10 Tips from my Grandma's from the Great Depression
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 มี.ค. 2021
- Tips from Grandma's who lived through the Great Depression and How You Can Live Through It Too!
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I remember trying to get a credit card in my name in 1972. It couldn't happen because I was a woman. They wanted
my husband or father to open in their name. Finally, a tall, Black man, who was an assistant manager at Winkleman's in Detroit allowed
me to open an account at the store. I think he related to my situation because I suspect he might have been the rare Black man
who was even considered to be an assistant manager. Mr. Hawkins, wherever you are, thank you for back in the day.
Recycling in the Depression: clothes eventually wore out. Then, my Grandmothers would cut up the fabric that was still good into quilt pieces. The worn out remainder was rolled into "rope" and woven into rag rugs. The buttons were saved to be used in another piece of clothing being sewn.
My grandmother taught me to do similar.
In the 1950's when I was ages 5 - 12 I lived with my grandparents. One day Grandma sent me to the corner grocery store for a loaf of bread. I was two cents short, and Mr. Bradley said not to worry about it. When I got home and told Grandma, she sent me straight back with the two cents. Also, like you just said, Grandma always mended socks and other clothes.
Now we think we have too many things we need less and take care what we have
I love the 1950s❤ I wish I grew up in that time, I was born in 1959 and grew up in the 60s and 70s those days weren’t too bad. But I would have loved to be a teenager or a housewife back in the 50s. ❤ I really don’t like today’s world and where it’s going. Thank you for sharing your story it made my day. ❤😊❤😊
I'm 66 and during my childhood, my parents did not even have a bank account; they had a cigar box that held bills and cash. Once a month, my mom and dad sat at the kitchen table, went over the bills and a day or later, we would go to the "main street" in our neighborhood and get money orders to pay everything.There were no credit cards, and I learned the word "no". Eventually, I babysat and worked as a checkout girl at the supermarket. That's how I paid for clothes, driver's education, etc. I am so grateful to my parents for the values they taught us.
There were people into the 80s in the UK with no bank account, you got paid in little paper envelopes. Everyone who was working put into a kitty to pay the bills, food ect. Mum, aunt, grandmother did the shopping Saturday morning while the youngsters played sports, shopped or worked the morning. Pub, club, bingo Saturday night. You were always busy, gardening, hobbies, sports, side jobs. A different world.
That was wonderful! At least your parents taught you to be frugal; mine didn’t. I learned through trial and error!
@@jelkel25 And probably cooked and baked a lot to. That's what I remember
@@chesterjohnson3660 The seasonal thing was still just hanging on and the English orchards hadn't been ripped down to keep the EU happy so you had seasonal and regional. A rule of thumb was the further into winter the more dried fruit and spices, less fresh stuff in the baking. There was lots of homemade wine in my family made with usually elderberry. The first time I heard Americans using elderberry as a health tonic I was puzzled and cider without alcohol in???
@@cherylT321 1
Heard this years ago and it's stuck with me:
Use it up, wear it out
Make do or do without
Have heard this in my head for so long that my Nana made it up!!! Lol
That is my moto.
I am "an advanced age". I heard my grandmother tell of a Great Depression the textbooks never mentioned. People jumping off of bridges, pregnant mothers with no food to eat. My grandfather said he'd kill himself before he lived through another depression. No one today has any idea how horrific it actually was.
I got married in 1972, when I brought my pay packet home I gave it straight to my wife she had a tin box with sections in. Mortgage , food,gas,electricity,water,council tax, general household, and pocket money. We never bought anything we couldn’t afford, we saved up. We saved up £100 which was five weeks wages and said “That is for emergencies only.” We never had to touch that money even when the mortgage rate reached 17%. I learned all this from my mum and dad. Thanks mum and dad. And thanks to a great wife who managed a house two boys and me. Phil.
I forgot to say I hoard , mend and repurpose things, my garage and shed are full. People joke about the stuff I have BUT if they are stuck for something they know where to go to. Phil.
We don’t appreciate what a privileged life we have!!❤️
AMEN TO THAT...the sad part......it could so easily be corrected....kids just plain have Too much...of Everything.....as do many adults...I wish I could make ,All of them,live on farms...40 miles from,anything...most people do not know very much how to be...sustanible or self reliant....minamilists...these are what we should be teaching All children
❤❤❤❤
I'm 71. I grew up like this. I still live this way. No debt. Make do, fix it up, reuse, re purpose.
So lucky. In so much debt!! Plus, divorced debt!! I just joined a class on clearing out debt!! 💥😭🙏
@@cutesybunny3360 that's wonderful that you are doing things to take control of your life. My advice is to study some depression era ppl ways of "making do". I believe that things are worse now though. I don't have any good advice about that. I'm still making do with my income from my retirement income. The cost of living raises do not cover the real cost of living increases.
@@cutesybunny3360You are in a VERY hard place, going through that with heartbreak as well. Is the class you’re attending a Dave Ramsey class?
@@LillianOglethorpe Yes, here at a church right across the st from me. ☺️👏🙏♥️
@@LillianOglethorpe The church pd my 80. Fee also. ☺️👏🙏♥️ My 6 figure husband took everything and ran my attorney bill so high I didn't know how I was going to pay him!! 25,000!!! I finally gave up and never got to the judge to get all of what my sons and I needed. Now looking back , that was his plan because he knew he would of been chewed out. I'm on disability due to my very abusive husband from the wedding night forward. MAJOR addictions destroyed our marriage before it could even start. God has provided so far and I'm sure He will get us through. Just wish I'd of known he was a deceiver and was not a Christian following Christ. He ran off after 16 yrs with a manly women. A VERY manly women. Total opposite of me. I'm very girly but she is free to ran around from state to state. Have zero responsibility and he likes that. He ran around on me from day one and even had his x girlfriend calling out marital home. The pastors said the man should of never been married. Unfortunately, they and I did not know this UNTIL it was far to late. 💥🙏😭♥️
Kids NEED : good food , shelter, clothing, and L❤VE.
Not : phones, tablets, social accounts, and name brands.
❤
💖😎
Plus: Good, classical education.
Amen to that
Amen
Both of my parents grew up on farms during the great depression. I was raised on a farm during the 1950's and 60's. I wore hand-me downs from my brother. All the kids at our rural school wore jeans with patches on the knees. That was just the way it was no stigma to it. We hunted , fished , raised livestock, butchered our own meat, raised a full 1 acre garden, canned and fermented produce. I still live the same way today. Very satisfying life.
I was raised in the 60’s and 70’s the exact like you and still live the same way. It is a very satisfying life isn’t it? 😉
The grandmother who raised me taught me so much. When a dress was stained or worn it would become a skirt, then an apron, and onto become a throw pillow cover and finally torn into strips and we'd make rag rugs. We mended socks too!
There is a reason they're are called The Greatest Generation! I have often thought of how my grandparents went from horse and buggy to a man on the moon. How amazing is that!?
I nodded my head in agreement with everything you said. I'm 64 now and heard many of these same stories from my grandmother and mother. They were sweet and kind women and mentally tough as nails!!!!! You had to be to survive the wars and Depression. Many times when life was particularly hard my mom would just shrug her shoulders a little bit and say "well God is in control". She had learned that over the many hardships that occurred in her life. She was 95 when she left our family and has been living in heaven for almost 2 years.
I'm so thankful that she is safely home!!! Please remember today is the day of salvation. You never know if you will have tomorrow.
Amen!
Preach! 🙌🏼
I remember my great grandma would wash out produce plastic bags and hang them with clothes pins to reuse them. She never bought plastic bags or aluminum foil. She used reusable storage containers. Also, she never bought dish soap. She would use powdered laundry soap to wash dishes. She said it was much cheaper.
Her husband, my great grandfather, after losing his gas station due to the depression, worked in the fields to put food on the table. He even worked in them with 104° fever. They didn't complain, but they also didn't talk much about those years.
He had to declare bankruptcy on his business, but paid back every penny he owed, even though he didn't have to. I sure miss them. The people during the depression had tenacity and strong character for the most part.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane of my great grandparents. I had thought of them for awhile.
Your grandparents equal my parents and aunts, yes we did not wear shoes all summer except for church! I remember helping roll newspaper-we would start with a small tight roll, tie it with kitchen string then lightly spray some newspapers with water, add that to the roll and tightly roll it all then tie with more string. This would be repeated about a total of 4 or 5 times, then set in sunlight for a week or so. These newspaper logs would then be burned in the fireplace instead of wood. They did give off an incredible amount of heat. If you do this, make sure the last few rolls are of the colored funny papers as it gives off beautiful colorful flames!
Make sure to clean the flu as.paper builds creosote that can catch fire.
I still never wear shoes. I have one pair of tennis shoes I got used and that's it. I had some flip flops but new puppy ate them. They were just for access in a store during summer anyway.
I read about doing this in The Tightwad Gazette.
LOL My life didn't change much when the pandemic hit, I was able to close the front door, smile and relax! My Dad was an Oklahoma farmer during the dust bowl. The rest of his life was career Military. He made all of hiskids "preppers" he just called it "putting stuff back." His teachings saved my butter more than once, I can tell you that! Man, it sure paid off, mostly when out of work, but also during snow storms, blackouts, etc. Love your book and vids!
One memorable meal was elbow macaroni in tomato juice with lots of salt and pepper.
One Lipton tea bag was good for 3 cups of tea
Alot of houses didnt have closets, cause they didnt have alot of clothes..They didnt change several times a day, they wore them till they were filthy and stunk.Bathed in a tub, or a pail, the closest thing to a buffet was a church all day dinner and singing.....I loved those all day singings, everybody would bring a dish or two and it was all spread out, kids playing, going to church barefooted, singing, and enjoying one another..If they had ice they made ice cream which was so special, you just couldnt go to the store and buy ice cream and stuff....Ice came from the ice house...in big blocks, and you had to store it....alot of old timers would dig a hole in the yard, and pack it with straw to store and keep things cool..My mama didnt like to eat meat I guess cause she was the one that had to pick the chicken out to die for dinner..I used to love to play in my Grandmas chicken yard.....no indoor facilties.but , there was so much love.....church was about the only place Grandma went, unless we caught the bus to go to town.......we got fresh roasted peanuts and a glass of fresh squeezzed orange juice and it was such a treat....When we went to town, people dressed nice, and presented themselves nice, not like they just got out of bed at Walmart...I still have her oil lamps, cause they had no lights....Grandpa would hang his outside lights on the wagon as he came home after dark...most roads were dirt....they had 2 horses, Mae and June, and when one passed, the other one greived herself to death.....so many memories, thanks Tawra for the trip down memory lane....I have shelled so many beans and peas with her on the porch, and would love to do it again if I could...my Grandma was my heart.
Wonderful memories, thank you for sharing.💖
@MissBurr1 Your story is beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing it 💖
Closets in old houses are usually very small. The bathrooms are tiny too. People didn't have tons of clothes or live in the bathroom.
What a wonderful memory you have shared with us..so lovely you can hold those days in your heart and mind...thank you for sharing
My parents raised 6 kids in the 60's and 70's and we still did most of those things. Not quite as extreme. We couldn't wait to get old enough to babysit or do odd jobs and make our own money. Of course as children we sometimes wished we had more but did not expect our parents to go beyond their means to get us "things". We also learned to share and to entertain ourselves with our imaginations and had fun doing it. I remember if my sister's had a dress I really liked I was glad to have it handed down to me. These values and ways of thinking have helped me many many times in my life. I'm thankful for those experiences!
I too was a child in the 60s-70s and know what you're talking about. I was glad that my cousin's mom sewed her a lot of great clothes because they always handed them down to me. As I listened to this program, I find myself still many of these things today.
I’m 67, I remember having to get up to change the channels on the TV, for my grandparents!!!. As a child myself, We didn’t have cell phones, microwaves, internet, iPads, instead we played outside, hopscotch, hide n seek, board games, etc. We take so much for granted . But my grandma taught me to sew, god bless her .
95% of what I have is preloved. The good Lord brings me not only what I need but what I would like also. Because everything looks nice plus I take great care of my things, I kind of look like Im doing reasonably well even though Im way way below the poverty line.
So true . our good Lord .does provides everything we need. I feel blessed and have what I need in his time. I am just like you. Amen
@@tamaramousseau938 We're blessed to see and understand ♡♡♡♡♡
I was (was is the word) in a moms group that complained and complained about the schools closing during the pandemic.
They are mostly stay at home moms.
None of their husbands lost a job.
I was happy to have the kids home.
I miss my children not being home. All adults now, we are enjoying our Grandchildren now.🥰
My one grandmother would say"cash on the barrel head or you just didn't get it." My father was born during the depression and lived on the farm through the 1940's. He said that when they butchered a hog about the only thing that got away was the squeal. It was do over or do without.....We don't or can't fully realize what it was truly like.
At first when we moved onto my father's parents farm in 1964 they still did not have running water. You needed to go to the cistern and hand pump out a bucket. No inside facilities.. it was the outhouse. At night grab a flash light and check for spiders before you sat down! . My father installed a pump and water line from the cistern to their house. First time they ever had running water, period. I was 12 when we moved from the farm to a small villiage of 175-200 people. We had a garden that took up the entire back yard except for the pathways. We harvested 200-300 pounds of potatoes, carrots, corn and red beets, every year. The cool room was in the corner of the basement. We built a thick insulated wall to retain the coolness. My father busted out half of a cinder block to expose the outside then screened it in. During the cold Canadian winters the temperature sometimes dropped at times to -40. The carrots, potatoes, beets would last through the winter. Other things we had put in the freezer. During the middle of the winter we kept a box on the table outside on the deck. We just put the frozen groceries there. Almost 10-30 below for months so the food would remain frozen.
I was always afraid that something would come up through the hole and bite me. HAHA
Thank you for this.My mom was born in 1918 during spanish flu epidemic weighing not quite 2 lbs.Have heard her speak of great depression many times.She was the most resourceful person I have ever known.She was almost 90 when she passed and I thank God for her as a mother!!
My grandmother would make beans then would put bacon on on the top for meat 😮
Your mother sounds like an extraordinary woman, who gave birth to an amazing daughter. God Bless 🕯🙏
@@diabolicaldebbie 😊❤️
One story that came to mind when you mentioned the Dust Bowl. My grandmother, in Oklahoma, told that the family had to eat around the table with a sheet draped over their heads, spanning the table, to keep the dust and dirt blowing through the cracks in the walls from getting in the food while they ate. Plus putting cardboard in their shoes to cover holes, eating nothing but beans and potatoes they grew for weeks on end. etc. No handouts, just did what they could with what they had.
There is an excellent PBS documentary called “The Dustbowl” that shows the things you described and so much more. You would watch it, it is very interesting.
@@JustBHappy Thank you. I will check it out.
My Nana was born in 1934 and was born in a dugout home and warmed in the oven as she was premature. Never had shoes that fit her and really did walk in the snow in Oklahoma. Her mom had 10 kids, her dad was horrible and was a salesman on the road and was never home and when he did come home he would bring a slave girl home and grandma found him cheating and she ended up kicking him out. Which was good because he was very abusive. The only kid he didn’t whip with a chain they used for livestock, was my Nana. She is the best most godly woman I know. She’s had eye issues that have left her the last few years in immense pain, both eyes now removed.. never ever complains about anything at all.
I remember one time when I was in high school, I needed black shoes for marching band. My mom took an older pair of canvas tennis shoes and hung them on the clothes line and spray painted them. That was using everything you had. My mom could stretch money farther than anyone I know. She knew how to stretch her pennies.
My child made communion so I had to buy a pair of dress shoes. Guess what, those shoes wore worn for 60 mins in church then right back they went to the store.
Creative of your mom!!
They didn't go to the Dr for every little thing. My dad was a young boy and got Scarlet Fever. He dug a hole under the porch where it was colder and stayed there until his fever broke 💔
Now people run to the Dr. every time they get a sniffle instead of letting their body fight it off. I don't get it.
Wow. That was tough. Scarlett fever was very dangerous.
My parents were teenagers during the Depression, and I grew up listening to them talk about it. That’s why I’m frugal.
You are so lucky you have a mom and others that taught you the basics like cooking. The emotional toll was high as well. When I was little I talked to my step dad. His family had some money in the depression. He said with tears in his eyes, I never ate lunch because he gave it away to kids at school. He was so sad about how he had so much as a kid and other kids had so little. I was so very lucky to have a mom that would teach me how to cook, can and sew. I still do all of them and more.
O
I grew up in the 1970's and '80's. My parents brought all of the clothes into the main part of the house and we tried everything on. What didn't fit went back up into the attic or passed on to cousins. My parents survived the Depression.
I too grew up in the 1970's & '80's. I was an only child but mom was #8 of 9 so I got to do a similar thing w/ my 56 cousins (yes I said 56) twice a year. I never thought anything about it. I got to go to the farm & play with them, then take something of theirs home with me. I thought it was cool. Being so far away from them, their clothing pieces made me feel closer to them & like I was close family with them. If she hadn't done that I may not have felt connected at all to them. Which would be sad to me.
My daddy an mama was born during the depression. These are the things they told me. So much knowledge has been lost with their passing.
We have become a spoiled people that must have instant gratification.
Knowledge is power.
Back during Depression flour sacks were fabric and flour companies put prints on the fabric...flour sack dresses for mom and kids.
My grandmother made sheets for the beds by sewing flour sacks together.
That is so funny,,am laughing,,,we took home made bread with potted meat,,and mustard to school lunch,,,or a bean burrito...and that was it,, but once a month,,7 and 8
grade could help the cooks at the cafeteria,,for a free lunch,,but some
Teachers would trade my lunch..for there's,,they loved mom's home made bread,,mom was always sewing..
Up to today,,I don't even want to look at a potted meat can!!! But we were
Blessed,,and thank FATHER we had that..
I just watched your video. I am 67,raising 4 grandkids. Recently the things happening today have gotten me down. After seeing this video I was uplifted and reminded how people did endure so much. So can we. Thank you for the reminder. Bless you.
My mom and dad were both raised during The Great Depression....they taught me so much!!!! I have flourished because of their teachings!
Both my awesome parents were children of the Great Depression and we grew up under their influence. We appreciated 'new' 'cause it didn't happen but once a year....Christmas = underwear + 'some'thing similar to a toy, i.e. book... (5 kids). Clothes were passed around among families by the bag-full; this was common and appreciated, and not shameful at all; it was a blessing! Easter usually meant an outfit, and some candy. Waste food? HA! We used to trade unwanted items on the plate because we ate in the living room; our parents were at the kitchen table...not big enough for the whole family. The dining room was for Sunday, or company. There was a little poem that said it all during the Depression: BUY IT NEW...WEAR IT OUT. MAKE IT DO, OR DO WITHOUT! Somehow, my parents made it possible for the family to have what was needed...no luxuries, but friends of the family were generous to us and surprised us with small joys to bring us happiness. We learned how to appreciate what was important. My parents did without...and we never knew it. We did have chores; we did not have an allowance; never occurred to us to expect it! If we had to buy copybooks, etc. we were given money, and CHANGE was turned back in. At school report time, if we got an 'A' for a subject, that earned a nickle....yaay! When we were old enough, we babysat and had all the jobs we wanted 'cause people knew if they phoned our house, with 4 girls, there was always someone available. And...NO, my parents never whined or complained....just put one foot in front of the other. I miss them! : )
Born in 67. In 1979, I was collecting coke bottles to cash in to buy thrift store shoes..Could not wait for Monday for school to start to eat. I swore to myself that my kids would never have to go through that. Mom had mental illness we practically raised ourselves.
I wish my parents had talked more about living through the depression. I was close to one of my grandmothers. She died when I was 13. She never talked about it, either. I know times were hard for most people. My mother was very frugal and she saved things like paper bags for garbage and I cut paper bags for covers for my school books. She did laundry in a wringer washer and hung clothes outside to dry most times. I used a wringer washer at a location while living on a lake for 3 years. We had electricity and had to pump water up from the lake for washing and dishes. I heated up the water on a small gas (propane) stove. I hung the laundry outside in summer and in the cabin during winter. Not sure how I managed that. People are (mostly) very spoiled in todays world. It's shame more people do not remember what our parents and grandparents went through. I am 71 now.
