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

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  • shazrobo
    shazrobo Posts: 3,313 Forumite
    i learned how to cook, clean and knit from my mum. unfortunatly i didnt learn to garden or do diy but fortunatly i have a partner that does those things, including my car maintenance.
    my 12 year old lads love cooking too, feel proud to have passed this skill onto them
    enjoy life, we only get one chance at it:)
  • scuzz
    scuzz Posts: 1,995 Forumite
    Learned how to cook from Mum, who always did home cooked meals. Ready meals were and still are a no no.

    Not wasting was learned at home, and turning things off when not in use.
    Comping, Clicking & Saving for Change
  • moanymoany
    moanymoany Posts: 2,877 Forumite
    queenpig wrote: »
    Apart from been taught to make pies and soups that is as far as it goes.

    Both mother and father shared a strong passion for the drink and the local pub, if they werent at home they be in the house.!

    Mother is one the worse people I have ever known to be so bad at budgeting money.

    I know people have had a lot worse childhood than my own but I would have loved to know what it would have been like to have parents that wernt nearly always drunk and actually stopped in on a saturday and sunday afternoon. Drink always came before nearly everything else and thats the rent included.


    Hey Queenpig, know what you mean. It's not money that makes a home and happy family, it's love and security. a commodity in short supply for many children, past and present.:o
  • My parents grew up in the depression of the 30s in the US. They saved everything and when I had to clear their home after my father died and Mom had to go into a nursing home, I found drawers full of rubber bands (mainly perished) balls of string taken off packaging, old ring binders left after a conference, etc. But the good side was that I learned to cook and was forced to learn diy as Dad paid someone to hang pictures - he never did get the hang of tools, bless him. My paternal grandparents also taught me lots. Gram and i sat and shelled peas, picked raspberries which Gramps grew and I would sell around town. I also grew up and lerned tosew, but not well, and have even turned my hand to basic mechanics when needed after my divorce when things were really tight.
    This has all stood me in good stead as I raised five children who now have my 7 grandchildren and at least two of the girls and one of the boys is very OS. I never could learn to knit but can crochet although I haven't dsone it for sevral years as I work three jobs (all part-time) while working to become debtfree. I cook mainly from scratch although do use some frozen veg (often cheaper) and don't always have the time to bake my own bread as I don't have a bradmaker but do it by hand - still I love it when I can and it tastes so much better. I do love to bake and my waist shows it. However the values behind OS are what I learned most and a lot of the skills were also absorbed rather than taught. The last tribute is to my MIL-1 who was very against my first marriage but came around to being a good friend to me as I picked her brains on how to can(bottle) fruit and veg and bake bread as she was very OS. It stood me in good stead as even after the divorce and my remarriage it was MIL-1 who came and stayed and kept house for the three kids, OH and me, when I was confined to bed with a threatened miscarriage. She appreciated being valued for her knowledge and I gained a friend as well as the skills. MIL-2 was also great at OS but I never (with 5 kids) kept the house quite tidy enough to satisfy her standards. I felt life was too short to kill myself over tidiness as I worked part-time then even with the kids as OH had taken on my three kids from the first marriage with no differentiation from the two we had and I felt I had to support the family as well. OS is the only way to go for me.
    LBM August 2005 £40,000
    25 February 2009 £21662.12
    6 January 2010 £6,691 Lloyds PPI including interest.
    12 October 2010 Ombudsman says Lloyds to repay me PPI + interest.:j
  • belfastgirl23
    belfastgirl23 Posts: 8,025 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper I've been Money Tipped!
    I didn't think there was such a thing as OS when I was a kid, it was just how people lived then (and I'm talking 70s, 80s). There wasn't convenience food really at all except vespa curries and very occasionally a shop bought cake. Ok my family didn't go mad at it, we bought bread etc, but all meals were home cooked. When my mum started working full time it was my job to cook the evening meal and have it more or less ready when she got home, though we did have a takeaway on Fridays.

    I didn't learn too much in the way of other skills although I can sew and knit at a basic level, but at least seeing my mum and gran do these things means they feel accessible to me, they are things that you can learn, so it has given me a resounding faith that I will be able to do them given time and practice :)

    **edit the one habit I still can't quite shake is my grandmother's one of putting veg peelings on the fire as 'slack'. I still feel vaguely guilty about throwing them away even though we don't have an open fire any more :)
  • sallya_3
    sallya_3 Posts: 24 Forumite
    My Mom was wonderful at housework - the house was immaculate all of the time even though there were 7 of us living there at times, and she knitted the most beautiful clothes. But I don't remember her being all that great at cooking - she never baked, the veg and meat were always overcooked (to my taste anyway!).

