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WHY are you old style?......
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I couldn't have put it better myself. When we were younger my mum would either go to the launderette, or more often as she didn't have any money, she'd wash clothes in the bath. Eventually she got a twin tub, but wouldn't be without her automatic washing machine. I've been in the position of having to wash clothes in the bath, and I wouldn't want to have to live like that permanently. Civilisation is the washing machine :rotfl:
I can't imagine giving up my washing machine! I remember my dear Mum spending an entire day (once a week) doing the laundry. Everything seemed to get boiled and I can still remember the smell of the soapy (household Lifebuoy), steamy kitchen. Used to take all of the next day for the condensation to evaporate!.
Dad eventually bought Mum an automatic washing machine. I think my Mum used it maybe half a dozen times, then swore blind it didn't get clothes as clean as washing them the old-fashioned way. Back to steamy kitchen.
I also remember the novelty of Mum getting her first fridge. Wow - refrigerated milk and no buckets of cold water necessary. Like most other people, I can't imagine life without the labour-saving gadgets we now take for granted. However, in 50 years time, I doubt we'll be reminiscing about modern gadgets in quite the same way.0 -
For me it's satisfaction & cost, combined with doing things the way I was brought up....
We used to have rubber chicken waaay back in the 1970's, and rubber pork / beef / lamb too! My mum always used to make stock from the carcass, we had majority of home made foods, including h/m chocolate digestives (plain own brand ones with a thin layer of Scotbloc cake covering!), dad grew most of our fruit & veg, not much was bought new for our childhood home, only when we moved & dad got a better paid job did they buy new furniture & beds for us. Mum always baked & made jams & chutney, dad made his own beer, we all knew that when out playing we should pick fruit when we saw it & bring it home and we'd holiday at my grandparents' homes, picking all grandma's raspberries & redcurrants for jamming. Mum was in a babysitting circle which gave credits for sitting to be redeemed when you were going out (a bit like LETS), she was also in the WI & TWG (towns womens guild - sort of less-rural WI).
I can remember sitting drying my hair in front of the fire on bath night (shared with my 2 older brothers), and thinking that the radiator in my bedroom was decorative only as it was never turned on because of worries over the price of oil. Mum had a twin tub until about 1978, only relinquishing it when my grandma came to live nearby & mum was doing her washing too. All our woolies were hand knitted - either by mum or a grandma. My clothes (apart from undies) were generally secondhand from my cousin, and went back for her younger sister, unless it was school uniforms as they wore a different colour. My brothers wore cast-offs, and theirs usually went on to younger cousins. If things were new, mum usually made them where she could - my First Communion dress was hand made (well, Singer treadle & hand made!) and it was a treat to have new clothes for Christmas. Coats always had growing room, that I only ever grew into long ways, never fattening up!
My kids were raised much the same way - they have always had rubber chicken etc, cast off clothes & knitted jumpers (usually with pictures on!) and DS2 would get fed up of the sight of clothes before he'd grow out of them, as his brother would have worn them first!0 -
I do appreciate mod cons like the washing machine, fridge etc - OK, maybe not as much as I should because I don't remember being without them! My granny never had a fridge, which I found mind boggling - but she didn't mind, she used to go shopping every day as she lived across from the grocery shop in her village. It was a social thing for her as well.
Having said that, I like to live my life as simply as possible in *some* ways - i.e.:
- minimising the number of 'gadgets' that we have
- using things until they wear out
- making dusters out of OH's old shirts
- trying my best not to waste food, and shopping like my granny so everything is as fresh as possible (we live v. near several supermarkets, and also a few really good greengrocers and butchers)
- NEVER throwing away an item of clothing (I have started crafting and always save buttons, material, nice trims etc for my little projects)
- cycling/walking to work rather than driving/taking the bus (I know that I am lucky to be able to do this; some people live too far away from work to have this option)
- not wasting money on rubbish that I don't really need
- trying to declutter and also trying not to buy stuff that I don't need or absolutely love
So I think that we have the best of both worlds really.
I was taught my frugal ways by my parents and granny. They never wasted food, clothes were always handed down amongst siblings and cousins, and they grew their own fruit and veg. I am grateful to them for setting me a good example.Dad eventually bought Mum an automatic washing machine. I think my Mum used it maybe half a dozen times, then swore blind it didn't get clothes as clean as washing them the old-fashioned way. Back to steamy kitchen.
:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:Get to 119lbs! 1/2/09: 135.6lbs 1/5/11: 145.8lbs 30/3/13 150lbs 22/2/14 137lbs 2/6/14 128lbs 29/8/14 124lbs 2/6/17 126lbs
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All our woolies were hand knitted - either by mum or a grandma. !
I hope you never suffered the ignominy of knitted swimming cossie like my brother & I did, oh the horror as we climbed out of the outside, non heated swimming pool in Uxbridge to find our trunks just stretched away from our little boy's bums:oEight out of ten owners who expressed a preference said their cats preferred other peoples gardens0 -
I hope you never suffered the ignominy of knitted swimming cossie like my brother & I did, oh the horror as we climbed out of the outside, non heated swimming pool in Uxbridge to find our trunks just stretched away from our little boy's bums:o
No, I managed to avoid that - my cossies were always cast-offs from my cousin though!0 -
I was just wondering whilst reading through the Old Style threads, how many of you are frugal/old style by necessity or because you enjoy living the more simple life and dislike consumerism?
I have often thought what I would do if I came into money and did not have to be frugal anymore. I reckon I would still home cook, grown my own food, forage, recycle...basically because I do enjoy the more simple things in life and money can't buy those.0 -
Choice. I learnt some of my best meals when I had £20 to spend on food for a month [about 15 years ago] and still use those recipes today even though I could eat out every night if I wanted to. But I don't.If you haven't got it - please don't flaunt it. TIA.0
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Im frugal/os through necessity at the minute and have been for the same reason in the past... I personally found that when money wasnt so tight, I slipped back into buying treats/foods etc which were not really necessary, and forgetting some of the OS ways.
Im in a tight situation again now and have found myself questionning my lifestyle and why I feel the need to 'buy' without thinking. Im not saying that I should never buy treats, but I am very conscious of how much I have wasted that I didnt need to!
Hopefully when I have worked myself out of this situation, I will not slip into bad habits again - Ive become much more conscious overall about how I actually want to live!Sometimes lurking, sometimes posting, but always flying
You are supposed to be the leading lady of your own life, for God's sake! - The HolidayDFW :idea: August 2013... Debt total £15,475.56 - Jan 15 £11,738.66 - DEBT FREE by 2015Feb GC £48.02/£250 (£201.98)I will declutter my house and debts
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I could do with cutting down on my 'consumerism' tbh, I'm not frugal enough!
I've discussed the whole What would we do if we won the lotto with dh. General thoughts are a big house in the middle of nowhere with a huge veg garden, some chickens and maybe some geese. We would spend our days baking, cooking, tending to the veg, me in my sewing room and dh in his wood working workshop knocking up a new dining table or something.
Just me and him and the two dogs, and a lovely open fire. I would love a simple lifeCan't think of anything smart to put here...0 -
You can do most of those things without the a lotto win. We never talk about what we'd do if we win a lottery as neither of us do a lottery.
Life's not a gamble, if you want to do something then do it.If you haven't got it - please don't flaunt it. TIA.0
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