A Simpler Life 2018

maryb

I could cope with having to use very hot water and an iron to maintain hygiene (I iron my tea towels to make sure of killing germs even though I am far from being one of those women who irons everything)

But I cannot imagine how grim life would be without vacuum cleaners. Especially if fleas developed resistance to insecticides and mounted a come back.

Shudders:eek: it could happen - people with children at school are always getting letters home about infestations of head lice and they are getting more common now they have developed resistance - why should fleas be any different?

(Apparently vinegar dissolves nits. I think our grannies used vinegar hair rinses for more reasons than just to give a nice shine)

fuddle

Well at least I know how to keep my hankies germ free. Thank you.

elmer

Just helped daughter tidy her room, I am now the proud owner of a fit bit, some truffles, a half bottle of WKD(!!!) and some posh eye cream

I should volunteer to help more often!!

Bluegreen143

Really interesting discussion on cleaning/laundry/hygiene. You will be horrified to know that I don’t sort my washing and wash everything at 30 or 40 (except cloth nappies before we potty trained which I did at 60 - but now he only wears one to go to bed in and they are just a bit wet I chuck them in the everyday wash. We don’t use hankies but I do want to get some so maybe I’ll start sorting out stuff for a hotter wash. Never really thought about ironing tea towels and the like though I must admit I iron nothing (I’m 29 so in general my generation weren’t really taught anything about most basic home management skills. I don’t think my mum who is in her late 40s sorts her washing either).

I’ve been making a real effort to simplify the food bill this week. Last night’s dinner was vegetable fajitas in a HM spice mix, with HM wraps and salsa. Today I stuck a beef stew (bulked out with lots of veg) in the SC and we had it with kale and HM bread.

System

Bluegreen143 wrote: »

Really interesting discussion on cleaning/laundry/hygiene. You will be horrified to know that I don’t sort my washing and wash everything at 30 or 40 (except cloth nappies before we potty trained which I did at 60 - but now he only wears one to go to bed in and they are just a bit wet I chuck them in the everyday wash. We don’t use hankies but I do want to get some so maybe I’ll start sorting out stuff for a hotter wash. Never really thought about ironing tea towels and the like though I must admit I iron nothing (I’m 29 so in general my generation weren’t really taught anything about most basic home management skills. I don’t think my mum who is in her late 40s sorts her washing either).

I am presuming you sort your whites from your coloureds.

Ps I dont wash all at 30/40 degrees either.

Bluegreen143

No I’m afraid I don’t

GreyQueen

My own mother, who came of age in 1960, is not a diligent homemaker but she has decided opinions about a very few things of the housewifely nature, and a loathing of 'chewing gum whites' - i.e. dingy whites, is one of them.

As someone mentioned up-thread, they did not have optical brighteners back in the day, and white things were kept white by high temperature laundering, line drying and 'blueing'. Having dingy laundry was a matter of shame.

Perhaps it is hard for modern women to understand or empathise with the domestic standards of an age where the household was the woman's sole concern and reputation was partially maintained by cleanliness and order, and the whiteness of one's whites mattered.

I can recall hearing about one of my older relatives being mortified by the poor turnout of her grandchildren in the sixties; she considered her daughter-in-law didn't keep them clean and tidy enough, and felt embarrassed to be seen with them in public.

When homes had no hot water, and sometimes no piped water at all (like my great-grands' place) keeping self, clothes and homes clean was a tough job, but women had enormous pride in keeping up appearances. Keeping a clean and tidy home was part of the way you maintained your reputation as a decent person, and people cared mightily about being seen to be respectable, even in living memory.

It's often amused me to note that many of the old-fashioned ways of describing an immoral woman technically mean a woman who is bad at housekeeping; !!!!!!, sloven, slattern. Of course, a woman not doing the chores would obviously be running around after other men, as opposed to putting her feet up and having a truffle or two.:rotfl:

Bluegreen143

Very interesting GreyQueen! You’re right that it’s tough for me to imagine - while in some ways I am quite old fashioned in my interests, I’m very pleased that I don’t have to worry about the cleanliness of either my house or my son to that extent. I feel lucky to live in an era where no-one is judging my whites. I also feel tremendous admiration for how these women, without our modern appliances and conveniences, managed to keep their homes so spick and span. In theory it should be simple now but I find it an ongoing struggle and there is always more to do than hours to do it in

I really do appreciate the lessons on laundry as I’m hoping to convert to an “eco-egg” (does anyone use one??) and I expect that I will need to learn to be more diligent about separating washings, using heat etc as I can’t imagine it keeps things as white as laundry detergent does.

EDIT - slightly related re the turn-out of one's children - I very deliberately keep my two-year-old son a bit scruffy as part fo my simplification regime. He has a capsule wardrobe consisting only of items that are comfortable, promote freedom of movement and allow as much independence as possible in dressing and pottying (promoting independence is of the values I really adhere to as a parent). So basically all he has is comfortable cotton elasticated jogging bottoms, a range of t-shirts in short and long sleeves, plain white vests, plain cotton pants, socks, PJs and some jumpers, mostly hand-knit by my mum. Nothing smart or restrictive, no faux-adult clothing like little jeans or chinos or button down shirts. He never looks "smart" per se but this approach saves a ton of time and money as I can pick up all the items in one shop when he changes size and don't need to invest in piles and piles of clothing. Just a tip if anyone else has little ones in the family

System

Bluegreen143 wrote: »

No I’m afraid I don’t

Dont your whites turn grey?

Bluegreen143

Erm not noticably so Judi, not noticed any issues in the 11 or so years since I moved out! Though I am guilty of buying cheap clothes which don't really last so maybe they don't have time to turn grey? I also don't actually have many whites which is why I don't seperate them. It's not a colour I tend to wear and my towels are green. My bedding is off-white/cream and I have noticed it's distinctly more yellowy where it was originally more towards the white end of the spectrum, but it still looks nice.

EDIT - we do have white nappies which are washed at 60 with the coloured nappies and they aren't grey either.