Have you heard the one about an elderly woman telling a store clerk, “We didn’t have the “green thing” when I was young”? At which point the young store clerk berated her by saying that was the reason our planet is in so much trouble now. The story goes on to list the way things were back then and to show that we didn’t need the “green thing”. I thought about this for awhile comparing the world of my childhood to that of today. Here are some of the things I came up with.
Milk and other beverages came in bottles which we washed and returned. They were then refilled. When thirsty we drank water from a fountain, faucet or hose. Most of us didn’t even use cups. We put our mouths to the faucet or hose and drank! If we were really lucky our water came to us mixed with Kool-Aid, the other summertime drink.
Diapers were cloth. We didn’t throw them away. We washed them and used them until they began to fall apart. Then they were tossed in the ragbag to spend their afterlife dusting furniture or washing baby butts because there was no such thing as wipes. Baby and maternity clothes were used time and time again shared among family and friends.
Food was cooked from scratch eliminating today’s growing pile of trash from packaged goods. We all ate what was put in front of us or we went hungry. Going out to eat was a once or twice a year special treat. Paper towels and napkins were a rarity as were tissues. We had cloth napkins and hankies. We used rags to clean up other messes.
Hand-me-downs were a way of life. As soon as an older sibling outgrew something it was passed on to the next in line. Moms usually made that decision while doing the laundry. We’d get home from school and some new old clothes would be waiting on our bed. It was great!
TV was available to us but mostly in black and white. It was strictly limited to possibly an hour a day. Outside play was encouraged strongly. Actually we were usually kicked out the door and told not to come back in for at least 2 hours. I think this was probably for the mom’s sanity as well as for our health.
We rode our bikes or walked everywhere. Moms rarely gave us rides. If we asked we were guaranteed to get the old standby, “What’s the matter with your legs, are they broken?”
In summers we sweat. No one had air conditioning. We were lucky if we had a fan for our bedrooms. We slept outdoors a lot. We played in water a lot. We went to the library where it was cool and read books sprawled out on the floor.
In the winter we froze. Some of our big century old homes had central heating but bedrooms were never heated. We brought hot water bottles to bed to warm up the sheets. These were made of old cleaning supply bottles. A glass of water left on the nightstand would be frozen by morning.
We washed dishes by hand, clothes dried out on the line, phones were used for messages not endless talking, and microwaves were non existent.
The list is endless. We didn’t grow up in this “disposable” era. We grew up in the “use it up, make it do or do without” era. We were raised by the kids of the depression. You can’t pin the “planet trouble” on them. We were the generation that rebelled against the “establishment”. We were going to change things. Well, we did. I’m not sure that it was for the better. That’s the view from my side of the street, what’s yours?
Milk and other beverages came in bottles which we washed and returned. They were then refilled. When thirsty we drank water from a fountain, faucet or hose. Most of us didn’t even use cups. We put our mouths to the faucet or hose and drank! If we were really lucky our water came to us mixed with Kool-Aid, the other summertime drink.
Diapers were cloth. We didn’t throw them away. We washed them and used them until they began to fall apart. Then they were tossed in the ragbag to spend their afterlife dusting furniture or washing baby butts because there was no such thing as wipes. Baby and maternity clothes were used time and time again shared among family and friends.
Food was cooked from scratch eliminating today’s growing pile of trash from packaged goods. We all ate what was put in front of us or we went hungry. Going out to eat was a once or twice a year special treat. Paper towels and napkins were a rarity as were tissues. We had cloth napkins and hankies. We used rags to clean up other messes.
Hand-me-downs were a way of life. As soon as an older sibling outgrew something it was passed on to the next in line. Moms usually made that decision while doing the laundry. We’d get home from school and some new old clothes would be waiting on our bed. It was great!
TV was available to us but mostly in black and white. It was strictly limited to possibly an hour a day. Outside play was encouraged strongly. Actually we were usually kicked out the door and told not to come back in for at least 2 hours. I think this was probably for the mom’s sanity as well as for our health.
We rode our bikes or walked everywhere. Moms rarely gave us rides. If we asked we were guaranteed to get the old standby, “What’s the matter with your legs, are they broken?”
In summers we sweat. No one had air conditioning. We were lucky if we had a fan for our bedrooms. We slept outdoors a lot. We played in water a lot. We went to the library where it was cool and read books sprawled out on the floor.
In the winter we froze. Some of our big century old homes had central heating but bedrooms were never heated. We brought hot water bottles to bed to warm up the sheets. These were made of old cleaning supply bottles. A glass of water left on the nightstand would be frozen by morning.
We washed dishes by hand, clothes dried out on the line, phones were used for messages not endless talking, and microwaves were non existent.
The list is endless. We didn’t grow up in this “disposable” era. We grew up in the “use it up, make it do or do without” era. We were raised by the kids of the depression. You can’t pin the “planet trouble” on them. We were the generation that rebelled against the “establishment”. We were going to change things. Well, we did. I’m not sure that it was for the better. That’s the view from my side of the street, what’s yours?
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