How many of your OS habits did you learn from your family?

lessonlearned

My parents were both OS through necessity (as were their parents) and I guess I just picked up the habit. My sister is OS too and her husband is a great cook so I just love talking OS with her and exchanging tips & recipes.

My dad would even mend our shoes - we never had to pay for shoe repairs - nowadays it's almost as cheap to buy new shoes as it is to have them reheeled. What a waste. Mum couldn't sew but did lots of knitting, she is still a good cook but is a bit too frail now (81 bless her with arthritis). My grandmother made the most exquisite bedlinen, beautiful white cotton trimmed with lace and always scented with lavender (from her garden of course).

Dad still does his own decorating but has more or less been forced to give up his allotment garden. He used to grow all their fruit and veg - no chemicals, everything was organic. He did all his own car maintenance and repairs and was a great fixer if anything was broken. He is very inventive and dreams up some very unusual diy contraptions and gadgets. He's not mean at all but would always rather make something out of odds and ends rather than simply going out and buying things.

Perhaps it just runs in the family because both my sons are keen DIYers and love decorating, laying wood floors etc. They are also becoming quite proficient in the kitchen. The eldest is desperate to get a garden to grow his own vegetables. The youngest is quite "arty" and likes nothing better than messing around taking photos and creating his own artworks.

I like sewing, most arty/crafty things, love decorating, gardening and cooking. Partly to save money but mainly because I like having original things I enjoy buying junk shop furniture and doing it up, reupholstering chairs etc and generally revamping things to my own design.

I've just treated myself to a big container of beads from Costco and aim to have a go at making jewellery. Before that though I have a very special project lined up.

My sister, husband and children all still have their childhood teddybears but mine got lost somewhere. My husband bought me a make your own teddy kit from Costco as a little "love present" (all say Ahhh). I am looking forward to making my very own teddy quite soon.

Apart from trips to the theatre or cinema most of my hobbies and favourite pastimes are all "making and doing" OS type things. This may sound a bit odd, but for me what probably started as a necessity has became a rewarding pleasure in its own right. I enjoy being creative and I prefer home made things (food included) that are individual and different.

I think being OS isn't just about saving money although of couse OS'ers can save huge chunks of dosh. I think being OS gives you the chance to live well without spending a fortune, to be creative, to live with flair and to create objects of beauty and originality, to eat well and healthily, to dress stylishly on a tight budget and to just express your own style and individuality instead of simply always following the crowd.

Flashing the plastic or throwing money around requires little effort or thought (although working to earn enough to pay for it all is another matter). OS style might require more effort and planning but I think it's far more rewarding in the long run.

I think the OS threads are brilliant (as is the MSE site). It's a great source of information and is also very inspiring with loads of advice and ideas.

Keep up the good work everyone.

Hardup_Hester

I'm afraid I learned nothing OS from my Mum, lol. She hated anything like that, she could sew & knit, but it was only done as a hobby & never done as a way to save money. She was more interested in having a career & always made it quite clear that my Dad had married her for her looks & not her culinery skills.
Hester

Mrs_Flittersnoop

I was brought up in the early's 60s as was OH and we were both brought up OS. My MIL, who is the world's most awful cook created all sorts of cheap meals from nothing very much (and generally boiled them to death). My mum was a great 'plain' cook and we had the traditional roast on Sunday, cold meat on Monday, rissoles from the remains on Tuesday etc etc.

When OH and I got married we had little or no money, I washed our laundry in the bath or the laundrette if we were a bit flush. We lived near a street market so were able to get fruit and veggies from there and have now lived for nearly 28 years on shepherd's pies and chillis:rotfl:

It's second nature to me to cook from scratch, I have never done anything else. I refuse to eat fast food, to me it's a travesty, food should be enjoyed not stuffed down in the street. (JMO!)

I'm eternally grateful to my mum for showing me how to cook the basics, and from there I have gone on and experimented with my own recipes which are to be honest, a lot more adventurous than hers (can't do anything about MIL, unfortunately, her cooking is still..._pale_ )

Must admit when I was growing up all my friends seemed to live a similar lifestyle to my own, hardly anyone had a car, we all walked or biked, people grew their own veg (in an allotment, gardens were for flower beds), we all shopped daily for meat and veg -oh, and of course, it never rained :rotfl:

Mrs F xx

mioliere

I learned a lot from my parents. My mum would knit or sew all our clothes though she’s never learned to crochet, despite my encouragement! I remember she spent one winter knitting aran jumpers for all four of us children and her and my dad. My dad sadly passed away when I was sixteen – 39 years ago, now - and I still have his jumper. She used to make clothes for all the dolls we had and I still do that for presents now. When my sister and I were old enough to earn pocket-money, we would save all it all up and then go into town and buy all our patterns and fabric. She would then work consistently to make the clothes and, despite being one of the poorest families we knew due to my father’s terminal illness, we were always the most fashionable!

She celebrated every occasion with great flair. At Halloween, we would come home from school to find a huge witch in the corner of the dining room complete with cauldron, bats hanging from the ceiling, ghosts and ghouls on every wall, and, worst of all, creatures hiding in the cupboards and even thought we knew they were there, they always made us jump! Our friends thought it was great – I don’t recall any other mum doing all that.

