General Discussion

DinahMoeHum

(23,608 posts)

77. "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without"

Tue Mar 24, 2020, 03:47 PM

Mar 2020

. . .still applies today. My mom and dad imparted this adage to me and my brother growing up.

Pete Seeger had this to say about reducing waste:

"If it can't be reduced,
reused,
repaired,
rebuilt,
refurbished,
refinished,
resold,
recycled
or composted. . .
Then it should be restricted,
redesigned,
or removed from production"

#newrostrong

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I never really understood my parents attitude toward money till this week. [View all] milestogo Mar 2020 OP

Yep jberryhill Mar 2020 #1

They never used credit cards or took out a car loan. milestogo Mar 2020 #2

Yep jberryhill Mar 2020 #7

Hey! True Blue American Mar 2020 #9

I do exactly that as well and it saves me at140 Mar 2020 #27

My parents (born in 1919 and 1920) were careful with money. The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2020 #3

I already find myself True Blue American Mar 2020 #8

Mom (1913-2005)drove me nuts washing out and saving plastic bread bags bobbieinok Mar 2020 #19

If only I had a quarter for every time Lord Ludd Mar 2020 #95

Welcome to DU, Lord Ludd! calimary Mar 2020 #97

Thank you! nt Lord Ludd Mar 2020 #105

My household does the ... reACTIONary Mar 2020 #40

Was just talking about this on another thread. Neema Mar 2020 #4

It's very expensive to be poor lunasun Mar 2020 #56

My grandmother was a total germophobe iwillalwayswonderwhy Mar 2020 #5

My InLaws True Blue American Mar 2020 #6

Several years ago, we had an auction in town that was incredible. Frustratedlady Mar 2020 #11

My FIL True Blue American Mar 2020 #12

Mom was born in 1911 and had dementia too. safeinOhio Mar 2020 #55

My parents not only lived during the depression but also went through WWII in Europe. dhol82 Mar 2020 #10

Most of us do! True Blue American Mar 2020 #13

My parents were born a few years prior to 1920. The both graduated high school during the early and Elwood P Dowd Mar 2020 #14

Yup, it was 1952 before they had 2 nickels to rub together bucolic_frolic Mar 2020 #15

We'll be back to a barter system soon; swapping masks for Purel. nt Xipe Totec Mar 2020 #16

Or toilet paper. SammyWinstonJack Mar 2020 #46

I was raised that way and have lived my whole life frugally. BigmanPigman Mar 2020 #17

My father, born 1941, is especially stingy about food greenjar_01 Mar 2020 #18

Is the accent on the first syllable? trof Mar 2020 #38

Yes greenjar_01 Mar 2020 #51

That's what I thought. Thanks. trof Mar 2020 #54

I was also born in 1941. Three layoffs from work taught me frugality. trof Mar 2020 #39

My parents grew up during the Depression. dchill Mar 2020 #20

Parents are learning how to say no. jaxexpat Mar 2020 #21

Welcome to DU, jaxexpat! calimary Mar 2020 #98

Not new actually. jaxexpat Mar 2020 #104

My father was born in 1900 William769 Mar 2020 #22

Relearning old lessons. warmfeet Mar 2020 #23

I caught my mother-in-law once SCantiGOP Mar 2020 #24

My mom, a child of the depression, told me about ketchup soup. Dem2theMax Mar 2020 #32

My dad called it "Graveyard Stew." Crackers and some butter in hot water. Milk IF you could get it. calimary Mar 2020 #50

Oh my gosh! I thought I was the only person alive who knew about cracker soup! Dem2theMax Mar 2020 #58

my mom made "halupkee"? onethatcares Mar 2020 #65

My grandma raised me. She lived though the depression and she raised me/my brother like iluvtennis Mar 2020 #25

My mother did this in her basement. blueinredohio Mar 2020 #33

To those of us with Depression era parents: They gave us an introduction to "sustainability". Evolve Dammit Mar 2020 #26

Yup, "Clean your plate, children are starving in Europe." dmr Mar 2020 #49

Not just CHILDREN starving in Europe to my depression-raised, WWII vet dad: maddiemom Mar 2020 #71

I loved liver and onions! Drew the line on other stuff though. Ate cow tongue and it was really good Evolve Dammit Mar 2020 #79

Or, "did you get enough to eat?" Lars39 Mar 2020 #59

I get that from my wife even today DFW Mar 2020 #66

Quiet heroes among us. Lars39 Mar 2020 #67

Exactly. DFW Mar 2020 #69

I can relate to that misanthrope Mar 2020 #86

Sometimes you have to do things to survive and that's different. Best to you. Evolve Dammit Mar 2020 #93

Yep, and I inherited it. CentralMass Mar 2020 #28

Yes! I have thought the same thing Lulu KC Mar 2020 #29

it probably has more to do with the availability of depth and the great effort made Pillow talk Mar 2020 #30

I think we all have our stories samplegirl Mar 2020 #31

Same here. paleotn Mar 2020 #34

My Mother always had a panty full of food and full freezer kimbutgar Mar 2020 #35

That's an interesting place to keep food jberryhill Mar 2020 #42

Naughty naughty! calimary Mar 2020 #47

Well... Dad had a healthy appetite, I guess jberryhill Mar 2020 #48

Barrump-bump! calimary Mar 2020 #74

From the USDA if questioning canned food ..... or other things Kathy M Mar 2020 #52

My parents rented a home until my father made enough money to pay cash for a house. efhmc Mar 2020 #36

Good for him misanthrope Mar 2020 #87

Once when my daughter was doing a report about the depression, she asked him about growing efhmc Mar 2020 #89

True but some kids did misanthrope Mar 2020 #92

They were in E.Texas on a farm which meant that they had food sources that many didn't. A garden and efhmc Mar 2020 #94

I grew up understanding all of this. Dem2theMax Mar 2020 #37

Sounds familiar. My Mom and Dad were born in 1912 and 1914 respectively. Heard stories of c-rational Mar 2020 #41

I feel so blessed proud patriot Mar 2020 #43

In a coffee can? That's where my mom stored hers. calimary Mar 2020 #45

I freeze it proud patriot Mar 2020 #61

Me too! It comes in handy. The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2020 #62

Storing bacon fat in coffee cans is a WWII thing. hedda_foil Mar 2020 #64

What a special memory proud patriot Mar 2020 #76

I didn't either until I put together a course on the homefront in WWII recently. hedda_foil Mar 2020 #80

sounds like an amazing class proud patriot Mar 2020 #81

It got cancelled because of the pandemic but it's scheduled again this fall. hedda_foil Mar 2020 #82

I look forward proud patriot Mar 2020 #83

Thanks. It's going to be a lot of fun. hedda_foil Mar 2020 #84

I do, too! calimary Mar 2020 #99

My mother in law took hers to the dog shelter to add to their food. efhmc Mar 2020 #90

What a wonderful Idea proud patriot Mar 2020 #91

Good point. calimary Mar 2020 #44

My mother had similar hoarding tendencies, northoftheborder Mar 2020 #53

My parents were born in the 20's Woodwizard Mar 2020 #57

Welcome to DU, Woodwizard! calimary Mar 2020 #100

My parents are younger, but also had a frugal attitude despite being able to afford to spend. Flaleftist Mar 2020 #60

This was hard-baked into my family pecosbob Mar 2020 #63

My parents were depression children as well DFW Mar 2020 #68

Money is a tool. Aussie105 Mar 2020 #70

How my Mom got Dad to finally buy a new suit dlbell Mar 2020 #72

In that vein ... marble falls Mar 2020 #73

Great story. milestogo Mar 2020 #78

Welcome to DU, dlbell! First post? calimary Mar 2020 #101

Small houses The Mouth Mar 2020 #75

You can see that in my town misanthrope Mar 2020 #88

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without" DinahMoeHum Mar 2020 #77

"Waste not, want not" The Mouth Mar 2020 #96

Thankfully I listened to lots of family stories misanthrope Mar 2020 #85

I'm older than most of you. 76. My grandmother was very frugal, and always worried about wasting napi21 Mar 2020 #102

You know... OldBaldy1701E Mar 2020 #103