso for all my cleaning it’s a deodorizer and disinfectant 😊