Old Style Skills

recovering_spendaholic

tweegirl wrote:

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)!!!

Has he got any brothers who would be interested in an overweight 40 year old with two kids and a dog? :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Sassers

This is a truly wonderful thread. Where would a lot of us be without nannas or mums who taught us all these things? My dad was completely useless around the house and I remember when I was 12 me and my mum knocked up concrete in the back garden and built little walls for the borders.
Thanks to having that practical ethic from such an early age there actually isn't anything I'd not have a go at. It came in so handy when I bought my house - I did the plastering, damp proof course and laid concrete floors and still renovating and rebuilding. All by myself. I think we should all feel v v proud of ourselves - I know I do...
Thanks mum x:T :A

moanymoany

Catznine in post 923, page 47 on ‘If Things Get Tougher’ wishes we could go back and ask our grandparents how they coped and I think a lot of us agree with her.

I spent most of my time with my grandmother and I remember her washing with a dollytub and ponch, bar soap and using a huge mangle that turned into a table and ironing with flat irons. Could I do it? I’m not sure.She lived on £4.10 shillings a week and her rent was about £2. She looked after what she had very carefully mending and darning. She didn’t need huge amounts of storage space! She could knit, sew, make rag rugs, embroider and belonged to clubs. In the winter the open fireplace and side oven was used for cooking. Her food was varied and delicious using with lots of offal.

Dh's parents lived in the middle of nowhere with no gas, electricity and a 'hole in the ground' toilet. This was to save money for a deposit on a house. It took them five years.

One of the biggest differences between then and now is that there was no television. Listening to the wireless freed up your hands. After tea often the husband would go to the allotment or do the garden – tiring them out and making them less demanding later – as dh said!

I do wonder where these bad times are going to lead, will we be able to rely on anything but our own skills? Which of these skills will be the most useful? All of these things are also very frugal and moneysaving. How far are we prepared to go and what do we have to learn?

fizzel81

i would love the chance to have been seen some of the things mentioned above

i dont have any relationship with my mum, and sadly my dads parents passed away when i was in my teens, i do remember by nanny having a mangle washing machine and her being a fantstic cook, they had a telly when i stayed there with them but very rarely was it on, when i stayed with them i was taken out and about and always had something to do

Penelope_Penguin

Hi there :beer: My nana taught me to knit, but I taught myself most of the OS skills I have today (dressmaking, embroidery, crochet, cooking, gardening, hen-keeping).

DH and I agree that those skilled with their hands will be best placed as things get tougher. I can't fix my car or bike, but I'm sure I could learn

I'll add this to the existing OS skills thread.

Penny. x

she_grinch

I was taught how to use an old Singer hand sewing machine by my mother when I was very young and I would make dolls clothes (very basic!) at this age from the scraps she had left over. Mum made a lot of our clothes when I was growing up.
I made a lot, and recycled some of my four childrens clothes when they were younger and also taught myself how to crochet, knit, cross stitch, embroider,make clothes, make home furnishings, cook,etc from books as I grew older.
I make our cards for the family, garden, grow veg, have bought secondhand furniture over the years and adapted it until we could afford new.
Dad taught all us girls how to decorate.

Can I get 1 of my four daughters to take interest in any of the above.....not on your nelly. They have no interest and tell me it's a waste of time to make a blanket when it's cheaper to buy one, same with clothes and they also say they buy food as they want it and do not want to hang around for an hour whilst it cooks! They think their Dad and I live in the dark ages, especially since we have been trying to save even more money on fuel and utilities!
Their biggest gripe to date is the free cabs have gone out of business as DH and I have hung up the keys for the time being!!!!!lol

Alexelisey

I didn't learn as much as I should have when I was younger - no-one could teach me how to knit as I'm a leftie but I eventually got the hang of making stitches. I still can't cast on or off by hand *LOL* but I can machine knit reasonably well. I can sew - I made myself a strapless evening gown aged 18 which everyone insisted I wouldn't be able to do - but I don't make my own things any more.

I love to cook but my biggest problem is lack of appreciation - the kids (most of the time) would rather have a pizza or some other quick item than wait for me to produce something we hadn't tried before and I rarely got feedback after the meal (just a bare "thanks" and that was it) so I started to cut down the amount of cooking I did. None of them were interested in learning, far too eager to get back to the computer games...

Thankfully they're all now adults, youngest is soon to leave the nest (because we'll be moving and he's not coming) and then I can make more of my time. OH likes me trying new things and is usually constructive in his criticism. But we're definitely moving back to a more OS lifestyle and I can do a mixture of modern things as well as more traditional stuff. I can fix computers, maintain a car, change fuses, clear blocked drains, make butter and yogurt... there's a long list and I want to learn more.

My mum went back to work part-time when I started school so once I was old enough I learned about hanging clothes on the line and washing up, as they were both my "jobs". My dad built lots of stuff but I lost him before I really got into the woodwork side of things. I tried taking woodwork at school but it bored me. Now, I am pretty good, I can build a chicken house by myself and I know how to use power tools. But I get my love of fishing from my dad! He first took me when I was about eleven. and it's something else OH and I want to do more of once we move.

London and its atmosphere (and various events) have tried to crush my creative and practical spirit but it hasn't worked and it's lurking, just waiting to get a chance to shine.

moanymoany

Although at the moment clothes are much cheaper to buy, I do wonder if this is going to continue. Rather than make I think I will buy better quality to be able to make them live longer.

As for food, although I was taught to cook at school - very well I may add - the OS has taught me the power of frugality. There have been lots of great threads and currently weezl carries the torch.

cbsexec

I have just read this thread - agree with so much - especially the comment about cookery in schools. My dd has just done her GCSE in this and even this involved a lot of packet food etc. She was one of only very few who had been taught to cook at home and could actually make things herself. What appalled me was that her food was judged on presentation (the way it would photograph!! rather than taste! I also think all children (whatever sex) should learn basic domestic skills so they can look after themselves

ZoeGirl_3

Loving the thread. So interesting to read.

My parents were very broke when I was growing up, and I didn't always appreciate it much at the time but now I am picking up more of the skills in depth. I am learning to preserve, I always helps but never did it all by myself, to sew more, to knit and crochet, cross stitching I learnt as a child, cleaning I learnt but not the vinegar stuff.

I think mainly my mother taught me to cook and I am so grateful, :T, people who have to follow recipes exactly can't think of ways to use up their leftovers. Someone who can cook a bit better thinks, hmm, I could put this cold custard in a bread pudding and see what happens...

Also, my dad taught me to budget, and I was bought up not to waste money...

Trouble is, people think I am "weird" as I do funny things like spending an hour (while watching tv though) straining my stewed apple cores to make a jar of apple sauce, lol. Not that I care...I just have learnt only to tell these things to close friends who find it ammusing, but don't think me nuts for it haha. :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Living this way is by choice, since i want to own my own house by the time I am 30, no morgage, and I also think it gives me immense satisfaction. I wouldnt have it any other way really...:cool: