Is Old Style a Rose Tinted World?

Chipps

I guess my rather rambling point is, are we deceiving ourselves that our lives are really enriched for all the old style effort we put it?

A lot of people have answered better than I can, and I guess you have probably answered your own question really, but the bottom line is... would you swap?
What do people do with all the time they "save" by putting washable dusters/nappies etc in the washing machine? (How much time IS that, by the way?)
I suspect that a lot of that time they spend working to pay for the extra cost involved in "time saving" items & equipment.
Incidentally, there is certainly a place for using disposable nappies, baby wipes etc, as I can vouch for the hassle it can be to go out places with a baby in washable nappies!
But in the home, any time saved is minimal. It's probably more the case that people are squeamish about flushing the contents of a well-used & somewhat ripe nappy down the loo, before chucking it in the nappy bucket to soak. :eek: When my crew were babies, disposables were relatively expensive & not too reliable, also it was easier to find plastic pants & nappy sterilising solution in the shops. Nappies never cost me anything in financial outlay, because on the Mother's Day before dd was born (which was in October), my MIL bought 2 dozen nappies, in anticipation of the event.
Also, in ante natal classes we were taught umpteen different ways of folding nappies for babies of varying sizes, even different foldings for boys & girls! This was 23 years ago, mind!

Austin_Allegro

If it works for you, don't worry about what other people think. The vast majority of people never stop to question why they think what they think, and are thus easy prey for advertisers.

The only danger of 'rose tinted spectacles' with Old Style is to assume that things were much better in our parents/grandparents/greatgrandparents/apeman ancestor day.

We have a choice in being frugal, our ancestors did not, for the most part.

filigree_2

All these tips used to be shared via newspapers and women's journals, girls at least used to do Home Economics and there were more basic cookery and home care shows on TV instead of Florence Llewellyn-Bowen and Nigella. The ol' ways of sharing domestic skills are fading away and replaced by these sort of forums, so in this respect at least we DO have to adopt modern conveniences just to seek advice on... cleaning our floors with bicarb. You have to admit there is something ironic about using all these megabyteyram thingies to discuss 100 year old housekeeping tips!

The uber-cheap, low tech methods are fine for anyone if that's what they choose. They are useful to fall back on in an emergency, and they serve as a reality check when you're faced with the pressure of 21st Century consumerism. If anyone tries to tell me I can't possibly survive without £1000 worth of fancypants vacuum cleaner I just picture my Mum using her Ewbank and a dustpan. Then I buy a modestly priced vacuum cleaner

I wonder who defined the Good Old Days and how? What era would be the Golden Age? Surely no-one is suggesting we scrub our clothes in the stream and burn tallow candles My ancestors were forced to live with very little but as they got older and finances improved they happily embraced a few luxuries. They didn't just hear anecdotal evidence of low-tech lifestyles they lived with the reality of it for many years and given the choice you know what? They all bought TVs, microwaves and washing machines.

I probably go for the Pick & Mix approach. The computer and internet are (barely) 21st Century, my washing machine is 1990s and my attitude to tumble drying comes straight from the 1970s. I cook real food (1950s) but I'll use the microwave if it's more convenient (1980s). I don't want to go back to the Good Old Days but it's nice to be able to look back and pick out the bits I like and avoid the less desirable elements like diphtheria and open sewers!

r.mac_2

I think all the replies on this thread are really interesting and I have been musing away on this topic. :wave: I've thought of something else I would like to add..........

I think that in some ways I have to be os I don't earn a lot, but have chosen to take on a mortgage as that's important to me. The pay off for this is saving money else where. If I can eat more healthily and cheaper by using os methods, then that's what I do - plus as I enjoy cooking and the food I make, I don't see it as a hardship or particularly OS.

yes, I HATE washing the dishes with a passion and one day, when I am rich :rotfl: I will buy a dishwasher - but even if I had the money now, I couldn't justify a machine for one person.

Also I believe that a lot of OS is habitual. I bake, because my mother bakes and I find it reminds me of home and I have just alsways known how to do it. Not everyone is that lucky (lucky isn't the word for the poor person who has to taste my rock cakes :eek: )

THIRZAH

I have to confess that I also have a tumble dryer and did use it to dry nappies if it was wet.