My dad, bless him, would make all the other toys we had for birthdays and Christmas. I remember when I was quite small, I wanted a milk-float – don’t ask me why! He made one complete with little tiny milk bottles. He also used to lock the shed in the weeks leading up to Bonfire Night whilst he was making the all-important guy; we would have a great unlocking-of-the-shed-door ceremony and the guy would always be a masterpiece – the best in the road every year.

My mum could make a meal out of anything and frequently had to. I well remember eating pig’s cheek and trotters and other offal, although even she drew the line at heart! I didn’t think we ate rabbit either because we had them as pets but have recently learned that we did – thinking it was a special kind of chicken!

She made the most wonderful cakes and pastries and her rice pudding was legendary! I have such fond memories of sitting round the table for Sunday dinner with Two-Way Family Favourites on the radiogram and everyone chatting.

I still try and do most things OS – I enjoy knitting and crochet – I’m not very good at sewing but I still do it! I make loads of things for Christmas and birthday presents and have just started making cards. I love being inventive and I could go on and on about how much money it saves! I love cooking from scratch and cleaning the old-fashioned way. Fortunately, my DH is exactly the same – he’s very inventive and practical and can fix anything!

My two sons have left home now and they and their wives do as much OS as they can. DS1 has a wonderful vegetable garden – I love the fact that my grandchildren help him and know exactly where real food comes from! DS2 has only just bought his own home and I hope he follow suit.
This is going to be a very interesting thread!

scrimperjan

dannahaz wrote: »

...from when I was 12 it was my job to clean the living room and dining room every week, and to hoover every day. I don't remember her showing me what to do, but I am a girl and I expect I picked it up by osmosis.

:T Love it! D'you mind if I borrow that quote?

dolly_day_dream

I only discovered the other day that I had picked up an OS skill by osmosis. I had to decorate the spare room because it was a complete tip and we have guests for the summer:o Severe financial constraints meant that it had to be as cheap as possible. The wall are less than perfect so I decided to wallpaper them. No problem except that I have never wallpapered I come from the painted walls generation. I chose a pattern that needed no matching (6 rolls for £5 from Poundland:j ) took a deep breath and dived in. Suddenly I was back with my Dad wallpapering the rooms. He only ever let me watch but he talked to me about it all the time. I managed to paste, fold it up, hang it straight and cut round switches and sockets. :j I was so proud of myself. I had thought that Dad hadn't taught me any OS skills but I was wrong. Brought a lump to my throat as well.

To the OP my mum was brought up in absolute poverty and my grandmother knew every OS trick going just to survive - as a result once my mother had money she spent it. She loved shopping in M+S she could cook and made most things from scratch but that was because it just wasn't available (I was born in the 50s) She hated sewing and I was the one to use her sewing machine. I think I got most of my OS skills from my grandparents and from necessity - like my grandmother times have been hard and so I have learnt the skills I have needed.

I consider being able to cook the most important OS skill that any parent can teach their child. That is a skill that will be used every day and quite frankly will ensure that you don't starve in this very affluent country. Everything else is a plus.

Three_Dancing_Dragons

I can honestly say with all affection that my mother is the only person on the planet who is a worse housekeeper than I am. My Grandmother made all my clothes until I was in high school and could knit, crochet, you name it (I have one of her tapestries framed on my living room wall now, my Mum sent it from Australia as a housewarming gift - funny thing, the house does feel warmer somehow). Unfortunately I've always been cack-handed and never learnt. However I was taught how to be a proper hostess and could set a table for twelve for an eight course meal (including fish) before I was ten... Still think fondly of cake forks...

beemuzed

Being a small child in the fifties life was definitely more OS than now. Had a Great Aunt who was a tailor and so I never had new coats - she always was able to make one from leftover bits. Actually, looking at photos, these were very good - but I hated it! Was taught dressmaking at school, Gran taught me how to knit and crotchet. Mum always cooked from scratch and Dad grew fruit & veg. Not consciously taught, but I reckon I managed to absorb some of it! Mum now 84 and finds convenience food a real boon - couldn't manage to cook now as before, (arthritic hands) but I think she sometimes wishes she could!

Queenie

All of them ... from my mother and my paternal grandmother. Great women; strong, intelligent, under valued and both had a life of servitude simply because that's the way things were!

Either could have made a grand job of being Prime Minister (or whatever!) had they just had the opportunities we have today!

Wish I were half the woman they were *sigh*.

Psykicpup

I grew up in the 60s with a stay at home mum & a working then retired Nana - oh and Dad too:o - we grew a lot of our own veg & all meals were cooked from scratch (eggs & sausages were the closest to convenience foods lol) -I learnt to cook from when I was very little - helping make pastry etc
Mum made most of my clothes inc school summer dresses & jumpers until I was old enough to become fashion conscious although she still made some things like party dresses for me.I remember being 'chief-stitcher-back-oner' for the buttons dad would lose off his shirts & mum would repair pockets etc in his trousers. At age 12 I made a 'jumpsuit' at school as part of my dressmaking class & was very offended when first term at high school I was asked to 'stitch paper' & make a wash mitt!:eek:
I also learned to knitt & made baby clothes for both my sibling & later my own children
Mum loved most of the new fangled cleaning products but always resorted to Ajax powder for the tough stuff - inc me when I would get paint on me 'helping' Dad with the decorating:rolleyes: or grease etc helping him with the DIY/ mechanics round the house.