Comments On Article: If We Cannot Fix It Then We Need To Find A New Old Way

If you would like to share your comments for article If we cannot fix it then we need to find a new old way, this is where to do it! 

Click the Reply To This Topic button below to post yours.

My husband and I live simple lives but my concern is for our daughter and her family who I fear will really struggle as times get more chaotic

I am so glad to see a large-view picture of your garden.  Your backyard is inspiring.  My Grandma passed away four years ago at 100 years old!  She shared so many of her stories and always lived frugally and gave generously.  Her family lived in the country during the Depression, and she said that they were blessed to always have food.  She did remember men in town selling pencils for a penny just to raise money to feed their families.  

Yes. Good post. My grandmother on my mum's side lived through the Depression and both WWI and WWII. There was heavy rationing in England, and she used to get 25lb. sacks of rice to store. I remember asking my mum why we did not eat rice pudding (I had asked her to teach me to make it) she told me this and said "it reminds me too much of the war to make it"!  Still, there were many other things I was taught to make and still do ( I was raised on English food); I also sew and quilt, and clean my own house. I have a garden in raised beds. This year I have lettuces, tomatoes coming up (in the house yet), and bok choy and some strawberries, apples, and lemons. The potatoes have yet to be planted. 

The city sent out notices saying our water bills will quadruple in three years. They will double this year. We have one rain barrel that goes dry in our hot summers, and we have decided to buy another one. That's all the space we have for rain barrels, so it will have to do. We have started heavily mulching the garden to save water, and with the second barrel, it should be enough for all of our growing things. What we worry about is the hay for mulch. We use our grass clippings too, but they aren't enough. If we were to lose access to hay, or if the price went very high, that would be hard for us. We can't live off our garden either, but it supplies a lot of food and makes us feel safer.

In learning to mend, I've discovered that I love hand-sewing. I've moved from darning and mending to altering my clothes. It feels good to learn a new skill. My husband and I wonder if we will ever be able to afford another car. We are getting used to the idea that a bicycle or walking might be our only way to get around when our car doesn't run anymore, except for times when we might need to hire a car. 

One time years ago, after a hurricane came near enough to knock out power for many of us for a few days, several of us at work were commiserating with each other about managing without power and for some, water. An older co-worker laughed and said we had all become too soft. He asked me how I would have managed in the days when our grandmothers grew up. I said I would have been fine!  I would have had a hand pump on my well, a wood or coal stove for cooking, a spring house or ice box for food chilling and plenty of oil lamps for light. And the outhouse didn’t have to be flushed. But I had none of those things now so it is harder now when power is out. He scratched his head and said that he believed I was right. He’d never thought of that before. 
I am trying to get to where I can manage without power with fewer things, but I do have to buy some things. Some things aren’t allowed or can’t be bought, like outhouses.  There is no way to get ice here for an ice box except crushed in bags, which doesn’t work well. It’s too warm and wells here are too shallow for a well to keep food cold. 
I keep growing as much food as I can. I am reading books and websites about the old ways. I want to build an outdoor shower with rainwater storage for the shower water. It’s doable, I think!

One part of the puzzle might be those who have space could make it available  to those who don't have space and are willing and able to grow food.

I saw a man on television who has cultivated the front and back yards of his rental house to grow food. There was enough to share with neighbours and he did such a nice job that the owner of the next door house allowed him to do the same there.

I also saw someone who had made a vertical garden using old plastic 2 litre milk bottles with part of the top cut away, and drainage holes cut in the bottoms.

The bottles were suspended on a timber frame using wire threaded through the bottle handles; the timber attached to the fence.

Water from the upper plants dropped down to the plants below, so that little if any was wasted.

These are such important reminders! It’s incredible how much our sense of what is “necessary” has shifted over time. I’m a bit nosy about what people put in their shopping carts (more out of a sense of curiosity than judgement). I refrain from judging any one person since I know that every household has a number of factors that influence what they choose to buy, but it is still interesting to see carts full of drinks and packaged snacks and very few raw ingredients. I always wonder what they eat— but then again, my brother once said we had “nothing to eat” while visiting since we didn’t have packaged items to snack on!

