in grannys day

bonnie_2

i am getting really lazy, and was wondering how our grannys managed with no washing machines etc.did they do things in order or go round peoples for coffee the old ladies at the lunch club i go to seem to have more energy than me.

Magentasue

My nan used to boil whites up in a big pan on the stove, everything else was washed in the sink, rinsed, wrung out and put through the mangle. Then it was put on the line or clothes horse to dry.

I remember her washing, shopping, cooking and cleaning in the mornings, baking, ironing and visiting in the afternoons and knitting and writing letters in the evenings. But she had milk delivered, a bread man, butcher and greengrocer round every week and she never had to shop more than once a week because she didn't want anything!

mah_jong

bonnie wrote:

i am getting really lazy, and was wondering how our grannys managed with no washing machines etc.did they do things in order or go round peoples for coffee the old ladies at the lunch club i go to seem to have more energy than me.

Blimey....I MUST be really old.....

When I got married I had no washing machine...just a belfast sink (before they were fashionalbe, in other words before they ripped them out to put in stainless steeel ones in!!!!)....... and a wringer. When was that ....... the 70's.......Ok I am really old.

But not a granny........

mah_jong

Magentasue wrote:

My nan used to boil whites up in a big pan on the stove, everything else was washed in the sink, rinsed, wrung out and put through the mangle. Then it was put on the line or clothes horse to dry.

Yep that was the routine ......

Mah......feeling even more aged by the second!

squeaky

My mum had a big copper kettle and a mangle. By the time I was ten I was conscripted to turn the mangle every wash day... that must have been, erm... a while ago Shopping was done almost daily - for a family of seven (car? you're kidding!) there was quite a lot for one person to carry home. All the work seemed to be done in the mornings as I remember form days home in school holidays.

spendaholic

My grandma had what she called a newfangled washing machine. It was a twin tub, and had to be wheeled out into the middle of the kitchen with a hose hanging over the sink. Misterholic remembers his mom using a washboard, a dolly thing and a mangle. My mom had a "brand new" automatic washing machine. When I first married the first time, I had a kitchen sink. The washing machine was a wedding present from my parents in 1985 and it lasted over 15 years. The washing machine me and Misterholic bought to replace it was shot before the first year was up. That 15 yr old Hoover was probably the best of its kind.

filigree_2

And don't forget - some of our Grannies had to do all this with bombs falling all around them!

Ticklemouse

We were posh then. I remember my mum had a washing machine when I was little (60's, erm I mean 80's) It was a drum with an agitator then a mangle to squeeze them out. What I do remember was in the winter when I'd been outside playing and was really cold, was being sat on the edge of the machine and dipping my cold tootsies in the warm water - no it wasn't agitatng at the time

We didn't have a fridge until the late 60's - everything was put in a cool outhouse and bought more frequently. We didn't have central heating and I still remember not having a car or a tv either. In fact, my mum nearly had to be taken to hospital, in labour, in the works lorry

However, whilst they may not have had all these time, energy and 'money-saving' devices we all have now, life was so much simpler. I once thought about why I never have enough time in the day and am always on the go. Then I thought about what my parents had when we were little compared to what I have now:

Living room
Mum - 3 pc suite, coffee table, few ornaments,standard lamp, eventually tv and piano.
Me - 3 pc suite, 2 standard lamps, tv, video, sky box, dvd player, corner unit, ornaments (this is my emptiest room) magazine rack, small toy box

Dining room
Mum - table and 4 chairs, sideboard, ornaments.
Me - table and 6 chairs, 2 large wall units, corner cupboard, stereo, lamp, ornaments, pics and plants

Kitchen (excluding built in cupboards)
Mum - cooker, fridge, toaster, kettle, kenwood chef, enough crockery, cutlery, pans.
Also had washing machine in wash house
Me - built in hob/oven, fridge, freezer (another outside) D/W, microwave, toaster, kettle, foreman grill, juicer, 3 x slowcookers, breadmaker, kenwood chef, stick blender, steamer, washing machine, drier, too much crockery, cutlery, pans, baking equipment etc etc.

Main bedroom
Mum - bed, 2 wardrobes, dressing table, bedside table
Me - bed, built in wardrobes (all full) 3 asstd dressers/drawers, 2 bedside cabinets, armchair, exercise equipment, ironing board, tv/dvd, sky box, video,

Add to all this, kids bedrooms full of furniture and clothes and toys, study with pc and 10,000 books, spare room, then I think of the vacuums, (only got 2 now) plus vax for carpet shampooing, irons (3), 2 cars, 3 sets of camping equipment (don't ask), garden equipment, barbeques, too many outdoor toys etc etc etc. I haven't even thought about what's in the attic!

No wonder we feel overwhelmed sometimes. All this 'stuff' needs cleaning, moving around, maintaining, repairing, recharging, licensing, insuring, whatever, Then add on how much time we spend on the internet, hunting for bargains, shopping, checking out, reading up on (not forgetting the hours we spend sorting out our pc's in various ways) And I haven't got round to mentioning how much time we spend on here.

Oooh, my head hurts now. I'd have a cuppa tea, but I'm detoxing - since when did our grannies do that? Then I have to clean the bathrooms (mum had 1, I have 2 1/2, in EA speak) Maybe I'll have a glass of vinegar.... any left in that Lambrini bottle?

spendaholic

We had a big, old fridge that had turned yellow with age, but they must have had it for 30 years before replacing it. It went in the old pantry - and when I had a house with a pantry I used it as a pantry - and was gradually replaced with an upright fridge/freezer that, again, had to be replaced a lot quicker than the original fridge.

We didn't have a colour telly and all of my mates did, so I felt very poor and left out. However, we did have a phone so my dad could get jobs in - what we called "foreginers" but what they call "afters" or "spare timers" up here - and everyone was jealous of our phone.

He must have had his head screwed on right, though. He'd paid his mortgage off by the time he was 50 and had bought his house at a time when people didn't buy their own home. And they're both still going strong even if the washing machines and fridges have been long gone.

Chipps

My grandma is 96, still lives on her own (although since a fall last year she has carers to come in daily, not that they do much now she is better)
She didn't have a washing machine until less than 5 years ago. She did have a spin dryer, so washed everything by hand & then spun it dry. Before she had that (1960s) she used a mangle. She remembers her mother doing all the washing on a Monday, in one marathon session.
She always did the decorating, even when my grandad was alive, but gave that up about 10 years ago, we all though it wasn't a good idea for her to be balancing on chairs painting the ceiling!
She has always walked for miles, never had a car, although they did have a motorbike & sidecar in the 50s & 60s, but obviously she did not use it for getting the shopping!
It is only in the past year that she has not been able to get out & about since her fall, previously she was always out, going somewhere on a bus or a coach trip. She now has a wheelchair if she needs to go anywhere. Having said that, she is currently in Madiera with my mum, visiting family!!! :j

Sarahsaver

For most of my teenage years we didnt have a washing machine, and did washing in the bath, stirring it with a big stick. That was in the 1980's.