Learn To Sew

Ever watch an old TV show and listen to them talking about mending the clothes? I've seen both The Honeymooners and Leave It To Beaver reference mending socks. Socks! Something we run to the store to re-buy from the slightest hole or tear in them. The way kids ruin their socks, it's a wonder we don't spend a small fortune on them!

Well, maybe we've lost sight of the fact that clothes are fixable, even socks. A hem comes out of a shirt, the elastic of a skirt loses its stretch or a sock gets a hole and we right away think, "get rid of it" rather than, "I'll fix it".

Even as early as the 80's, I grew up with my mom putting patches on my jeans. Why? Well, we didn't have a lot of money and we certainly didn't live on credit like people do now, so we made do with what we had.

As we know, people in the 50's did not live far outside their means. Credit was really only handed out for mortgages, but the average home only cost $22,000 in 1955. We can blame dual incomes and credit cards for a lot of inflation, I'm sure, but one fact remains -- people lived far more comfortably when they didn't throw their money away.

My challenge to you is to get a sewing machine and learn the basics. Most machines now are already programmed with certain stitches in them. So, if you find a skirt is too long, hem it. If you see a small hole in a sock, underwear or shirt, fix it. If a button falls off, don't take it to the cleaners -- put the button on! Got a stuck zipper? Go to JoAnn Fabric (or a similar store) and buy a new zipper to put on. You need a new set of sheets for your child's bed? Hit that same store, get an adorable pattern and make them yourself. Your sheets are guaranteed to be made in the USA that way (assuming you're an American reader, of course). Reclaim the skills that made our grandmothers so handy. Learn to sew! Don't squander money on replacement items when the old one is just a thread away from being almost perfect.

Learn how to sew by hand and with the machine. You'd probably save an awful lot of money just fixing old clothes and creating your own new ones!

Lack of Plastic (Greener Alternatives)

By accident, life was a lot more eco-friendly in a lot of ways in the 1950's. There was a lot less plastic around! Garbage cans were made of metal and when they got rusty, people got their steel wool out, rubbed that rust off and re-painted their cans. Imagine that!

Little plastic baggies you've grown to love weren't around. Sandwiches were often wrapped in wax paper or wax paper bags, which you can still buy today. People opted for glass containers when storing their food. Much safer for your food and for our modern life, microwave friendly (plastic containers are not).

Bottled water was obviously unheard of and hopefully, many of you have made the switch to refillable bottles and have relied on faucet or refrigerator filters. Filtered water's a convenience I'd be hard pressed to give up, but you're still better off filtering your tap water, which is regulated, than buying "spring" water, which is not regulated. Plus, beverages taste better out of glass than they do out of plastic. Remember back in the 70's and 80's, when all Coke and Pepsi was bottled in glass? It does taste better! And luckily, you can still buy it that way! And of course milk was in glass bottles. Your best bet on that one is to buy half-gallon boxes of milk because I've yet to find gallons of milk in glass or cardboard anymore. Still, if plastic milk jugs is the worst thing you do, you're doing okay!

Think you can handle not using a gas-powered lawnmower? People in the 50's had power mowers, but push mowers were still the common standard. Not only is the push mower better for the Earth and your wallet (gas prices anyone?), it's better for your exercise! Plus, they're low to no maintenance.

And yep, you can still buy them. And of course, they raked their leaves because, while the leaf blower was technically invented in the late 50's, it was invented as a crop spraying tool for farms. Besides, the strain on your back from lugging a leaf blower around is no fun. The exercise from raking is far better on your health.

Lunch boxes that your kids took to school weren't plastic either. They, too, were metal. There are still a lot of metal lunchboxes out there!

And, if you've got a baby in your home, consider wooden teething toys and rattles for him instead of plastic ones. And bibs and burp cloths needn't be plastic either! And, of course, baby was wearing cloth diapers in the 50's (and thankfully, they've improved since then)! Want a cool wooden high chair? Try this award-winner on for size (it does have a plastic tray cover though).

Kitchen utensils weren't plastic either. Strainers, spatulas, whisks, dish drying racks and the like were metal. Bowls, cups and containers were glass. We were actually healthier and more eco-friendly 60 years ago than we are today!

So, try and replace even a handful of these items, but don't be wasteful and throw out your old, plastic items, unless they're dangerous or recalled. Donate them to a Goodwill Store or Salvation Army for resale. The product is already in circulation; might as well let someone get use of it!

Mom Cooked

One way the 1950's were different (better) is that Mom cooked every meal every day. Sure, families went out to eat and sometimes Dad did the barbecuing outside, but overall, Mom cooked. Breakfast wasn't the common diner-style ordering that kids have now. One kid comes in with "I want a waffle" while another comes in with "I want cereal" and Mom hastily throws breakfast piecemeal on the table as they make it to the kitchen (and usually the TV is on in the other room or the ipods are on the table with you). Lunch is more of the same. No, no, no. Back in the day, Mom had breakfast prepared as she wanted. If Mom felt like serving pancakes and sausage, she made enough for everyone. The table was set and everyone was called down at the same time to sit and eat as a family. Kids weren't at the table with their hair in disarray and pajamas on. You were washed, dressed and ready for the day before you were allowed to sit down at the table. If you missed breakfast, you probably got to eat it cold when you did make it to the table (no microwave, remember?). The same was true for lunch on the weekends (or, if you homeschool like we do, everyday). When Mom called you in for lunch, you ate what she served and you sat down as a family and ate it together. If lunch was sandwiches, they were on the table, your hands and face were clean and you ate with your parents. Why have we gotten away from this? Schedules? Maybe. For those of you that do send your kids to school, it can get harrowing. However, if you want the meal time as a family, the effort has to be there. And if Dad's the one who's home, this is Dad's job. Here's a challenge to you. Try this for a week. Set your alarm to get up before you want everyone to have breakfast. If you want breakfast served at 7:00, get yourself and it ready by that time. Set the table and sit down with your family to a family breakfast and then, if your day permits, try it for lunch. Don't allow phones, computers or anything electronic on during your meal. Have your kids clear their plates (after they've asked to be excused) and then clean up right away so nothing ends up sitting around dirty. See how you feel after a few days of that. :)

House Calls

Have you ever wondered why the doctor stopped making house calls? Why the milk man no longer exists or comes to your house? Well... women got cars. Homes went from having one car that Dad took to work to having two cars. Once Mom got her own car, she was free to drive the kids to the doctor and drive herself to the store for milk during the day while Dad worked. Would we all like to live in the 1950's? Was it so wonderful then? No it wasn't. Life wasn't easier by any stretch. People lived without modern conveniences that we've grown to love (microwaves, dryers, remote control TVs, air conditioners, cell phones, computers, GPS to name a few). Children had fewer sports and activities available to them and girls had even fewer still. So we won't sit here on this blog and pretend the 50's were wonderful. What we will do, though, is showcase some of the ideals and morals that did exist then and pass along ways you can impart them today. Hopefully, as we share information and ideas, we can make your life a little bit easier.