Thank you for being a respite of calm and reflection on the tumultuous seas of the internet. Your website is a real gem

That is a lovely idea! My town has a few community plots that people can sign up to use. Experienced gardeners help the novices and some have forged years-long friendships. They even host get-togethers in their gardens. It’s a wonderful way to bring people together.

It is interesting what many people think are "needs" but really are wants/luxuries.  Can't convince them otherwise! But if times get really bad though those wants will disappear quickly!

A 100 years ago my grandfather used a mule to plow his farm. If the mule died he got another. Fifty years later his son was plowing with an air conditioned tractor. If that thing died he had to fork over money for repairs, wait for parts or buy another. 

I fear that many if confronted with hard times won't meet the challenge.  I think many won't help themselves. 

I have limited opportunity to grow food here. Instead I am careful and thoughtful about the food I purchase. 

I buy less things overall. Having to manage stuff takes away from the time you can devote to improving skills and taking care of problems yourself. 

The fastest way to "get" money is to not spend it in the 1st place. Skip the coffee out and you've gained $5 (or more!)

Thank You ! So Much for Your Inspiring Articles.

You seem to transfer me back to my Nana's kitchen when I read them. My Nan used to go to the local market and buy very cheap boxes of Fruit and Vegetables especially if it was towards the end of trading and the stall holders would just want to go home. Then for the next week she would Preserve Everything, Jars and Jars of Pears, Peaches, Chutneys, Pickles. The house smelt Wonderful and the Jars looked Beautiful. She also made her own Ice cream out of Condensed Milk, Fresh Milk and Vanilla. Skills we sadly don't use anymore. 

Thanks again for this article. Reading you makes me feel like I’m escaping back to your grandma’s house! We try to live simply. I’ve been interested in the old ways for many years. Our garden is getting smaller, but we still enjoy it. The longer I live the more I want to simplify but today’s culture makes it a challenge. 

Such good lessons in this post! I feel that we must begin planning ahead now if we are to survive the times to come.

We recently secured a "new-to-us" house that is renting well below market by a close acquaintance. It sits on 11 acres, and our acquaintance lives in another house on the property. Technically rural in location and feeling, but a 20 minute walk from the city and its bus lines and services. We feel very lucky at this time to secure reliable and inexpensive housing that gives us room to garden and forage. My adult son and his fiancee are living with us as they complete their trade school programs in order to further lower all of our expenses. 

The one issue is that the windows in the old house are single pane and the back of the house faces north -- toward a horse pasture and the cold winter winds that come off the Canadian mountains. I thought, what would my grandmother do to solve this future issue? Then it came to me -- at our Christmas visits she always had colorful window quilts hanging over the drafty farmhouse windows! So today for my birthday we have decided to forego all celebrations except for my traditional strawberry shortcake and family game night. Instead, we are going thrifting for old wool blankets and sweaters so I can begin piecing together attractive window quilts this summer so we will be ready when the cold north wind begins to blow. 

That is the cutest little cast iron pot!!  Cute little doggies too and those two blue curtains are charming!  As we get older, for sure we don't have the mentors we used to, which, by the way, I could use just as much now, if not more, as I did when I was younger. They have all passed.  And talk about affordability - what a joke! We are in the process of getting new flooring. Our current flooring is 25 years old and all cut and falling apart.  We took the cheapest option of LVP, but it's still costing $23,000. We can't do it with my back or my husband's injuries at this age. We then called a bathroom place to just remove our tub and make a shower.  Nothing fancy, no doors, two shelves - $15,000.  I just thought, "are you high?"  Insane! There is no affordability anymore.  And living in AZ is really a pain for growing food.

I have always loved canning, grinding grain and preserving food. I have a deep pantry and bake a majority of the food stuffs we eat. I have been using the internet as a tool to find and test recipes. Some have become favorites and others not so much. We cannot afford to keep a cow, so I store nonfat powdered milk. I have found recipes for making cottage cheese and also farmer's cheese that I will be testing out this year. We live on a vein of pure sand and my gardening skills are not the best. I keep trying. I have put in fruit trees and berry bushes. We have many Amish produce auctions around us, and this summer I will plan to purchase fruits and vegetables while trying to boost my garden soil. I do keep chickens and have successfully waterglassed eggs this year.

I keep going back to the simple meals and treats with minimal ingredients. It is tough to win my kids over from the "chemical" flavorings in store bought foods. I will keep plugging away at it. Cacao is becoming scarce so I have put back cocoa powder so that I can make chocolate treats. I watch what is going on globally with food items. There are forecasts on shortages of staples. I try to tuck extra of those items away bit by bit. 

 I can sew and alter/mend a lot of my children's clothing. I keep bins of clothing to pass to the next child. One area I worry about is vehicle maintenance. My husband and I can check fluids, jump car batteries and so on, but we are not mechanics. This spring I am working on getting vehicles tuned up and parts replaced. We drive older models, and it is getting more challenging to buy parts. I just keep doing what I can to set us up for success. My kids would be sad if the internet went down, but I think we would all be better! I miss the days of board games and frisbee in the back yard. This is an area where I can make many positive changes.  

I make this sound easy, but this has been something I have slowly worked on for over 33 years. Before I married I took a clothing construction class in college. I spent years canning and more years learning to cook. My suggestion is choose an area of interest and give it a try. I have found old canners set out for free. I nab them and purchase new vents and seals. I have given many away to others who want to learn. Don't be afraid to share your skills and try new skills. I am not a very good gardener, but every year i plant something. Make a list if wanted items and watch marketplace, and clearance sales. I bought aero garden knock offs 90% off at Hobby Lobby last spring. 12.99 was better than 129.99. I will attempt to grow some lettuces for the family. I am always trying new things. Sometimes I flat out fail... knitting was a bust! I am not coordinated enough!! But I keep trying. This year I would also like to look at planting and harvesting herbs.  I so appreciate the wisdom shared on this blog. I see so many who cannot be bothered with these skills and I worry for them more than myself. Grandma Donna helps me look at what I can do for myself and my family in a modern world that often does not.

I was so lucky to have grandparents willing and able to teach me. They lived thru the Great depression and world wars and it was amazing how they did things to get their families thru.

I do live rural and am so thankful for that but do have to go to a store for the basics.  I do stockpile and garden and have taught the family to do so. 

We are going large with the gardens this year, preserving all we can. We have a lot of family get togethers for fun times and working together. Most of the younger family members buy what I call snack foods but I will be teaching them how to make their own. My way of looking at things such as snacks and processed foods is that: Someone had to have made them by hand in the first place in order for them to be able to manufacture them in bulk with equipment. Like potato chips, potatoes sliced thinly and fried up in oil, season as needed. Popcorn, popped and seasoned as wanted. 

They had to have originated somewhere most likely in a home cooks kitchen.

My grandma even taught me how to make "velveeta" cheese and how to make soft butter instead of buying it, evidently they did that during war rationing.....

I am trying to get thru these strange and sometimes turbulent times by keeping my head down and helping others. I can't fix what is going on but I can fix things in myself and helping others.

JC

Hello Donna and Charles, I am glad you both are doing well. Much appreciation for all you share of thoughts and deeds. This post was very well delivered.  A disheartening note of what we see and hear is many are not willing to get out of their comfort they have lived for so long. Change does not come easy to older ones who have not lived as our ancestors, and much more so to this present generation. It is very wearisome to try and speak to ones when they care not, so we have stopped, yet, we continue to desire changes that will bring us yet even closer to our ancestors and even a few hundred years beyond. ")  We focus on our home, our land and what we can continue to do to make changes and if one may come and ask, we will be happy to share then. But for now and the present it is a singluar path we travel. I will not say it is a lonely one, as we are very happy.   I have made great strides in being off this computer, the bondage it has had and now the much freedom of time is wonderful.  Society has made it to where it is a have too to have one of which I do not like that type of control, but one cannot hardly go and purchase somethings at a store without being told, "You have to order that on line." Our handicap children's insurance has stopped paying for several of supplies it once did and I have tried to buy from the medical stores locally only to be told what I just quoted. So, I do have to order their supplies on line.   My personal conviction on the down ward spiral of society and the way our ancestors lived was with the Industrial Revolution.  Technology has changed people, society, thinking, living, dressing, character conduct and I could go on, for the worse.   I had friends that wrote written letters too in the past, yet when FB came along, several told me if I was not on there I would not be hearing from them, they were making FB the main course of communication.  Need less to say I have not heard from them.  We were as many when all the new of technology came out, harmless it seemed at first, but I will say it has been a very great regret of our lives and too late to turn back the tide, but, turn back as much as we can we will endeavor to continue to do.

