What Would Grandma Do?

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It’s been several weeks now since we began a self-imposed “economic depression state” in our home. You might remember that after the election of our new president I said was going to put my money where my mouth is, and that until the people of this country realize that voting for their pocketbooks at the expense of what is morally right, my family will make sacrifices. We will make do with what we have whenever possible, and do as much as possible on the cheap.

Since we don’t know where our economy is going anyway (and if FOCA is signed into law if my husband will even have a job), these measures are all the right things for our family to do anyway.

I suppose I shouldn’t call it a self-imposed depression, because, firstly, an economic depression is not something to be spoken about lightly. And secondly, we’re not really operating under true depression conditions. I, of course, did not live through a depression, but I’ve heard enough stories to know we have far more than our grandparents and great-grandparents did during the Great Depression. We at least have a choice to not spend money, at least for now.

But, speaking of grandparents and great grandparents, I have noticed, just in a few weeks, how the changes we are making are really very similar to what our grandparents did all the time. I have been asking myself, when it comes to making changes around the house, "What would grandma do?" I’ve made a few mental notes and would like to share them with you over the next week or so.


Part I. Reuse.
I know this is a trendy word and “tree huggers” use it all the in reference to ways in which we can “help” the environment. I’m no tree-hugger, but I will tell you that almost all methods of “helping the environment” save money, with the exception of buying expensive green products that are no better than what you can use for very little money. I don’t do anything to save the environment. I feel that saving humans is far more important. But, if those same methods can save money, and result in us being less “disposable,” I’m all for it.

For example, we have started using cloth napkins at meals. I have always had cloth napkins and used them for guests and special occasions, but now we’ll use them all the time. I keep a few sets aside for special occasions, but all the rest went into a big basket that we keep near the table. I will wash them with my dish towels and use them over and over. Even if I had to buy cloth napkins just to get started, I can find cotton napkins on clearance at Target or at the dollar store and for the cost of about six months worth of paper napkins, you can have napkins for a long time. I already wash dish towels a couple times a week – I’m not running the machine any more often.

Similarly, I’m replacing paper towels with rags. I used to be the queen of paper towels and I can’t say I’ll never, ever buy them again (how would I cook bacon in the micro?), but for almost all uses you have for paper towels, you can use rags. Just keep a clean stack under the kitchen sink and grab a rag instead of a paper towel. If you’ve used it for a small cleaning job, say a small juice spill, rinse it, ring it and hang it to dry. Then use it over and over until it’s dirty enough to wash in the machine with the other rags. Use rags for cleaning glass, cleaning spills, dusting furniture, washing walls, etc. And if you don’t like to mix your rags (say using furniture polish on a rag you would wash windows with), use a Sharpie marker and mark the dusting rags with a “D” and the window rags with a “W.” I also keep separate bathroom rags from kitchen rags. They don’t even get laundered together. So bathroom rags get marked with a “B.” Most of the time there are plenty of leftover pieces of fabric for rags – old towels to cut up, old cloth diapers, old dish towels that need to retire.

Clothes are reusable too. Not only as hand-me-downs (and who’s afraid of hand-me-downs?) but when you’ve handed an item down as far as it will go, cut it up for a quilt, or even a skirt (don’t forget to cut off and save the buttons) – or last of all, rags. Wool sweaters can be cut up and sewn into hats or mittens. Legs and sleeves of winter pjs can be cut off and hemmed for summer pjs. Turn jeans with holes in the knees into cutoff shorts and turn the leg bottoms into tote bags. Old socks with holes in them make great dust cloths. All you really have to do is think about it before you throw it away. What else can it be?

The other day I was in the “disposable container” aisle of my grocery store. They now have an entire aisle of the store dedicated to storage containers for food. It’s really laughable if you think about it, especially since in my house, leftovers often end up in the trash anyway (after hanging out in the fridge for a few days). To think that we spend more money saving those leftovers is really very ridiculous. I can’t say I haven’t been guilty myself, but now I’m asking, “What would grandma do?” Well, I know she would wash out mayonnaise and jelly jars and use those, and cottage cheese and sour cream containers. Or use an ancient lidded Corning Ware container that’s been used and washed 100 times. Or simply place the leftovers in a cereal bowl and put foil on top. Why do we think our leftovers have to be neatly and beautifully packaged to store in our refrigerator? Storage bags can also be washed and reused, at least the thick ziploc style. And I don’t often wash bread bags to reuse, but to store a homemade loaf of bread, a bread bag is really the best choice.



It’s all food for thought. We live in such a disposable society. I really believe that our philosophy of all things being disposable has led to the downfall of our society, especially when it comes to abortion. We have become so disposable that women feel free to dispose of their own babies. I cannot think of anything more sad. As I often tell my children, “It makes the Baby Jesus weep.”




Note: I forgot to mention that when I am faced with the little bit of work that is required to sacrifice these conveniences, I take the opportunity to offer it up for the unborn. That's part of the entire point of putting my money where my mouth is.






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