Was your family thrifty?

[vintagekitchen]

Growing up with my grandmother and my aunts, wast was something to be avoided at all costs. Although they were comfortably middle class, nothing was ever wasted, or thrown out before it's time.

this meant always buying the best you could afford, and making it last as long as you could. My mother's family was the type who bought the cheapest of everything, so she was horrified when my grandmother and aunt spent hundreds of dollars on lace curtains to do my grandmother's new house 20 years ago, as it had man more windows which were all larger than her old ones, so the old curtains went in the sewing room to be transformed into something else, and new curtains were purchased.

Yes, those curtains were expensive, but they were purchased 20 years ago, and are hanging on my windows right now, looking just as good as the day they were purchased. I can't count all the cheap curtains my mother went through and wore out in those 20 years.

The kitchen was where their thrift became brilliance however. Even though there was a cheat freezer full of farm killed beef, nothing went to waste. Leftovers were repurposed, mashed potatoes became potato pancakes, cornbread became dressing, and leftover meat and vegetables became the mist divine soups.

Tonight I made vegetable beef soup, just like they taught me, and its still just as delicious.

Take a serving or 2 worth of leftover pot roast, not enough to reheat for the family, tear into bite size pieces, put in the pot with the leftover potatoes,carrots, and onions from the roast, all cut in bite size peices. Add any leftover broth and or gravy from the roast, a can or 2 of diced tomatoes, any leftover vegetable like green beans etc, or a few cans of mixed vegetables and a can of corn, some stock, or broth, or water, a dash sakt, a bay leaf, and a peeled garlic clove. Let simmer a while, an hour is good, at a low simmer. Remove the garlic and bay leaf.

they would serve this with cornbread. It always amazed me how a bit of this and a bit of that, which might have fed 2 people, were transformed into a big pot of soup that along with cornbread and some sort of dessert, fed the whole family

I still run my kitchen the way they did, and am horrified at how much most people seem to waste. Am I the only one who grew up in a house like this?

 

[paulg]

You're not alone for sure

I admire you and your family's thrift. I am cut from the same cloth.
My parents were both children during the Depression. My Father's side were middle-incomers of the time but my Mother's side was very poor.
They both were thrifty but spent their money wisely. Buy good quality and don't waste. In fact I think we were healthier because of it. We didn't buy junk food or soda pop unless it was a very special occasion. We walked and not drove as much as possible.
I still enjoy being thrifty... which is actually being SMART as far I am an concerned!

 

[kenkart]

Roast in soup!!

My Grandmother always saved left over roast or stew beef for soup, I never heard of hamburger in soup until I was grown!She sometimes made something she called hash , as I remember she took left over roast, chopped it up with onions green pepper and potatos, and some broth or gravy and browned it in a iron skillet, I have tried but I cant do it.

 

[kenkart]

Re Grandmothers thrift,

My Grandmother on my mothers side of the family grew up in a house with no running water and no electricity, when she was only a few months old her Dad had a stroke and was bedridden until he died when my Grandmother was 16, in 1918,She and her Mother had to do most of the work as her two older brothers went into service in 1916, both were cooks on a Navy ship during WW1, so she learned thrift, my Dads Mother grew up even tougher, her Dad ran a sawmill and logging camp, and she was standing on a crate in front of a wood stove cooking for the workers at 10 years old,which would have been in 1904, I would love to see some of these people today have to live like that for a week, neither one went past third grade, but both could read write and do complicated math problems, my Mothers mother worked in a department store for many years as a cashier, she could add and do fractions in her head faster than I could on paper! many of those old folks were incredible.

 

[danemodsandy]

Hans:

"....many of those old folks were incredible."

Yes, they were, and it was because of what you noted: Many of them got thrown into the deep end of the pool at a very early age. It was sink or swim for their generation.

Now, kids keep going back to their parents, who keep letting them. It's certainly very kind, but it's not a bit conducive to growing up or learning skills.

 

[davetranter]

Thriftiness/upbringing

Our respective Governments are making a big fuss about recycling these days, but it's a far cry from when reuse, recycling and economising was just an ordinary, expected and 'unsung' part of everyday life. I count myself fortunate that my parents grew up during WW2, when all food was rationed on this side of the 'pond', and most other goods were simply unobtainable, and that as a result, they (and hence I) got a thorough grounding in 'Make do and Mend' and the gentle art of 'stretching' food. My father was never more than a 'semi-skilled' worker, so money was always in short supply as I grew up, but the family always ate well, dressed well, and were happy.

A big 'Hear, Hear' to Danemodsandy Re: allowing children to stand on their own two feet. Constant indulgence is counterproductive in the long run...

All best

Dave T

P.S. I only joined this site originally so that some vacuum cleaners in my posession could be reused by enthusiasts, rather than scrapped/landfilled.

 

[madabouthoovers]

My family were just the same, with my Parents being born in 1940 and 1945. They were very prudent with money as a result later in life and always economised when they didn't really need to. My father always tried to buy quality that would last as a long as possible and not throw items out if they could be repaired.