Thanks so much. Blessings to you and Charles.

In Joy

Grandma Donna wrote,  I am enjoying the comments, very heartfelt and good ideas.  It is possible that there could be some difficult times ahead, some are already going through difficulties and if we stick together here in this forum we can put our thoughts together, share something that has helped or simply sharing stories of our generations before us can give us ideas and encouragement.  Thank you all and keep the comments coming.  Grandma Donna

Donna,

           I appreciated your point that in hard times a calorie is a calorie. I've watched Clara on YouTube who has a channel about depression-era cooking. When I first watched it I thought there seemed to be a lot of starches and not much nutrition in the recipes. But then I realized that it was all about making do. It wasn't about having the fanciest or most nutritious food. It was about survival. My mother talked about living on pancakes and whatever her brothers hunted. She would never eat pancakes or even cook them for us. It was a big deal when my father made pancakes for us.  I think it is all about eating what we can afford and learning to be creative with what we have. For example, I can't afford to pay $6 a dozen for eggs so until they are reasonable again I just don't buy them. There are plenty of other more affordable things I can eat. The store that I do 85% of my shopping at is a salvage/discount grocery store. The prices are often half - 75% off the usual store prices. You can Google it to see if there is one near you. These stores often have a huge influx of a few items and you never know what they will have from day to day. Right now potatoes are $24.99 for 50 pounds, ham or boneless turkey breast are .99 a pound and apples are .50 a pound which are very good prices for our area. I can also get Rigatoni and vegetables in pasta sauce right now for .50 a bag in the freezer section so I have been eating that very often. It is about eating whatever is available and affordable. Our Dollar General recently made a new grocery section. I check there for salads and meat that are marked half off. Yesterday I got a pound of hamburger for $2.75! I generally don't buy beef as it is too expensive so this will be nice to have. Whenever our store has a huge influx of something and the price is right I try to look at it as if this is the harvest season, the time to store as much of that food as I can. Because of this mindset, I do a lot of canning year-round. I also make a lot of soups with meat, beans, and vegetables so I have ready-made meals. Right now I can get milk for $1 a gallon so I may can more of that. I don't like canned milk as much as fresh but it is fine in a pinch. It is handy to be able to grab a jar of milk off the shelf when I run out and don't want to go to the store. Since I started canning milk I have never had to be without milk again.

        Something else I am doing is going through what I own. I need to do a thorough house cleaning but now I am not as interested in getting rid of things. For example on the matter of clothing many people have way more of it than they are actually using at present. So many people's first thought would be to donate it. I have a big house with a lot of storage space so what I am doing is putting my clean unused clothing in plastic totes and saving them for emergency use. If my washing machine broke down, the electricity was down, my pipes were frozen, I was too sick to do laundry, or I didn't have water for some reason it would be really nice to still have clean clothes to wear. Also in hard times, clothes could be cut up to make quilts, be used for toilet paper, or be used for some other purpose that we don't see now. I am trying to save and organize many things for future purposes. A pan with a broken handle can be a pet dish or something to hold a plant. You can google alternate uses for anything you are going to throw away. Then you can print out the alternate uses and store it with the items. I remember reading that in the UK at the beginning of WWII, there was a big drive for people to donate metal items for the war, even including pans from the kitchen. They said that after a few years, some people began to regret having donated their pans or other items because now they couldn't go out and buy what they needed. They were under some form of rationing for about 14 years! Imagine if, for the next 14 years, someone was going to tell you what you could or couldn't buy or if prices went up so much that you couldn't afford to buy new things. Then your old things would likely look much more valuable. We might not be able to see the value in our things now if we have an abundance. But when things aren't available their value increases.                                        