It rains quite a lot here in the north- west and I hate wet washing draped over radiators.Both my daughters came out in a rash if I used fabric conditioner and the tumble dryer does make nappies nice and soft so for me it was worth the extra expense.

Eliza252

Where have the thanks buttons gone?
Anyways..
I guess I am one of those people that leaves at 6am and comes back late at night (but its to work I promise!)
I dont think you have to be a full time Oldstyler to make it work for you - I have found that it fits perfectly with the currently hectic lifestyle I have.
If it wasnt for all the oldstyler wholesome dishes I have in the freezer that took less than no time to cook up and cost next to nothing - I'd be malnourished and out of pocket.
And thanks to all the oldstyler tips for saving money - I wont have to keep up the silly hours for very long - woo hoo! :T
however, I do keep the old styler stuff quiet - its just not considered pc - sadly ... :rolleyes:

Queenie

My apologies in advance if I repeat something already written.

Lillibet - I think the term "Old Style" can be very misleading ... I recall a thread a few weeks about where I made the remark about how 'we' as people are de-skilling ourselves due to the rise in ready-this, ready-that, disposable-this-disposable-that. We're all "brainwashed" to a large degree by the consumerism that is thrust into our lives consciously and subliminally via TV, radio, billboards, newspapers, magazines, supermarkets and their promotions. Words are powerful and have a huge impact on our minds.

I do not live an "Old Style" lifestyle - I live a "traditional" lifestyle (independant of the constant bombardment of consumer must-have's).

I'm empowered by the skills and knowledge I have.
I'm empowered to know that because of my skills and knowledge I can make educated choices in my life and share that with my family. For example, I know how to cook therefore I can make choices of what is going into the recipe and avoid as much as possible of the artificial flavours/colourings/preservatives that invade "ready meal" type products.

Other cultures are deeply proud and fiercely protective of their "traditions and skills" ... I am equally proud and protective of my own I want to pass those skills and traditions onto my children and grandchildren.

Ok, so I didn't have Boot Fairs about when I was growing up .. but we had Jumble Sales (no self respecting school fair would be without a White Elephant stall!). When my eldest 3 children were growing up, Charity Shops were beginning to flourish and Boot Fairs were beginning to take off.

A few weeks ago (I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this in a thread before) one of my children remarked about a loan advert on TV ... the conversation progressed because I'd stated I don't *need* a loan. By the end of the conversation we had established that ... we have no debt other than the mortgage which will be paid off in another couple of years.

If the economy takes a dive, (as is the way with the world) we're less likely to lose our home, because we won't be crippled by interest charges on cc's, loans etc. I shudder to think how much heartache others may have to endure!

I don't think we "traditionalists" have rose tinted specs ... I think it's the one's who spend, spend, spend, all to pay later who are living in another world - a world which could come crashing down around their own ears all spinning on interest rates and the stock exchange! Then, they'll be clamouring to know traditional ways of doing things

greenlogo

Queenie wrote:

'we' as people are de-skilling ourselves due to the rise in ready-this, ready-that, disposable-this-disposable-that.

Brilliant summation Queenie

I do think that old-style is all about being able to pick and choose all the skills and habits from hundreds of years of experience (as a race!) that suit us best now. The forums allow us to retain and regain the skills that so many people seem to have left by the wayside in a quest to become chemically-preserved couch potatoes

Eliza252

greenlogo wrote:

Brilliant summation Queenie
chemically-preserved couch potatoes

defo going to have to remember that one next time someone takes a dig at my home cooking/allotment obsession!

rchddap1

Have a tumble....don't use it at all. Will sell it eventually...when I have the time.

I honestly enjoy cooking from scratch and eating the food that is the end result. But then, it is what I'm use to, as my mother did the same thing. As far as I'm concerned there is nothing rose tinted about what I do. In fact when I hear my parents, and sister exclaim "I don't know how you spend so little" I end up trying to hide a rather large smirk.

Other people will live how they want to. If they want to waste money and shuv loads of e numbers and chemicals around their bodies and house then that is their affair, but I won't.