I remember my mom would cut the buttons and zippers off of old clothes. She saved bread bags for lunch bags or to put in a pair of leaky boots people would save bags for dirty diapers. She saved butter bowls and rinsed off the tin foil to reuse again. She would open up envelopes and use them for notepaper She saved jars to put jelly in. She canned and froze garden vegetables and milked a cow and raised beef and pork. Food scraps were fed to the pig. She made most of our clothes. People in those days had about 10% of the clothes people have now I never had more than 3 pairs of shoes at one time growing up one pair was dress shoes, one pair was school shoes and the third was the worn-out shoes that were worn for playing outside. Clothes were bought at 1 size too big to grow into. So much of what we buy today gets thrown away.
My sister did not live in the depression, she was born in 68. She lived with my grandmother while in college to save on gas. She and her husband never financed anything. She wore her work shoes to work for 5 years before she would even consider getting rid of them. She washed out and reused ziploc bags and foil. Of they couldn't pay cash, they didn't buy it. Fast forward today they are multi millionaires because of being frugal and ery good with money management. They own 2 companies. Bil is a big time cotton and peanut farmer and goes to work at dark and comes home after dark. Never seen anybody with work ethic like those two. She runs both businesses from home office. Goes to bed around 2am back up before 7am. Multi millionaires and drives a school bus so they don't have to pay for insurance.
The transition to the next true depression is scarier to me than the struggle after. But, we will make it, whatever it is.
I was born in the fifties, and a lot of these practices went well into the 50’s and 60’s.
I remember my grandma which was born in the late teens to early 20's. She was a hoarder luckily only in her garage from floor to ceiling & of course back in those days, they were just called pack rats. She threw nothing away by no means if she thought she could re-use it. I was really too young to know better & ask questions back in the 60's-80's. I do remember though, with her being so tight with money, the family had to buy her clothes or she would just wear clothing that was falling apart.
This is sad that Americans have no idea what the older Americans went through. My grandma unfortunately just passed away in December 2020 and the last time I saw her she said things have gotten so easy, Americans are spoiled. She said I’m concerned about most people because they wouldn’t know how to grow food and live if there was a catastrophe. I have always been very interested in what my grandparents and great grandparents did. I agree, I’m tired of people whining about everything nowadays. Americans have no clue what true hard times are!
I agree!
agree!
…and sadly, guilty 🥺
They should worry about the corrupt governments and 99% chance they will not have pensions!
I am 57 and my grandparents were around during the depression and all the other times you mentioned. They were country people from the south and raised my mom and her 5 siblings just like you described. My mother raised me and my brother the same way. I m so thankful I grew up the way did and basically live by most of the same rules they did. Don’t be wasteful, take care of what you have, don’t buy something till you saved enough to pay for it, live within your means and be thankful for what God has given you.
@@JustBHappy amen
I know my grandparents who grew up during the depression carried an oil can everywhere with them & oiled anything that squeaked or moved & if something broke they FIXED IT & didn't throw it away people included!
My Great Grandmother always had 'Something Soup' on the stove she had 7 children, plus the farm hands, plus neighbours who would stop by, as more people came she added more water, as she was chopping up something from a recipe any odds and ends ended up in the soup. My Nanna said they all had to have a slice of bread and glass of water 20mins before dinner.
You are so right about the minimalism of today. A ladies group I was attending they were moaning about how many shoes they have and going overboard. So another brags about being a minimalist and she only has 12 pairs of shoes. I thought I’d gone overboard with my 6 pairs of shoes. Lol!!! I got so uncomfortable with the conversation. It’s like there’s a bunch of other things we could talk about other than numbers of pairs of shoes.
Ha! Ha! Loved your post.
My mom was a newlywed in 1959 before she learned that potato salad wasn't a meal - it was a side dish.
It's a meal for me.
I have a family member that when she was teen in the 50s they were so poor, when she became a teen she needed shoes, so up in the attic was her older sister's clothes and shoes etc, they handed her a pair of the shoes. I was shocked what she told me next, that pair of shoes were from her elder sister's accident hit by a car and died. So she basically had to wear her dead sister shoes and the ones she had on when hit and died, she said it was kinda hard to do at first because she remembered her sister wearing them etc.
I was born in 1986 and my great grandmother was still around. She lived through WW2 in Germany. I learned so much from her and those memories are some of my favorite childhood memories. I loved visiting and staying with her almost every weekend and during spring and summer break. We walked everywhere, she didn’t have a car. She didn’t have a shower so we washed ourselves with wash clothes and buckets of water. She didn’t have a toilet in her apartment it was downstairs outside. So we used a bucket if we really had to go at night and it was cold. She gardened. She was poor but never once complained. I feel fortunate to have learned things from her. Most People nowadays don’t even know what struggling is.
My mom and dad did this. My dad would even take old bent nails, hammer them straight, and use them again.
