Old Style Skills

stressedoutmumof1

I learnt my OS skills from my mother and my Nan (both now departed), there are various things that I will always remember ie it was my job to make the yorkie batter on a Sunday, every Sunday night I had to iron mine and my brother's school uniform, and my dad's work shirts. I learnt how to cook and my brother had to do *bloke* things like cutting the grass, putting the bins out etc. I'm trying to teach my DD (7) OS ways - which in the main she enjoys, but DH (who leaves the house at 8.30am and returns about 7.00pm) does nothing - which is a particularly sore point at the moment - mind you we were reminiscing last night about listening to the charts on a Sunday evening whilst tidying our rooms - and DH said that his mum always tidied his room - even when you were a teenager I said - yes he replied :eek: Little wonder he's the way he is then :mad: I work (leaving the house at 8.30am and returning with DD at 3.30pm) when I get home it's a flurry of helping DD with homework, washing, ironing, cleaning, getting the tea ready, bathing DD, putting her to bed - I wish my day ended at 7.00pm :rotfl:

Cazzdevil

Queenie wrote:

it's way to easy to spend money and lose track of the when, where and how

This is the precise reason I decided to ditch my debit card in favour of a cash card recently. I got sick of spending a few pounds at a time on my debit card then thinking "aah well it's only a few quid", but those few quids happen a few times and before you know it there's another £20 disappeared out of your account!!

With regards to the ironing/washing etc, from the age of about 12/13 my mother made my brother and I do our own washing and ironing. She quite bluntly said "if you don't do it yourself, it doesn't get done". At the time it seemed really harsh but when it came time for us to flee the nest it meant that it wasn't such a shock when we had to fend for ourselves - we had the basic skills there.

Bravo to my mother, she's ace!!

sandieb

[QUOTE=

With regards to the ironing/washing etc, from the age of about 12/13 my mother made my brother and I do our own washing and ironing. She quite bluntly said "if you don't do it yourself, it doesn't get done". At the time it seemed really harsh but when it came time for us to flee the nest it meant that it wasn't such a shock when we had to fend for ourselves - we had the basic skills there.

Bravo to my mother, she's ace!! [/QUOTE]

I'd second that! She was really thinking ahead for you both - great that you appreciated it when the time came.:T

vastsarah_2

hi
most of my o/s and life skills were learnt in my foster home as it was easyer to get the kids to do the work and not themselfs.
But saying that in a way they have done me a favour,
i have now got 5 childen and a sahm.
I try to teach my children skills they will need from cooking to writing a cheque and using a drill.
What i dont know my dh teachs and viceaversa.
The bulk of the work falls on me as im home
but we both still keep going when he gets in from work
(he will need incouragement sometimes) untill all the jobs are done for the day.
I wouldnt expect him to come home and start knitting a jumper,but if the bin need emptying or a fuse changing or tea started then he would pitch in.
(all these jobs i can do)
Like i can change a tyre but he would do it quicker.
I like ironing he hates it.
We work as a team each filling the short fall in the other
what im trying to teach the kids is the basic in most things.
but they will find what they like the most and work harder at that

Queenie

vastsarah wrote:

... We work as a team each filling the short fall in the other ...

:T Sounds about right :T

Cazzdevil wrote:

when it came time for us to flee the nest it meant that it wasn't such a shock when we had to fend for ourselves - we had the basic skills there.

When my middle son left home, moved in with g/friend/had baby, it was interesting to note that *he* did the ironing because his g/friend didn't know how. He actually thanked me one day for teaching him the basics and commented how proud he felt of himself too (even though he rebelled at the time and thought I was the worst mother *ever* and the classic "no one else has to do these things"! )

Sian100

sophiesmum wrote:

My dd who has been brought up with os values recently had a cookery lesson where they were making pizza, she was looking forward to this until the teacher gave them the list of "ingredients"
packet of pizza bases
jar of pizza topping
bag of grated cheese:eek: :eek: :eek:
she had a conversation with her teacher and asked why they weren't making pizza dough as it was so easy, could they not use home made toppings or at least bring a block of cheese to grate - teacher laughed and said no one cooks any more. DD said in her home we cooked everything from scratch and it was much healthier and better value for money etc. Teacher seemed interested but task for the following week- make a cheese salad sandwich- white sliced bread, bagged salad and grated cheese in a bag. :eek::mad: I wrote to teacher and requested DD move to woodwork classes instead as she has been capable of making a cheese salad sandwich, including cutting and washing salad and grating cheese since she was 6 years old, she is almost 15 now.

