Going Green: Before it was cool - Page 2

amandajane · 04-26-2008, 03:48 AM

My Nan had to cope with 5 kids on her own (in South East England) during the second world war (my grandfather was a bit of an anomaly) and I learned a lot from her as she got older. She grew veggies in the back garden, saved a lot of money by repurposing and was generally all round frugal. I admire her for how she coped, it can't have been easy under those circumstances, I wouldn't wish to live like that. I think maybe we don't realise how easy we have it really.

Julie Rains · 04-27-2008, 06:24 PM

"Butter/Margarine wrappers: Once you have un-wrapped your sticks of butter or margarine fold the wrappers’s and keep them in your refrigerator. These wrappers have little bits of butter/margarine stuck to them so the wrappers are great for greasing cookie sheets or frying pans."

You've brought back memories from when I was a kid -- I remember greasing pans with butter wrappers.

We had a large freezer and my parents kept it under lock and key--apparently theft of food was common at some point. Either that, or they felt more comfortable having their investment in food safe.

Everyone's comments reminded me of paper towel usage. It was a huge deal NOT to use paper towels when I was a kid. We had them but they were for specially designated uses, very rare and used sparingly. I remember when I was about 20 or so and I went camping with my sister and her husband. He cavalierly used paper towels and I was so astounded. My sister divorced her 25 years later, though, in part because he was a spendthrift. I am trying to get everyone in my house to use cloth napkins, towels now.

My mom used to sew our clothes, or some of them--I never got the hang of sewing though.

The one thing that mom my did that used to drive to multiple stores to buy things on sale, which sort of drove me crazy -- not sure if that is worth it now esp. with gas prices and the way sales on certain items seem to rotate among stores.

momsfirststop · 04-28-2008, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kav122

agreed! I think I am pretty frugal, but there is always something on this site that makes me say duh!!

I actually gave my mom and some others a recipe for laundry detergent (at their urging).

I think they were surprised at how easy and cheap it actually is.

I would be interested in getting that laundry detergent recipe from you. thanks. Angela

kav122 · 04-28-2008, 09:17 AM

To Make Soap:

You need:
Borax
Washing Soda
Bar of Soap
5 gallon bucket with lid
3 gallons of water
4 cups of water
Measuring cup (1 cup)
Box cheese grater

1. Boil 4 cups water. While water is getting hot, grate bar of soap with the cheese grater.
2. When water is boiling, add soap little by little. Stir until dissolved.
3. When soap is dissolved it should look like a white broth. Turn off heat and let sit while you prepare the rest.
4. Add 3 gallons of water to the 5 gallon bucket.
5. Then add the soap water and stir.
6. Add 1 cup washing soda and stir.
7. Add ½ cup borax and stir.
8. Put the lid on and let it sit for 24 hours.
9. Use a 1 cup measuring cup to wash a load of clothes.

1 batch=52 loads

all of the stuff (box of borax, washing soda, etc) should make 6 batches.

Here's the site where I got the recipe:
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/...ave-big-money/

The above was my condensed version of the recipe.

04-26-2008, 03:48 AM	#11
amandajane Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: New Zealand Posts: 417 Reputation: (191)	My Nan had to cope with 5 kids on her own (in South East England) during the second world war (my grandfather was a bit of an anomaly) and I learned a lot from her as she got older. She grew veggies in the back garden, saved a lot of money by repurposing and was generally all round frugal. I admire her for how she coped, it can't have been easy under those circumstances, I wouldn't wish to live like that. I think maybe we don't realise how easy we have it really. __________________ frugal life blog

04-27-2008, 06:24 PM	#12
Julie Rains Wise Bread Blogger Join Date: May 2007 Location: North Carolina Posts: 287 Reputation: (111)	"Butter/Margarine wrappers: Once you have un-wrapped your sticks of butter or margarine fold the wrappers’s and keep them in your refrigerator. These wrappers have little bits of butter/margarine stuck to them so the wrappers are great for greasing cookie sheets or frying pans." You've brought back memories from when I was a kid -- I remember greasing pans with butter wrappers. We had a large freezer and my parents kept it under lock and key--apparently theft of food was common at some point. Either that, or they felt more comfortable having their investment in food safe. Everyone's comments reminded me of paper towel usage. It was a huge deal NOT to use paper towels when I was a kid. We had them but they were for specially designated uses, very rare and used sparingly. I remember when I was about 20 or so and I went camping with my sister and her husband. He cavalierly used paper towels and I was so astounded. My sister divorced her 25 years later, though, in part because he was a spendthrift. I am trying to get everyone in my house to use cloth napkins, towels now. My mom used to sew our clothes, or some of them--I never got the hang of sewing though. The one thing that mom my did that used to drive to multiple stores to buy things on sale, which sort of drove me crazy -- not sure if that is worth it now esp. with gas prices and the way sales on certain items seem to rotate among stores. __________________ Wise Bread and Parenting Squad blogger Last edited by Julie Rains; 04-27-2008 at 06:29 PM. Reason: added paragraph

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04-28-2008, 09:17 AM	#14
kav122 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 510 Reputation: (238)	To Make Soap: You need: Borax Washing Soda Bar of Soap 5 gallon bucket with lid 3 gallons of water 4 cups of water Measuring cup (1 cup) Box cheese grater 1. Boil 4 cups water. While water is getting hot, grate bar of soap with the cheese grater. 2. When water is boiling, add soap little by little. Stir until dissolved. 3. When soap is dissolved it should look like a white broth. Turn off heat and let sit while you prepare the rest. 4. Add 3 gallons of water to the 5 gallon bucket. 5. Then add the soap water and stir. 6. Add 1 cup washing soda and stir. 7. Add ½ cup borax and stir. 8. Put the lid on and let it sit for 24 hours. 9. Use a 1 cup measuring cup to wash a load of clothes. 1 batch=52 loads all of the stuff (box of borax, washing soda, etc) should make 6 batches. Here's the site where I got the recipe: http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/...ave-big-money/ The above was my condensed version of the recipe.