Amen to all you said. The best lessons we can learn are from our elders. They are such a rich source of real life info and common sense. I've made sure my kids get told the stories of their grandparents who lived poor but lived strong even if all they had to eat was pumpkin (my mother-in-law) or had to use an outhouse and draw water (my dad). Another point, there's nothing wrong with good old fashioned hard work.
Wow, you describing me! I did all that, to survive on a sole parent's pension! People who didn't know me thought I had money! When my daughter's uniform pants got holes on the knees, I cut out the pocket, cut two hearts and did a knee applique! Other children wanted them too!
My daughter too. People always thought we had money. She was voted best dressed. Most of her clothes were bought at the thrift store. The rest was bought on sale or I made them. She had some shorts that her girlfriends loved. They had lipsticks all over them. I had made them and they all wanted a pair. When kids would ask where she got such and such, she would always say oh my mom got it somewhere. That satisfied them. I am good with making a dollar stretch and I am good at getting out spots.i use carpet stain remover. It works for me.my kids are grown now but I watch my kids use many of the principles I taught them.
My grandmother said it didn't matter if you had anything to sell..nobody had the money to buy it. Those that fared best kept chickens and grew their own vegetables. My husbands dads family grew onions on their farm. They had onion sandwiches..bread, onions and mustard..but they had something to eat. His dad years later still bought pants oversized or whatever was on sale and cheap.
My sister buys over sized clothing and remakes them to her size then takes the leftovers to make other items.
Contentment... today my granddaughter said something to the effect that when her friend got a toy she wants she would mope about. I could not let that comment pass and I reminded her of all she had been given in the last few months after losing almost everything. I reminded her that if she wasn't happy with what she had more things would not make her happy.
I agree.when my kids were small me and my husband divorced.i was left with no job.so I had to get on welfare which was so humiliating. But boy I learned to stretch every penny,stretched my food beyond belief.after 3 years got a job at the post office,remarried and had to other children who can never understand what I went thru as single mom with 3 kids. GOD has blessed me since those days.i own my own home thats has been paid off. And I own several other properties. And I believe because I learned to save and live frufally but still enjoying my life.
My father who grew up during the depression told me he used to wear cardboard inside his shoe when he got a hole in it. When I was growing up, he had one or two paperclips that he used again and again. When Staples opened up, we could buy 100 paper clips for like a dollar. But they would be all over the place and we didn't really need that many paper clips.
I remember having cardboard in my shoe with a hole in the sole. I wore the shoes like that until they were too small, then I got a new pair. I was raised during the WW2 when food was rationed. I remember mom trading coffee stamps for tea stamps with a neighbor who loved coffee.
That was very common.
Very sweet story about the paperclips.
It reminds me of stories about people really hoarding toilet paper after WW2.
I actually believe that's why people went silly over toilet paper last year. We've all heard the story of the little old lady and her toilet paper obsession.
I think your father must have felt just amazing to have so many paperclips that he could have them lying around everywhere instead of worrying about where he put the 2 from before.
@@blackkittens. absolutely!
I’m 68 and you are making me feel really old. We did all that you have mentioned but as kids we rarely noticed the difference
I'm 53 and grow up this same way in South East Kentucky & very proud of it, wouldn't have changed a thing. Made me who I am today and I miss those days! And when we got a phone we had a party line. Blessings!
My grandmother called the Depression "Slim Times". If you were sick, you didn't go to a hospital. Plus, at that time, children were born at home.
Just started doing away with toilet paper and paper towels and am using old clothes to cut up for both.
I will start the shampoo thing and use a smaller amount, dishwashing detergent also.
We had a large garden growing up. I remember all the work it was and picking produce straight off the vine to eat. Tomato sandwiches are lovely with Mayo and salt and pepper. My sister and I helped my mom can many things. I was partial to the pickled tomatoes. Mom sewed all of our clothes and yes cousins would send their clothes for us to wear as hand me downs. We never went out to eat. Mom cooked all three meals and they were yummy. I brought my lunch to school and it was usually a jelly and butter sandwich and a boiled egg. We played outside all day. School and church were our social interactions. Sometimes we were allowed a friend over. We got three small gifts at Christmas. No air conditioning during the summer and no heat during the winter. Mom would open the stove and hang up blankets in the doorways to keep us warm and for a while we had electric blankets. You did not want to get out of bed to go to school. Saturday morning my dad woke us up early and we had to do chores like clean the house. Once a year mom made us do spring cleaning. Every piece of furniture got perfectly cleaned and it was turned over to clean the underside. Foil was saved and bread bags were used to wrap sandwiches and such. That’s just the tip of the iceberg in my remembrances. Love the way we lived.
My grandmothers saved EVERYTHING!! My mother did the same...I do it myself too...lol. My kids are dumbfounded.
My Granny did too. She even saved the old Styrofoam plates that the meat came on. She would wash them and out them away. When we would come to visit she would get out the glitter and glue and give us those plates to make art. It was a special time.
I did a paper on the depression, I interviewed my mother's parent's, back in 1986, I was a 11th grader, learned a lot, I try and live very frugal, I told my kid's don't complain other's have it waaaay worse then you...
I wish I would have done that with my grandparents.
That how I was brought up, I still live by those rules, alot people look at me like im crazy, but im not in debt.
In those days plastics hadn't been around or used compared to today making things reusable then. Glass containers for milk were returned, cleaned and reused. Coke bottles in vending machines could be returned in racks adjacent to those machines. They would get cleaned and reused. Clothing material was better and thicker than today leading to more durability.
When my dad and his brother were kids, Grandma would cut down Grandpa's old shirts to make the smaller shirts for them. She taught me to darn socks and other skills that have pretty much been lost to the ages. My other Grandma always took us down her country road to pick wild blackberries. When we got home we had black fingertips and tongues from sampling, then Grandma made pies and jams. Oh, the sweet memories!
We were poor growing up. We ate a lot of oatmeal. One of my favorite meals on cold winter nights is oatmeal and toast with lots of cinnamon.
My mom would refrigerate leftover oatmeal, then later slice and fry it. We put jam on our fried oatmeal. We liked it!
@@gracerc6154 we still do that. I put it in the freezer then slice and fry in just a bit of butter.
I feel a little confused. People talk about eating oatmeal like it's poverty food. I eat oatmeal on purpose, I like it. Do you all hate oatmeal? It's so healthy!!
@@ladominaroque We eat it. I love oatmeal. But it is also poverty food. We were poor and 6 kids. Lots of oatmeal and rice.
Am so grateful that my grandmother & mom taught me you reuse everything. Even from hand- me- downs turning them into rags.
Just glad that next month will be my last truck paiement and last something else paiement...I’m going to paid double on other loan until paid in full and I’m going to continue that way until no more debt and put money on the side. I learn to be frugal when I got sick and had to be on a invalid pension, we had stuff by credit and we struggle with our new revenu but we managed, now ...we learned 😇
I basically grew up like the great depression. Simple home-cooked meals, I packed my own lunch for school every day, wore the same winter coat from 6th grade to college, same backpack 6th grade to high school. No allowance, no cell phone until 17, I borrowed my dad's car only on special occasions.
Our church box was our best friend when my aunt and uncle moved here helped clothed their kids and winter coats. It was not during the depression, just poor but we didn't know it. We thought every family did this.
I also was raised by grandma when I was young. Growing up, I learned a lot from her frugal lifestyle and I have been doing it on my own. It has become my habit. Cheers to grandmas!
What you're describing is just the way I grew up. My parents were born in 1917 and 1918. Being raised by people from that era I just grew up thinking about alternate ways of doing things if we didn't have what we needed for a particular task. One year we needed some clothesline, and we were not going to run to the store for that so, what we did have an excess of was TV antennae wire mom had saved from the roll used when we first got our TV. I nailed that to the house and tied the other end to a tree and it held onto the clothespins so well when we had big things to hang out. We kept that and used it until we moved, we left it at the old house for the next family who used it for years! Mom used a washboard for years until she got a wringer washer and didn't get a dryer until I was already married and gone. If the day was pretty, she washed so we always had clean clothes when the rain came. Every year she would buy me a pack of panties, 3 in the package. Mom taught me when you change underwater you wash the used ones and hang them out to dry, I was about 9 when she taught me that and I never ran out of clean undies she always bought nylon panties cause they dried faster. . Same with bras, I had two one to wear or wash and a clean one, in those days bras were all cotton and you had to iron them. I had handkerchiefs and only had a box of Kleenex if I was really sick and needed a huge amount of tissues, Daddy would bring home one box of tissues for me. I never felt that we were doing without anything at all.
Grandma was a beauty!
I was thinking the same thing.....and she's still pretty....love that beautiful white hair.
A lot of the things I’ve been doing lately I had to teach myself how to do. Sew, cook, I made honey out of dandelions, I learned how to garden and can the veggies, I’m raising chickens now. It’s hard work. But my kids enjoy helping me (they’re 5,2, and 1) and it’s fun watching them be curious about everything we do!
My grandmother made my mom's clothes from the cloth flour sacks. Shoes got a piece of leather to cover the hole of the shoes. My mom did not get shoes in the summer.
My parents got married in the early years of the Great Depression. I remember them telling and living these principles that got them through that tough decade.
My nonna and nonno were born during the depression. As a kid I used to watch nonna keep and re using the butter containers, wash out clip seal bags and reusing them, make their own compost and fert for the veggie garden, nonno would melt down lead for sinkers, they never had alot but they were always happy
I crochet blankets and clothing. I can sew clothing too. I make my own curtains. I save several types of things too.
My mom made curtains out of cheap sheets. They looked very nice.
@@Prancer1231 that's funny to me because I just found 10 very long (& cool looking) cloth table cloths that had retailed for $49.99 ea. On sale for...drum roll plz... $0.90 each. I bought them all. My roommate wanted to know why I needed so many table cloths. We only have 1 dinning room table. I told her I wanted new curtains that's all. $9.00 to cover all 9 of our windows & 1 table. Most economical condo make over I've ever finished. We look all springy now. Turns out she loves it. Win! Thx for sharing your mom's story. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who does this. I used sheets in highschool that matched my comforter & one of those gold rods. I loved that look. 🤗
My dad's family were truck farmers in the 1930s, one winter the majority of the food they had was cabbage. It took him a long time to eat that veggie again.
Neither my husband nor I had a lot growing up. We didn't know we were poor, we just dealt with what we had. We're 60 now and the lessons of childhood have stuck with us somewhat. We have a lot more money now but still try to be frugal.
Here in the UK much of what you talk about here as depression ways of living were still common practice into the 1950s and 1960s. What you won't have experienced that was pretty normal was the keeping of ferrets that would be taken out to catch rabbits. Ferrets could keep meat on the table that way. Rabbits are common. We didn't need to do that as we bred rabbits for eating as well as chickens.
I was born in the early 1960s in the UK and my family were poor and my grandparents taught me how to do frugally and carefully and I still use many of those methods today even though I'm in my 50s. These lessons that I was more important today than ever before with the way the economy is going.
my grandfather was born in 1900 he lived thru all that and he was a great man.
Great video!! I used to love hearing stories from my grandparents. It wasn't till I got older that I understood and grew a great appreciation for all they sacrificed. If only I was able to have conversations with them now ❤
YES...
USE IT UP
WEAR IT OUT
MAKE IT DO OR
DO WITHOUT !
Love you just being you !!!
Great video !!!
I totally agree with all your Grandma's said. My Mum was extremely frugal but we never went without food! My Dad was barefoot as a child, he was horrified when I wouldn't patch my son's trousers when he was little! I have learn't many frugal lessons from my Mum. When my children were small we lived on oats, eggs, potatoes and apples for a month! We managed and makes me so grateful for what I have today! Loved this video Tawra. Thanks Sue.X
My mother was the baby of 14 kids, they were very poor in the hills of Missouri. They got one pair of new shoes once a year, and Grandma made their clothes from flour sacks or the fabric from other clothing items. Every school lunch was a small jar of soup beans and a biscuit. Some of her ways was carried over and I am so thankful I know them now.
Hello...... nice to see a normal human.
Some of them became hoarders and their homes are a mess. My daughter's boyfriend's grandma is like that.
Everything you said is true. This has brought back so many memories, all good. Thanks. And thanks everyone for what you shared. Wouldn't we be a noisy group if we all got together and talked about this? Your memories would spur my memories. Our grandkids would enjoy listening and would probably shake their heads.
Right now i have a love seat that one of the legs broke. This is about 10 years ago and i am still using it. I stacked books under that spot. Works just fine. My daughter calls me McGiver
My Granny did the same
If we observe the current state of the state of economy, especially the national debt, we are teetering on Depression 2.0. Perhaps this is the time of learning and preparing, like Joseph did before the famine years.
I remember my mom reusing baby food jars for homemade pudding.
Wow your GrandMom is Beautiful.
God bless her. You are right
Life now is on the high end. Everything is expensive right now
What has changed is that things were made better in the past. My mother in law has a 27 year old Electrolux vacuum, now you're lucky to get a 5 years out of one that costs $200. Same with washers, dryers etc. I try to repair but sometimes the price of repairing things costs as much as the new item. As for cooking, that's where I thrive. I can't grow a pepper to save my life but helloooo potatoes.
It isn't over yet kiddo. This is just getting started and will last longer than the 1929 depression.
Thanks for this Tawra! So many reminders on how to live frugally. I remember my Mom saving glass jars and my father kept nails in them. The jars were used for many things! My Mother went to rummage sales to buy our clothes too.
A great reminder to live simply, which is actually way more enjoyable!🥰Blessings from South Australia💕🐨
I agree with whining about 2020..... It about makes me nuts. I'm sure people will get snappy with me but it was one of the best years of my life. I am SUPER grateful for the lessons I've learned this year.
Amen! The most valuable lesson I learned- what really matters!
@@Jean2235177 YES! EXACTLY!
I'm 54 and I still have one grandma who will be 96 on March 30th.
@@rachelparmater892 Thank you!
@@leem200 That is a good idea. She has dementia which is starting to get worse. Some days she's good, others she's very confused.
This is one of your best videos. Especially the last part about how people need to accept the things that happen to them and move on. Also, the part about how past generations had things worse than we do now. Too many other prepper channels seem to focus on doom and gloom and how the world is worse than ever before. If you study history, each era had it's difficulties and bad times. In many ways we have it very easy. That is probably why people can't handle it when things go wrong.
I enjoyed listening to your tips and reminiscing today. I just canned 13 quart jars of chili sauce after picking the tomatoes and using up frozen onions and peppers I got on sale a few months ago. It wouldn't be the same without my grandma's chili sauce in the pantry. Fitting end to a busy day listening to you. Thanks! Next week its homemade pierogis for Easter. I made farmers cheese for the first time yesterday for our pierogis. My son is going to make them with my husband and I. He's actually looking forward to it. I hope he can pass down some recipes to his son some day. We don't need to do these things but we love to work together and see the fruits of our labor as well as some darn good eating!!! Thanks again!
Yes, my Dad talked about eating oatmeal for every meal or potatoes. He especially liked fried potatoes. Didn't like mutton and had lard sandwiches sometimes for school. He loved the Army especially the meals. Mentioned having chicken on Sundays.