:eek: :rotfl: That's awful!

tweegirl

I was stuck in a dead-end marriage for over ten years - although I could cook, it was easier just to stick a frozen ready meal in the micro or some meat in a jar of sauce.

Since I've been with my new OH, my eyes have been well and truly opened - he is the most fantastic cook ever, producing curries, chineses, roasts, etc, etc, that would rival the best restaurants. The best bit is now I really want to help and to learn (even though this causes some amazing arguments) and can see how daft it is to buy "Chicken Tonight", etc. When we first lived together our trolley load at the supermarket was more expensive than I was used to and we didn't seem to come away with anything to eat, however, now we just spend a few pounds on topping up herbs, spices and other ingredients we've run out of and we're away for another week.

I've just bought my first sack of real potatoes in twelve years and yes (if the former husband should be reading this - though, of course this is extremely unlikely) they are covered in dirt. To be honest the way we cook now we could eat off this bag of spuds and not much else for weeks. We've made chutney (from "dirty" things found in the hedgerows and scavenged from people's gardens - once you start it's amazing the things people give you - I can't wait to move into our own house and we'll start growing our own stuff.

Also, apart from being able to cook, he's fantastic at DIY, can service a car, sew, clean (when he puts his mind to it!), looks after our animals (can trim a horses feet which saves us a fortune!!) - in fact if there's a problem, he'll have a go - unlike the other one who would just "call in an expert" - I would have a go at a lot of things, but its great to be shown how to do them properly and its great to have the same OS outlook as your partner - I found before I would spend all day doing something, be proud of myself because I'd saved a few pounds and my other half would spend the same evening on the computer spending the money I'd saved (and more)!!!

BusyGirl

Thanks for this thread. I've really enjoyed reading about everyone's different experiences. I'm definitely becoming more OS as each day passes by and this site is such a inspiration!:D
Visiting this site each day is like putting on a comfy pair of slipppers and having a lovely mug of tea (if you know what I mean).:rotfl:

mags50_2

BusyGirl wrote:

Thanks for this thread. I've really enjoyed reading about everyone's different experiences. I'm definitely becoming more OS as each day passes by and this site is such a inspiration!:D
Visiting this site each day is like putting on a comfy pair of slipppers and having a lovely mug of tea (if you know what I mean).:rotfl:

I entirely agree!

I work full-time now our 3 DD's are grown with families of their own... well, one of them is still at home, hoping to move out next year when her and boyf have deposit for house... and I just love sitting and reading through all the ideas and recipe's and things

BTW... my DD's all thought I was the worst mother ever when I gave up doing their washing and ironing when they were all around 13... but it put them in good stead for having families of their own.

My DH and I are so proud of their achievements and even prouder of the '5-a-side and a cheerleader' we have as grandchildren :T

mookybargirl

I feel a bit left out, my Mum and Dad don't cook much at all. My gran was a great cook but passed away before she could share her skills with me. My mum has a sewing machine she never uses (at least I think she still has it), as she did make our clothes when I was too young to remember. Before credits cards I guess you had to make do!

My parents didn't have many skills to pass on and what they had/have I guess they didn't see as useful to me in my life as times have changed. It's really down to everyone here that I'm OS cooking and cleaning amongst other things.

My OH has never washed, ironed his own clothes, rarely cleaned anything when he lived at home and wouldn't know how to sew on a button! I'm getting him into the swing of things...

Thanks to everyone here who takes the time to write a recipe, offer advice, it really is greatly appreciated from me!