11 Money Saving Tips from Grandma -Things they DIDN'T BUY!
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- Опубліковано 27 тра 2024
- Grandma knew a thing or two about living a frugal and simple life! Here's 11 things we spend (waste?) money on today that they didn't!
#frugality #frugalliving #savingmoney #homemaking #vintagehousekeeping
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As a 73 yr old lady, growing up we had sweet tea, coffee or water. But mama always had packets of kool ade that we would make in the summer. We also sat down and ate a home cooked , from scratch, supper together every evening and Sunday noon after church . Mama also made all of us girls dresses. We went to school, came home, and played out in the yard with the neighbor kids. It was a simple life. I think it was a healthier, better life. Nobody was obese either. You worked hard and played hard.
Remember the kool ade❤
We had milk from our cows, water and tea only for supper.
Don’t forget Lemonade. 😊
LOVE that you said… supper. ❤
Same thing here,even age!!!
My grandparents always wrapped our birthday presents in the comics section of the newspaper!
Loved this!
When I was a kid, we always wrapped presents for a friend's birthday party in the comic section of the newspaper.
Same here!
We did too❤
My grandmother was born in 1912 and was frugal and, without knowing it, was an essentialist/minimalist, but she had her "good" linens and "good" night dresses (for hospital) that she never used or wore. These beautiful French linen tablecloths and nighties sat unused in her linen press and dresser until she passed away (having never even gone to hospital). Use the good things - life's too short.
Yes we always had 'good' clothes twice a year.... Christmas and birthday ... clothes were looked after and old clothes were uses to work or play out... one on , one off and one in the wash.... I was the third daughter, everything I had was worn by my older sisters first.... I too made may kids clothes ( and mine and the husband) , only things we bought were coats shoes socks and underwear.
I love canning and preserving. One day when I was making a batch of jam, my grandma was visiting. As I put the sure jell pectin in the jam, she casually said, "I never used pectin when I made jam." My chin dropped to the floor! I asked why she told me they didn't have any back then. I asked how she made it without and she said she just cooked it a few minutes longer. I tried it in my next batch and she was right! I haven't wasted money on sure he'll since then.
And use the seeds in a cloth bag, they release natural pectin
@@peelit4610 Depending on the fruit I will use the peels in the same bag as the seeds. Apple peel especially is loaded with pectin.
When I was growing up my grandparents showed me how to do a vegetable garden and canned and preserved food. So as an adult, when I did a hot water bath on green beans my grandma would call to ask if the lids were pinging.
The garage full of "stuff" that grandpas had were basically hardware stores. Old boards, 2x4s, metal and jars of nails/screws were always reused in new projects. Half of my house was built with that material😂. We continue that tradition.
Most of the things you mention here that you could do without or less of just came about in the last 30 to 35 years. I am 73 yrs. old. We "recycled" everything, Our groceries came in paper bags (reused to line garbage pails, put our coffee grounds in and vegetable waste in then tossed in the trash). When we got to buy soda, it was a treat and we would rinse the bottles out, take them back to the store. Picked up any tossed out along road sides and cashed them in for candy money. Got 5 cents a bottle for them. My mom and grandma washed their aluminum foil and reused it till it fell apart. Nothing came in plastic bottles. It was either glass or tins of some kind. We handed clothes down. Didn't get new outfits all the time. We got a new Easter dress every year and new church shoes. New school shoes and two or three new dresses for the next school year, that was it. We hung clothes on the line all year long. If it rained, Mom moved wash day to another day. In winter, hung them out, they froze in the line. After while we brought them in and hung them over drying racks, then folded them for ironing the next day. Made the house smell like fresh air and sunshine. I could go on and on. The "instant generation" has no clue how much we recycled. There wasn't trash blowing around with those horrible plastic shopping bags and water bottles everywhere. They didn't exist. I know, hard to believe. I would love to see plastic disappear myself. Jars and tins that things came in were reused to store other things in when done with the product. Yes, we can live without a lot of things we live with now. The way things are going, we may have to again.
Wow, did we grow up in the same family? My grandparents came from Europe where they had been desperately poor, and my parents grew up with them in the Depression, and raised us with the same values. We sew clothes and curtains, pillows, and can or freeze food and cook in multiples. I love to entertain people in my home, and use all the embroidered tablecloths and napkins that my grandmother made and I try to avoid disposible paper products (except toilet paper and some paper towels) like the plague. Frugal living and homemade food has enabled me to take 2 and 3 trips to Europe per year and see what life far away from the Disposable lifestyle is.