    She never passed on any of her skills to me - I am 10 years younger than my youngest sibling and I think it was easier for her to just get on with things with my sister (15 years older than me) than it was to teach me. I remember always being banned from the kitchen when dinner was being cooked.

    I was pretty much responsible for myself from the age of 14 onwards, for various reasons, so had to teach myself how to wash and iron school uniform, cook dinners etc. And then Mom died when I was 19. I don't know if it's a result of my upbringing, but I'm lousy at keeping up with the housework. :confused: I'm a pretty good cook though :T :T :T

    I'm determined that the boys will all leave home knowing how to cook, clean, iron etc!

    Sal
    x
  • moanymoany
    moanymoany Posts: 2,877 Forumite
    I didn't think there was such a thing as OS when I was a kid, it was just how people lived then (and I'm talking 70s, 80s). There wasn't convenience food really at all except vespa curries and very occasionally a shop bought cake. Ok my family didn't go mad at it, we bought bread etc, but all meals were home cooked. When my mum started working full time it was my job to cook the evening meal and have it more or less ready when she got home, though we did have a takeaway on Fridays.

    I didn't learn too much in the way of other skills although I can sew and knit at a basic level, but at least seeing my mum and gran do these things means they feel accessible to me, they are things that you can learn, so it has given me a resounding faith that I will be able to do them given time and practice :)

    **edit the one habit I still can't quite shake is my grandmother's one of putting veg peelings on the fire as 'slack'. I still feel vaguely guilty about throwing them away even though we don't have an open fire any more :)

    Those Vespa curries - they were our special treat when we were first married in 1968, we loved them so much. I wouldn't dare try them now - even if you can still buy them - as I'm sure my tastes are so changed they wouldn't match up to the memory.
  • helenhugs
    helenhugs Posts: 1,149 Forumite
    My Dad isnt OS at all. Not really had much to do with my mum since I was 6 so all I have learnt that is OS is what I have picked up on here or just come naturally.
    When I was 18 I was a single mum & with a budget of £10 for food, clothes etc there wasn't much room for error so I learnt fast. I lived on my own from when I was 16 anyway (I had an evil stepmum who decided that we should all be out of home before we were 16) I lived with a friend for a little while then got my own place.
    My OS skills arent too bad, I have never learnt the art of sewing but I do intend to teach myself. My 2 daughters have asked me to make baby carriers for them so theres my incentive to teach myself.
    My cookery isnt bad at all & I much prefer home made food. My dad was surprised I made most of my own food & didn't add sachets or jars to spag bol & things like that.
    My real downfall is the housework. I was never taught how to do it properly or to stay ontop of it & am completely ashamed & embarrassed by that but I am trying to learn. I know its obvious to everyone its easy but somehow the ease of it passed me by. Give me a cupboard with ingredients & I can make you a meal just don't ask me to tidy up lol.
    Hugs
    Helen
    We don't need to do it perfectly - good enough is exactly that GOOD ENOUGH.
    Good Enough Club member number 8
    :j £2 coin club = now in a sealed tin so I'm not sure
  • boo81
    boo81 Posts: 654 Forumite
    My mum is still teaching me about gardening :o im not very greenfingered!

    I think my cooking comes mainly from my grandma who while she was living in her house would cook a meal from scratch each day and I always got pudding too. It seemed like the whole morning was spent preparing lunch and then we would bake in the afternoon sometimes too.

    When I started cooking I made better cakes and pastry than my mum and I do believe that using the hands rather than a mixer is sometimes a better way. She does it because of arthritis though and cant blame her for that!

    My parents are less and less OS as they get older, im trying to persuade them back but they find they have little energy for it these days.
  • Waxy_Bean
    Waxy_Bean Posts: 274 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    I learnt how to cook from scratch from my dad (he ensured that I could make a roast dinner for 6 on my own by the age of 11) - my mum can't cook for toffee and given her choice we would have brought up on oven chips, fish fingers and baked beans. I've taught my mum how to make things over the years, but she doesn't really enjoy cooking.
    2009 winnings: private box at the ballet, a cooking lesson with Jean Christophe Novelli, a case of wine, £25 itunes downloads, a candle, Football Manager PC game, a lipstick, £250
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