In the 70's when I was small, they had a Hoover Senior Ranger vac and around 1978 they bought the first Hoover 1100 spin washing machine (A3060) which lasted them well over 10 years, it only ever broke down a couple of times, once with motor brush failure and eventually the "C" program on the dial stopped working, but it was carried on being used up until they got a Servis Sapphire machine some time in the late 80's I think. The Ranger soldiered on for over 10 years too, but I think my father succumbed to Dyson as he bought an early DC01 to follow the Ranger, so it lasted them very well indeed.


 


Most people that were born during the war knew what hardship was, which tended to make them thrifty, and old habits are hard to break.


The "make do and mend" era has long gone with America leading the way in the "throwaway society" that has stemmed from the introduction in the 80's of Corporate Greed and inbuilt obsolescence in goods today. This has put out of business a lot of small firms who repaired white goods and small electricals, and created such a wasteful society as we have today where goods are relatively cheap, but built very cheaply too (except Dyson where they are built cheaply and sold very expensively). If the item breaks its thrown out and a new one promptly bought.

 

[sebo_fan]

I think most British families were the same. Especially in light of the 1970s when the electricity was cut off during the day to save money. What a pity they don't do that now. That is when kids like me were climbing trees and spending more time outdoors than stuck at a games console like some of the kids in my street. Meals I had when I was growing up were mostly made in a slow cooker (I have had one myself for many years and it gets the most action used during autumn to the new year) where stews and soups could be cooked.

We also had better made things in general back in the 1970s and 1980s, things that were supposed to last, things that were slightly heavier than the "labour saving" devices that were made lighter to make its actual usage lighter. Our old cooker came with the house, it was a double range Belling Classic Seventy with white dials and the most god awful cast iron finish, but you know, it lasted some 20 years before my parents replaced it. Same with our fridge, a larder Hoover Spacesaver fridge and a massive Electrolux deep freezer, a Twin Tub Hoover and of course our struggling Hoover Ranger Senior that was replaced by a couple of Junior models.

 

[kenkart]

Something else..

Those who grew up in the"Country" as we say in the South know, everyone had chickens and pigs,and a milk cow, my Mother remembered gathering eggs and she remembered Grandmother milking and churning butter every week, as they did not have electricity until my Mother was 9 years old, she remembered the spring house where everything was kept cold,milk and butter were kept in jars and placed in the running water in the spring house,also she remembered hog killing time, usually at Thanksgiving because, before global warming it was usually below freezing then, all day was spent cutting up the meat,making sausage,liver mush, and rendering lard,of course you ALWAYS checked the Almanac to see if the sign was right! I still do this today, I never plant anything without checking it, Mother said Sunday was fried chicken day, grandmother would go out , pick out the chicken she wanted, kill and clean it and have it in a big iron skillet "Griswold, I still use it" on her Majestic wood stove....and fried in the lard she rendered!.I do know this, meat that is raised on a farm like that, no antibiotis ,no hormones etc, is totally different from what you buy!

 

[sebo_fan]

Well its like everything - if you grow your own veggies or fruit, they're consumable and don't have pesticides galore over them.

 

[kenmore81]

Thrifty..yes sir

Leftovers were repurposed:Always.We grew up poor to mid class. We were always taught to get the most use out anything. Weather it be shampoo, laundry soap, fabrics, food , appliances.
My BF grew up on a farm, they are the same way. Use it till its unusable then still use any parts off whatever it may be..I do this as well I love it.

 

[gusherb]

My grandparents were all this way, having been from the WWII era (if not serving in WWII itself), same for my great aunts & uncles. My parents are a little different, they are half invested in the throwaway society and half old fashioned, but in a somewhat sick twist.

Some people I know are the stereotype of "throwaway" and it makes me sick, throwing away almost anything! I recommended family friend buy her husband a Bunn coffee maker (based on the customer service and the warranty), it broke two years later and they threw it out! it had a 3 year warranty!! I'm still appalled! (and it doesn't stop there)
They say "threw it out" more then most people I know too...

 

[spiraclean]

Wouldn't class myself as either rich or poor, I make enough to get by on with a little leeway for emergencies and unexpected expenses. But getting there means working damn hard, doing 60 hours a week, so you bet I'm going to make sure my wages stretch as far as possible. This is something I learned from my parents. While they both brought home decent money, they saw little sense in wasting it when it could be put to better use improving our standard of living.

Sometimes you have to learn the hard way. The first few times I went grocery shopping, I was horrified when the total at the checkout came to £120-£150 each time. After that I started going through my cupboards before a shopping trip, writing down a list of the items I actually NEEDED, and then sticking to it. Now I do my grocery shopping online which has reduced my bill even further, because it completely eliminates any temptation that comes from wandering the aisles. Some things are nice to have, but if you go without, you don't really miss them.

Food waste is an absolute no-no in my house. It really annoys me. When something goes into the bin, it means you're cooking too much, and therefore buying too much. Meal planning helps cut that out (this ties in with grocery shopping), and I will use leftover chicken and veggies to make soup and stock. I also batch cook, freezing down individual portions for later. Less waste, and it's nice having something ready to go at all times rather than coming home from work late and cooking from scratch when you least feel like it.

Most of my clothes are a few years old at least, and some shirts I've had for ten years or more. They still fit and haven't worn out, so I'm happy to continue wearing them. That's not to say I walk around town looking like a throwback, because I'm careful to buy things that don't go out of style in the first place. If something has a dropped button or loose seam, I mend it. And while I previously dismissed the notion of buying from charity shops, that soon changed when I friend clued me in on that fact they rarely sell tat anymore. Most of it is expensive designer stuff, bought on a whim and later donated unworn with the tags still in place.

Cars can be a big money pit. Previously I owned a Smart, and loved its fuel economy and cheap insurance. Wasn't so keen on the four-figure repair bill when it needed a new exhaust, nor the expensive yearly service. That was the very definition of "false economy" to me. I since switched to a Jimny which costs the same to insure but is much cheaper to maintain. It does use an extra £10 of fuel each week compared to the Smart, but it doesn't drain my bank account twice a year. And it will get me to work in the snow, so I don't have to take the day off and lose income.

Other than that my only other rule is to buy the best there is, or at the very least, the best I can possibly afford. Sometimes that means going without until such time as the item I need is within reach, but it's usually worth the wait. Buying cheap and buying twice usually costs more in the long term in my experience, and even then there's the dissatisfaction of having settled for something that really isn't quite what you wanted.

 

[danemodsandy]

Here's an Article....

....I wrote a few years ago, about this very thing:

" Everybody today has a vision of what the Mid-Century years were like. Our nostalgic view says that everyone then had sleek steel-and-glass houses, George Nelson furniture, and tail-finned convertibles with two-toned paint and Continental kits on their rear bumpers. When people wanted to get out of their futuristic abodes, they jumped into the car and visited a Googie malt shop or bowling alley.

It's an attractive picture, but there's one thing wrong with it: the Mid-Century years really weren't like that for most people."

Link below.



http://jetsetmodern.com/rmc.htm#rmc

 

[polkanut69]

Funny this thread should come up just now.  About a month ago I was given 3 hand towels, and also weeded out 3 more from my linen closet.  All of the towels were worn through in the middle, so I cut out out the worn sections horizontally so that I had 2 good sections from each one.  I then hemmed the ends of each one to make some really thick & oversized washcloths.  I love them.  The towels I was given were from a gal who does estate sales here in town, and they were leftovers from a previous sale.  How's that for thrifty?  How many of today's teenagers/college kids would think of doing that?  I learned this trick from my great-aunt Alvera who abhorred waste of any sort.

[this post was last edited: 10/16/2013-13:53]

 

[davetranter]

More on 'Thrift'

A big 'Hear, Hear' to Spiraclean (reply#12). I couldn't have put it better myself regarding food waste and sensible buying (that's food, clothes, and everything else).
My policy (being a poor man) is to buy secondhand (I think that's just referred to as 'used' Statesside) quality items, rather than new 'tat'. I haven't bought new clothes or appliances for many years.
Another area where my policy is to always buy used is Tools. Any tool which has already withstood 20 or 30 years of use and is still in good condition is likely to outlast me, and consequently be a sound investment (even if that does increase the eventual workload for my Executors).

Like many here, I abhor the very concept of 'throwaway', so I have a houseful of heavy, well-built 'stuff'. ;-)

All best

Dave T

 

[danemodsandy]

I Have....

....Very little in my house that was made after 1975. Everything in my house is much heavier, much better-built and more satisfying to own than today's cheap tat. I rarely have anything wear out or even break down.

To add insult to injury, most people I know buy their new, nasty, overseas-made stuff from Walmart, putting it on a credit card, which means they'll pay usurious interest on a purchase that will not last.

 

[sebo_fan]

My goodness me, how could I forget the most important invention seen through the early 1970s and 1980s for the economy stretching of food in the UK?? The American Tupperware! This was the box of tricks that literally saved the food. So much better made than the Addis stuff you get nowadays.

Due to the American naval base we had in our town, my parents had Tupperware stuff for many years, that and Avon and Amway cleaning products.

 

[gusherb]

Sandy

That link IMO describes the 50s-60s pretty well. My mother grew up much like that, in a neighborhood full of identical tract homes built in the 50s that got modified dramatically over the years. My dad's parents built their first home in 1950 out of red brick, then added a bedroom addition on about 10 years later. They lived there 25 years then bought a bigger home a town over built the same year but was built with far more luxuries (most of the luxury was added, but the original home itself was upper middle class to begin with) for I think 26,000 in 1975. My grandma still lives there almost 40 years later. They made very little but managed to still afford a very nice home, fancy clothes, a Lincoln, and my grandpa still managed to put away quite a bit of cash!