I live in the UK but I grew up in Europe. I have never had a take out meal - I can cook something quicker than making a phone call. I plan my weekly menu (inc lunches when we worked) and we do not eat much meat, max twice. We don't have a TV and don't have Netflix etc. I am constantly amazed how much stuff people buy, never use and hoard.
I remember when my mother got a wringer washer, which was SO modern! She'd been using a scrub board in a galvanized tub before that. Everyone did. I also remember the first electric modern washing machine she got! It was a wonderful day!
There was no Uber, Door dash or Insta-cart, but milk and dairy products were delivered and dry cleaning was picked up and dropped off at home. We don't have those services anymore. Plus, doctors routinely made house calls. That would be an extremely unusual thing to have happen today!
I'm almost 70.
For many years I've washed and reused Ziploc bags. I use Mason jars for most storage.
We grew up washing and reusing ziploc bags too! I still do it, I can't remember the last time I actually purchased a box of them!
Love all of these! I can’t tell you the number of times at Christmas a parent or grandparent would say, “hang onto that! It’s a good bow!” I am a life long saver of gift bags and “good” bows! 😂
I haven’t had to buy my daughter’s Christmas paper in twenty years. I buy heavy craft paper and she is so cautious unwrapping it. It’s a family joke. All I have to do is roll it back up. I use wire ribbons. My Christmas box is filled. I never have to go get wrapping paper or ribbon. I have been trying to save our planet for a long time. 😂
I’m laughing about this. “Save tgat bow and that lovely paper’. My friends and I all do this so the same wrapping goes round and round. We’re all in our 70’s so know from our parents and grandparents how to be frugal. However, when my mother died 5 years ago I came across all the lovely things she’d ’kept for good’. What a waste. Taught me a lesson. I use the best cutlery, crystal glasses and china tableware because nobody wants it when you’ve gone or else it sits in somebody else’s cupboards for another 50 years! Use your good stuff and enjoy it.
I just quit my cola addiction and it saves so much money!
I did it for heath reasons, but it is still nice to save!
I can remember my grandmother finding wallpaper on clearance or at garage sales and using it as wrapping paper. She would save any box that came in the house( cereal, tissue etc) and wrap it with wallpaper and give it. My brother one time got a car wrapped in a tampon box. He was scared to open it.😂
Lol on the brother
😂
😅😅😅😅 love that
That's hilarious!
Regarding Kid Cuisine, I burst into laughter because my now mid-thirty something son had his first taste of that at age 4 during a play date with a new friend! My son told me he didn’t like the food because it came out of box from the freezer and microwaved. When I asked if he ate his lunch anyway, he said yes, but his new friend’s mother knew he didn’t like it! My son went on to say how his mother cooked EVERYTHING from “things” that were never frozen before she cooked them. On a side note, that new friend and his mother went on to become our best friends! I am so thankful the little boy’s mother didn’t take offense to how I fed my family. Thanks for the bringing back a long forgotten memory and laughter!
Gift bag saver family here! My sister and I have so much pride when we see Christmas Wrapping paper from like three years ago under the tree again, using up the scraps for the tiniest presents 😅
I found this book years ago that allows me to bake bread whenever I need it without having to schedule a lot of time. Artisan bread in 5 minutes a day by Jeff Hertzberg, MD. Thought I would share in case anyone else would like an easier way to bake their own bread
I have that book too Many delicious breads were made using the recipes from that little book
I'm on a budget so I cooked my own meals from scratch, go to dollar tree, go to thrift stores, mend my own clothes. My parents grew up the depression so they taught me a thing or two
Set a day for mending, example "Mending Monday". I got that idea from Evelyn Wood.
Great video! I am 38 and these items are just normal growing up for me 🤣. As a kid, I was so annoyed by many of the thrifty things my mom did, but as a mom now, I repeat not only behaviors of being thrifty and frugal and it’s served us well financially in many times of need. One item I would also add is getting rid of credit cards and using debit for everything. We switched this years ago and save for large purchases and it really helps with impulse buys. I pray a lot for guidance if we are needing something that seems unreachable and somehow He always delivers.
He is my source. He is the glue, we need Him everyday. 😊
Saving for purchases makes them so much more satisfying when you get them!
@@tenthousanddaysofgratitude couldn’t agree more!
@@jackiestowe6987 amen!
The problem with doing all your own chores is that today both partners tend to work full time, with most of the household chores still falling on the woman. In the 1970’s and earlier, many if not most women did not work outside of the home. Before getting married, I hired out lawn service. It was fairly inexpensive and saved me many hours on the weekend (not to mention the risk of heat exhaustion and severe allergies). Once I got married, the dirt and mess in my house quadrupled. Hubby hates cleaning. We hired a housekeeper to keep our relationship in good order.
I think we need to remember that grandma's time may have been simpler but it wasn't necessarily easier. They did what they could with what they had. We definitely can learn something from the past but we need to remember that we're applying it to today.
Still, with the higher costs of everything, our net pay doesn't go as far as it used to. So being frugal helps make up for it!
Love these videos. They bring back memories of the things my mom did to be frugal, like making clothes and other things, instead of buying them. There is one thing I have to disagree on, and that is meatless meals. For health reasons I went total vegan, raw foods, for over five years. For me, things went from bad to worse. The turning point was when, after a blood panel, my doctor told me to reduce my red meat intake and exercise more. Well, if being a vegan and hiker wasn’t enough, then what was the use? I introduced meat back into my diet, reduced the sugars and carbs and wouldn’t you know it, everything started getting better. My next blood panel proved I was on the right track, for me. The doctor then had to admit she was doing the same thing and that’s why she was already off three of her four meds (she was twenty years younger then me), and loosing weight. If you cut down on the purchase of premixed foods, sugar and carb foods, and up your meat purchase, the cost will even out. Especially if you can purchase in bulk, say half a cow, or buy straight from a hunter or farmer. And remember, there are 100% of your vitamins and minerals in a variety of meats (ex., zinc, B12, copper) that are not found in plant foods or grain products. If you want to save money on groceries, skip a meal (except the young’uns). It’s actually very healthy to pick a meal a day you can skip. Many doctors and lay people are beginning to understand we eat too much. Just make sure you get enough food in a day for each person to be able to function. Just consider what I am saying and with some research. I am 73 and have no fatal health issues and am not on any medications. What miner health issues I do have, is because I did not start eating this way soon enough, but my prayer is that I will get rid of or reduce those things bothering me. Have a Blessed day. 🙏
You are very right.
Obeying God the Holy Spirit's wisdom and leading thru the Truth of the Word of God always brings blessing. Thank you for this testimony to the faithfulness and Glory of God our Father!
Right on. We do this.
My grandma wrapped presents with the funny pages from the newspaper. We loved it. I cook from scratch. I don’t meal plan but I have a well stocked pantry with staples and the meats we like to eat. Always have pasta and soups on hand. I’ve started making my own bread and cookies and am going to try making bagels tomorrow. I drink a lot of coffee and with the price of kcups going up, I am thinking of getting a stovetop perculator so I am not so dependent on electric appliances. Hoping to find one at the thrift store or one someone wants to sell. Why buy new if you can find and reuse and keep out of the landfill.
Love this series! ALL SO TRUE!! I think we should simplify meals. Our grandmothers cooked very simple, low cost meals. My mother had the same menu every week. Yes, that is a bit boring but why not find low cost meals for a two week plan. She knew exactly what her grocery bill would be each week. I go down the aisles just tossing stuff in the buggy and then gasp when the cashier finishes ringing it all…..then get home and the family says there’s nothing to eat. I would love to be more like my mother!! ❤❤
So true!
Same here but many foods we had when I was a child which were cheap are now expensive because people have learnt they are delicious!. We grew most of our fruit and veg but don't have that much space today
Amanda at the Bealles UA-cam channel recommended coming up with a menu of options and stock your pantry to make them. If hamburger is on sale, you know you can make: meatloaf, beef and broccoli, tacos, spaghetti sauce, cabbage rolls, beef stroganoff, smash burgers etc etc etc. chicken thighs on sale this week? Chicken curry, bbq chicken, sweet and sour chicken thighs, chicken tacos, chicken soup, roasted chicken thighs, chicken and dumplings etc etc. You have the menu and recipes and keep the basics in the pantry to make it. When you look for the sales, you can decide a “menu” for the week, based on the sales + your pantry + your recipes + your family’s preferences.
I’m too cheap to do most of these things anyway 😂. I’m the sort of person who UA-cams everything and I do it myself. I’m the woman out on a two story scaffolding painting my own two story house alone, or the woman raking out and troweling concrete with my husband to make a new walkway. I’m a woman who decided to dig my own fish pond and install waterfalls and a rain curtain feature above it. The woman who decided the upstairs of my ancient ancestral farmhouse was getting a bathroom like it or not, and when my husband said it couldn’t be done-I tore out an entire closet and the walls and threw them out the upstairs window while he was at work. Three tools: hammer, pry bar, and reciprocating saw 😂. Considering the walls were plaster and lathe board construction this was no easy or neat feat. Husband came home to a huge pile of crap in the yard and was like “What in the hell are you doing???” Me- “Preparing to make a bathroom. Duh.” 😂. Guess who has an upstairs bathroom now??? ME. I taught myself to can and preserve food I grow. I taught myself to sew on a machine. I mend clothes rather than toss them out if some little problem happens. Make curtains and the like for my house. Discovered that cheap dollar store oven cleaner/Dawn dish soap can get out most stains on fabrics if you let it sit on the stain a full day in a plastic bag before washing (test an inconspicuous area for color fastness). It’s just like this-if someone else can do the work-so can we, right??? If you are willing to work hard for things, put in time and effort-you can have the nicest life with minimal costs. I bought secondhand hard pond liners off Facebook marketplace for $45 for the whole lot. A lot of digging later, and a few spare parts-I’m one of three people in this town who has a decorative pond in my front yard and it’s beautifully landscaped by me. It looks like a tropical oasis and I live in the Midwest. We have winters here. I even have banana trees planted. They actually produce bananas. I take them out every fall and overwinter them in the basement in a dormancy state.
Dude I wish we were neighbors
I buy lemons and limes we do lemon and lime water. Its refreshing and has vitamins and minerals in it. Its a great way to change up our drinks and still is healthy. I was born in 1983 and my 4 kids ask me if I had color tv when I was growing up 🙄.....LOL!!! All of these are great ideas!!!
Lemon water is fantastic!!!! Especially if you have nausea.
The storm in the background made your video even less tech-cold. Loved it. Hope it didn't interfere with anything important!
I remember tv dinners when they were in an aluminum foil tray and you baked them in the oven. (in the 70’s) I loved the brownie that was in there. It was definitely a rare “treat”. 📺🍽️
I’m 60 and I remember my parents having such quirks and insecurities about food. My in-laws still are frugal, don’t waste, etc. I’m grateful for the education I’ve gleaned from them.
I agree on many...but grocery delivery is a must for me being in a wheelchair. Just so much easier between trying to load up in the van, get back out, try to shop, get everything back IN the van, blah blah blah...so for ME it makes sense. Which sucks because I MISS grocery shopping.
That's when we are blessed to have such conviences in this day and age we live. We all can choose those things that benefit us and maybe other areas we could change.
Have you considered going in-store shopping once a month with a friend? They can help with the packing in/out, and you guys can spend some quality time hanging out. Socialization is important for everyone.
Another thing our grandparents did was to borrow/lend for occasional events instead of everyone having their own punch bowl, folding chairs, crutches, etc.
Years ago, my partner and I consumed ridiculous quantities of soda, to the tune of multiples per day. We decided there was no good coming from that habit, and stopped keeping that stuff stocked in our kitchen and in his office. Practically overnight, sodas went from a part of daily life to an occasional thing. Both immediately lost weight. We replaced it with sports drinks (Gatorade, Powerade) and making many, many pitchers of sweet tea. We gradually stepped down from there, replacing more and more of those with water. (Although we admittedly increased our coffee intake alongside. That caffeine addiction isn't going anywhere.)
Now, both tea and soda are occasional, as is juice, and the two of us combined rarely go over 4 sports drinks in a week. We mostly drink coffee (brewed at home) and water. It's saved us so much money over the years, and taken a lot of excess sugar out of our diets at the same time.
I buy a huge roll of brown paper for wrapping. I save gift bags and reuse them. Loving this series Angie x
"Brown paper packages tied up with string" 🎵- that’s exactly how I wrap presents! Either brown paper or just some tissue paper. I think it looks pretty and sweet and is reusable.
Love this! Where do you find this brown paper without blowing your budget?
@@denisetymensky8922 I bought it a while ago and it was from a packing company, sorry I can't help anymore.
@@denisetymensky8922. Amazon! Kraft paper.
I've managed to accumulate a small stash of it by saving the paper packing used to fill the gaps in my online shopping deliveries. I also save the better pieces of tissue paper; I've used them to wrap small gifts otherwise I use them to help cover the gift (like an inner layer) and use the nicer colored tissue paper over the top. Same with string, if I come across any (if it's not great I just reuse in my garden). Also cards, if the back of the front flap (left hand side inside a card) is not written/printed on, I'll actually cut it down, hole punch in the corner and turn it into the name tag, and hang it off some of the string I've used to tie around it. Basically a good portion (if not all) of what I use to wrap a gift, are items that would normally be thrown out, I've just given them a second life first.
I’m very privileged in that I live in an area, and have a husband who supports us, I’m able to apply all of these things and have for the past 14 years. Not everyone can replace all the quick, cheap things in life because of their circumstances. But we can all make baby steps to save a little here and there and simplify life. I do it so my family can enjoy bigger experiences together, and keep my home tidier without all the stuff! That’s my why :) to each their own.
When I grew up, all my Mom had in the fridge to drink was milk and orange juice, she and Dad had coffee too. I distinctly remember what a treat it was at Christmas to hear the clink of the bottles of a six pack of pop .. wow! 🙂
We were the same and you didn’t go into the refrigerator unless Mom told you to. Orange juice only for breakfast and she put it on the glass. We ate only what she gave us. The times now where kids just raid the refrigerator seem so rude to me. I am only 57 so I guess Mom was old fashioned?
@@denisetymensky8922 Awesome to hear your experiences, Denise! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
We were the same too regarding going into the fridge, I'd totally forgot till reading your comment .. I never just grabbed something from the fridge, I always asked my Mom. Same as the cookie jar on the kitchen counter (there might have been a time or two I took one without asking 🤭lol .. not often though.) Same age group you and I, I'm 2 years younger. And in the evening, toast or a bowl of cereal .. choices, cornflakes or special K.
Yeah, I'd say both our Moms would be what a lot call 'old fashioned'. It was a good way of living. You didn't need so much. I don't know what happened .. I guess advertising and convenience, and then more Moms working outside the home. My parents were so lucky, well us children were too .. Dad worked outside the home, Mom worked at home .. then the evenings were free for everyone to do what they wanted.
Sorry, long reply! 😂 .. nice to stroll down memory lane.
We were the same! Similar upbringing 🙂 and I'm in my mid 50's
I recall getting 7 up when I was sick only. Very little pop or ice cream.
@@georgiafrye2815 Same here, only it was ginger ale when you were sick. 🙂
Wonderful video, Angela! I am 71 years old, and remember my parents and grandparents talking about the Great Depression. Although my grandparents and father were very thrift conscious, it had the reverse effect on my Mom. She really went in for retail therapy, and she was a hoarder! It has taken me years to be able to meld the two aspects of my upbringing. Thankfully I now practice many of the things you talked about.
♥️
Retail therapy: We went to the mall every Saturday and did not buy anything most weekends. My mother would "watch the price" on items she wanted to get. 10% off (nope), 25% off (maybe, depending on the item), 40%-50% off (Bingo. Cash not card in hand). My brother and I always had a dollar or two for the arcade and the mall would have promotional events and activities that we took part in for free entertainment. You can still have the thrill of the hunt without spending money on things you do not need.
For the gift wrap….we switched to fabric swatches and fabric gift bags for wrapping presents and it has been wonderful. They look beautiful and it’s fun to look for fabric at thrift shops. Look up Japanese furoshiki wrapping for inspiration.
And often times, the fabric sales end up being cheaper than the wrapping paper cost. Plus, you can buy a half a yard, not a whole bolt.
Thanks for the great tips! We use the dollar tree and get all wrapping paper and gift bags for $1.25. It saves so much money. Even the greeting cards are $1.25.
Dollar tree wrapping paper is a TERRIBLE value. You get like 3ft of paper for $1.25.
The bags are great! I also cannot spend a lot of money on greeting cards! If it’s a friends birthday, my children make a handwritten card but otherwise I buy cards from the Dollar Tree. Sometimes they are two for $1.25.
There was one time that I went to the card store and bought two pricey cards for two special people. I didn't get back to my car without losing them!!! Went back to the store to see if anyone turned them in and also to the lost and found at the mall. It was $$ store from that point on.
I just visited my grandmothers house for the first time in five years (military) and was amazed remembering how she (and my great grandmother who grew up in depression era/ww1/ww2) has lived her life compared to modern life today! Totally had me reconsidering some of my choices
My Nanny saved gift wrap and used it to line drawers. I loved the prints! She had baby shower prints in the guest room. :) When I moved out I tried this, but most of the gift paper was too fragile/cheaply made. I found that if you buy gift wrap from school fund raisers, it has the heavier weight needed to reuse.
Cleaning rags instead if single use paper towels. Those who use bar soaps- slivers put into a drawstring bag made from old wash cloths. Mom used to buy powdered milk, mix it with water. Then take regular milk, divide into 2 gallon jugs, fill up the rest of jugs with powdered milk and water and shake each full gallon. 2 gallons for the price of one. For school lunches, separate the 2 packs of tastycakes, etc and just give one for each lunch. Makes the whole box of desserts double.
My grandpa was a hoarder. All of his rental properties were jammed with junk and broken down vehicles. So your storage unit point made me chuckle 😂
All the STUFF we have...been working on this one, including getting rid of stuff before bringing new stuff in, finishing a product before buying and beginning to use the replacement, like shampoo, lotion, etc. Trying to get my kids to recognize and learn this, too
Please keep doing these!!!!! I am loving them so much!!!!
In Uk paper plates are only used for parties. I was so surprised to find Americans use paper plates for every day!
I never heard of that either...they are for occasional use
My grandma used to wrap my presents with the Sunday paper cartoon page I loved it I don't know if they still do the color cartoons. And retail therapy was what my grandma called window shopping you look but buy nothing she said put it on your wish list I still do that drives my husband crazy I can wàlk through a whole store and buy nothing I just tell him he has a bigger choice for gifts love the things you think about
Idea for a video: your favorite frugality books! I love reading and watching everything frugality and I would love some book recommendations
I love this series so much! And your delivery of your messages are so jovial that I feel like I’m chatting with a friend. I am helping my Mom clean out some things in her house and we came across some books my grandmother had about various kitchen items having a dual purpose and such. It’s fascinating! Some of this stuff is things I’d never think of. For instance, I read they used Miracle Whip to shave with so as to avoid razor burn…um, okay. 😂 Another one said to use Cool Whip to remove makeup or for tired and dry feet. I’m telling you what, these tips will getting me to eating healthy because now all I’ll think about is that I’m eating face, shave and foot cream! 😂😂😂
Your first point about plastics is spot on with me. I've been on a rampage of switching out plastics in my kitchen and replacing the item with either stainless steel, glass, corningware or wood. Everything from measuring cups, spoons to cooking utensils and bowls for food prep to plates, soup bowls and drinkware. It's been a major overhaul and I love what I've done so far.
8:33 protein: lentils, black beans...
Everything in this video is the truth. As a lucky Gen Xer we were there before tech. There are a lot of things we spend money on that we can easily do away with. My retail therapy consists of thrift stores. I love secondhand. As a professional cleaner, those housekeepers have a family too. Also as someone who has been a supervisor, needless to say I would never hire a cleaning person unless I really can't do it. A great cleaning routine saves time and money. It's not like we're polishing brass and silver. Also give the kids small chores.
My father would use the newspaper for wrapping gifts! The funny pages were especially colorful and fun.
When I married, I thought it odd that his family didn’t wrap Christmas presents for under the tree. He said he grew up thinking that Santa didn’t wrap any presents he gave to children. Santa would just leave the unwrapped presents under the tree when he came to the house. After we had children, I came to appreciate this as GENIUS! Not only saving money, but time and stress to get it all done. All three of our children have adopted the same “system.” Of course we continue to wrap and bag other family members’ presents. But we do save all the bags and boxes from year to year.
You could put them in paper bags with a cheap stick-on bow and then re-use them, so there would be a surprise factor. Or you could have the kids draw Christmas pictures on paper grocery bags and then use those for the gifts. If you add a bow and tag it would be festive and then you can use the paper bag later for other things.
This idea is pretty amazing..... You might have changed the way I will wrap presents from Santa forever!
When I was growing up my parents didn't wrap our Christmas gifts. They were just put under the tree. I grew up in the late 50's and 60's. It was a beautiful time. I have wrapped gifts in brown paper and put a fabric heart on it and tied with yarn. I love wrapping like that. One year I made bags from chicken feed bags and they loved them.
@@vivianjones9130 I really think I'm going to employ not wrapping some bigger gifts this year! But I do have a couple big, reusable sacks that I use each year. Growing up in the 90s during hard years I remember my Mom would wrap our presents with the comic section of the newspaper that she had saved throughout the year from the Sunday papers. It felt so fun and thoughtful ✨
Santa never wrapped our gifts. They were just under the tree. (1960's)
🙌🏻 I just had a very successful garage sale this weekend. What didn’t go ( which was about 10% of what I had) was donated. It feels so good to get rid of stuff.
We have always reused our gift bags and gift wrap too! And I was actually feeding my sourdough starter while I was watching this video lol! I love making my own bread and my family prefers the homemade bread too!
Reselling your items gives you the same thrill as retail therapy!
Yes I remember kid cuisine! Also my sister and I talk about how eating out has become so common while it use to be a treat. I do think though that while our grandmas did not doordash, they did have the Schwann man....
Something that I would add is that my grandparents planned twice monthly or even monthly grocery shopping vs going multiple times a week. They had their list and set their budget and made do with substitutions if they ran out.
I was researching "the lipstick effect" when looking at ways to promote my small business. Retail therapy has been around a very long time, but I think it's become very easy to overspend because of online shopping added to in-person shopping. Online shopping (retail therapy) is where I have to watch myself. 🙂
During the pandemic the economists didn’t use the lipstick to gage disposable income. Eyebrow powder, pencil, gel etc. Thinking the trend of shaving off the eyebrows will become a backlash. We are seriously reliving the 20th century.
10:33 OMG we save all the gift bags if they're in good shape...
I thought everyone did this. Silly me. Lol
For gifts especially older than a child use scarfs or tea towels that are beautiful adults really love it and you can get use bandannas a buck cost!
I started making “Santa Sacks”. For several years I’d buy Christmas fabrics when they were 75% or more off and make drawstring bags to use for presents. They last forever and the friends who have received them love them. They are as easy as paper gift bags, take up almost no space and don’t end up in landfills after each holiday (esp. Christmas). I’ve started buying fabric appropriate to other holidays when I see it on sale or have a good coupon. My goal is to eliminate virtually all wrapping paper and paper gift bags from my life.
You can also make holiday themed sets of napkins as gifts.
I do the same!
There was always a piece of corn in the chocolate pudding in the kids cuisines.
We use many of these habits. Something we do at our house that people think is weird… we don’t purchase paper towels. There is nothing a wash cloth can’t do that a paper towel can. But we have had people think we are weird when they ask for a paper towel and we have to say we don’t buy any 😂
Yes to Kid Cuisines were a treat for my boys lol. My grandparents never had red solo cups or paper plates. My sister & I ALWAYS washed the dishes when we traveled, 2 hours, to visit or even if we stayed the summer. We've saved gift bags & boxes. My aunt would save the Sunday comics & wrap our gifts in. We always thought it was cool & would try to take it off so carefully so we could read them lol.
They did have their groceries, milk, ice, etc. delivered. Tupperware was widely used. My grandmother and my parents houses were full of stuff because they kept everything & loved to collect things: dishes, quilts, paperweights, etc. I had to clean them out.
Loving this series. Another i would add (and love to do myself) is to use a laundry line! Save on electric and wear/tear on clothing.
I would hesitate on the point of the previous generation not using hired help - as both my own grandmothers made their livings as a housekeepers / laundresses for a wealthier/older crowd
Switch over to reusable cloth gift bags. It makes wrapping and then cleaning up after it's opened SO simple plus way cheaper and saves time .
Seems like that would be saved for in house family? I buy fabric too often and the prices have definitely went up.
I used door das/delivery service 1 time during covid when i was in full PPE and not allowed to leave shift. After seeing a $40 bill for one meal with a free delivery for 1st timers, that was enough to say NO, NEVER again.
I found your channel and have been watching for a couple weeks now, and just wanted to say how much I enjoy your content and how you deliver it. It feels like chatting and having a coffee date with a good friend! Thank you!
I reuse bubble wrap to line my drawers and fridge shelves... just throw out when soiled. Its Great also for delicate items as it has a cushion effect.
I think mending and repairing is also a big skill that we could all do better with, and save a lot of money by just fixing stuff instead of replacing it. I've been learning a lot in the recent years about how to mend beyond the basics of just putting a button back on and we have fixed so many clothing items and even sheets and towels that I would have replaced in the past that ended up being a relatively easy fix!
I loved Kid Cuisine! I remember asking my grandma if I could have “a penguin TV dinner” and she thought it was hysterical when she finally figured out what I meant.
I make homemade TV dinners with all leftovers. I also make drawstring gift bags with material. I select material specific to the person, they return them to me and they get reused for the next gift. I don't buy gift wrap or bows. You can also use the pages of old calendars!
No storage unit in this household. Whew. But we do have 2 rooms full of stuff! Working on clearing it out.
I came from a family of 9 and oh my goodness there were always so many dishes. Lunches and breakfast were always simple and served on napkins or a bowl. Dinner was bigger and we all took turns doing the dishes, one washed, one dried. We also just cleaned out the basement of our house. Yikes! We made so many trips to charity/second hand shops. The worst was all my books. I’ve paired them down to just 2 book shelves. I probably had a few hundred books and magazines. Our house let put a sigh of relief and so did we. I too often think what would my mom or Grammys do. It’s the best way to change something you want to.
I have the same meat struggle with my husband. I made a great pasta primavera dish with a bunch of veggies that were gonna go bad in a cream and butter sauce. Very filling, but he still said where is the chicken lol
Yes, my husband too looks for the meat in my pasta and rice dishes. I'm making eggplant parmesean tomorrow, he'll think it's chicken, lol.
I'm with you on all these.i use the funny papers to wrap kids gifts ..
I learned how to be frugal and resourceful during hard times and I've yet to abandon my money-saving ways! If I order a package and get brown packing paper, I smooth it out and put it in a closet and use it later for wrapping paper. I might use nice ribbon or stamps on the paper a la Martha Stewart. I always get compliments on my "rustic" wrapping. I do so many of your tips already and I have been meaning to learn to make bread. It's been my goal by the end of the year 🥖🍞🥪
I also get the packaging paper and I will iron it out for gift wrapping. Love it and cut a heart out of fabric then tie yarn around it and into a bow.
@@vivianjones9130 yes, love it!
We got a £10 bread maker on FB marketplace. Yes, I do make sourdough but if I've not planned ahead well enough, or it's a busy day, I can throw the ingredients in the bread maker and we have a loaf 2 hours later. I love making bread by hand but in this season, I'm grateful for the machine to do the daily grind for me!
I too love making bread but hand. But like you, for this season in my life I am very grateful for my bread machine.
My Grandparents had a ton of stuff, lol. They had so much stuff that Grandpa built a storage shed on their property. But they still saved money since they weren't renting one. They saved and earned a lot of money because Grandpa was good with his hands. He built not only their house with his own two hands but he also built several other houses that he rented out to other families. People don't build their own house anymore like how the previous generations did.
The thunderstorm in the background totally enhanced the video 👍💯
I've loved these videos. We most definitely need to get back to the basics of life. ❤
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You are so right on all of these. I am with you and it makes me glad I had subscribed to your channel, several months ago. Yes get rid of storage units. If the are not useful for your family. Say good bye.. Grandma And Grandpa had what they had and no need for all of the other stuff. Stop buying is perfect. I am on a no buy year for “craft stuff”…. It seems to have over flowed to other areas for me. Use what you have and not more. Thank you from what you are doing for all of us.
Comics are good for wrapping paper, newspaper, and my favorite are old road maps tied with twine!
Wow! We don’t do any of these things. Living on one income with 7 kids we have had to be frugal. These are great tips for more to embrace during this time of inflation.
There are so many recipes for no-knead bread, no one has to knead bread if they don't want to. Just mix a few ingredients, let it rise while you do something else, let it rise a little more, bake it, done. It's so easy and saves hundreds of dollars.
I just came from a grocery trip today & the prices are totally creeping up. I brainstormed some things I could ax on the grocery list- bread is one of them! Cereal will probably be another. We used to be a juice family, but I couldn’t take the price or the sugar intake for my kids- as a compromise, I buy the sugar free juice flavors so my kids can get the illusion of juice, but without the gobs of sugar. I’m sure there’s other stuff in there to worry about, but with where we’re at, one step at a time! 😊
To get the kids to think they’re having soda. Do 100% juice apple, grape, any juice and add sparkling soda water or mineral water. Been doing this for years my kid loves it still and he’s 8.
I used to love yard sales, but now I don't even stop at them,because I already have enough stuff I don't dust!! Lol XOXO
I feel that doing chores together with my children is another way to bond, so hired help is ok but it's also a missed opportunity
At a Christmas party, my uncle accidentally wrapped his present for the very old grandma in the obituary section. Luckily, grandma and the whole family had a good laugh about it.
Hey Angela, thanks for being real and sharing your thoughts on how to be better in life, in general, with all of our titles as mother, wife, granddaughter, etc. It's true, all the little things add up to big things and then we're overwhelmed. Thank you for the eyeopener.
My house is a milk, water, and coffee house. I like to add homegrown cucumbers and blackberries to a pitcher for infused water. In winter we have cocoa and tea for occasional treats.
I have lived in third world countries for the last 40 years. I had to do all of these things and I think my family are all the better for it.😊
This reminded me that I have a trial subscriotion that is about to end, so I just canceled my membership in time! 😄
Yep
Re: gift bags, you can make a gift out of the wrapping, too: use the shopping bags that they make to be reusable. Quite a few stores now carry those plastic bags, for perhaps a few dollars, max. They come in different sizes, too. No waste there. I get those every once in a while. Best part is, they're cleanable.
I just wanted to say that I enjoy these kind of videos by you and that I very much appreciate that unlike other UA-camrs you protect your kids' privacy. I even have the feeling that you reduced the content that you share about your kids by a lot, which is a very good thing for your kids! Thank you for that!
My grandparents hoarded Food. Other than than that they made everything. Rugs, tablecloths, clothing etc. They did not eat as much as we do today. They ate seasonal.
I use reusable shopping bags for gift bags. There are usually cute ones at Marshalls and T.J. Maxx!
I’m loving this series! Thank you for bringing these things to light