       Another thing that I try to do is look at everything that has an electric cord and figure out how I could serve the same purpose without electricity. Then if I need to buy something to do it I try to do that as soon as possible. Some things have a non-electric option but I can't afford it so I keep looking for a simpler option that I can afford. For example, there are nonelectric refrigerators and freezers but they are very expensive so I've decided that in an extended griddown situation I would have to can as much of the food as I could. Thus, I keep plenty of jars and lids on hand. During Covid when lids were in short supply I bought Tattler canning lids that are reusable. Also, my kitchen stove doesn't even have an electric cord so as long as I have propane I can keep cooking and canning. Figuring out and writing down a plan for surviving without things can help a person feel more at ease about what can happen. We need to remember too that people in times past lived just fine without electricity and other luxuries. In one way it should be way easier to get by without electricity if we need to because there are so many non-electric options now that weren't available in the past.

      Have A Good Day All!

Becky Sue

I read that the price of all cars will be going up, new and used, domestic and foreign.  I realized that it is going to be more difficult for families to afford more than one car — most likely as older cars break down beyond repair people won’t be able to replace them.  My first thought was this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but thinking again, I realized people need to get to work.  I hope people start to carpool more, to ride bicycles, and to find ways to work closer to their homes.  I plan to help my young adult child pay for the annual maintenance needed on their car, as keeping it in good working order should help it last longer.  But I know there is no point in suggesting they drive less and restrict driving to when it is absolutely necessary.  Eventually finances will make that a reality for them.

Lately I am just taking a deep breath and reaching into all the little skills I’ve built up over the years.  As my health starts to improve I’m returning to the kitchen and baking our bread again.  I’m leaning into budget meals.  I’m saving everything I can to repurpose — I realized yesterday I have a pair of briefs that have holes in the covered elastic, and while mending doesn’t seem workable, I can pick out the threads and save the elastic as it’s in good shape, and also cut the good fabric into rags.  I took out my little Singer and DH is going to make sure the motor is well lubricated.  I usually sew on my newer (20 year old) machine but I know it is going to stop working at some point, probably the motherboard going out, so I am glad to have a fully mechanical sewing machine that can be used with the solar generator, as well as everything necessary to sew by hand.  I have been learning to sew more than just simple straight seams — I even learned to put in a zipper and make a dopp bag!  I sewed pillowcases for my oldest child.  I finally sewed lavender sachets to help keep the linens fresh in the linen closet

While I’m not building up huge stockpiles of food, I have been looking for sales on yarn and fabric and slowly building a good stash.  My thrift store sells fabric inexpensively, and I also put in my request for any fabric being given away in my Buy Nothing group.  Today I was given a couple of pieces of upholstery fabric, nothing very big, but I can make cushion covers when they’re needed, or seat pads for our chairs, or even a dog bed.  I try to think outside of the box — someone was giving away a queen sized flannel sheet with holiday words printed on it, and I asked for it knowing it can be made into pajama pants or used as a layer in a window quilt.

I can’t make my own shoes.  But I can learn to mend my jeans and to get stains out of my shirts, so I can afford shoes when they are more expensive.  I can shop at thrift stores and think ahead, purchasing basic clothing items when they are least expensive so I will have them on hand when needed.  I can learn to knit socks (this is a goal of mine).

I just have this feeling that we need to be careful right now.  We need to save as much money as we can, and the money we do spend needs to be with a thought to the future.  We need to have the things we’ll need to maintain and repair our home.  We need to be creative in our thinking.  Our ancestors went through many lean and uncertain times and we should take comfort in knowing that as humans we are resilient and capable.

Grandma Donna, I like the resourcefulness of your neighbours burying scraps in the garden. It is good if we can think outside the box. 

Kimberly F., I enjoyed reading your comment it really resonated with me. 

My daughter bought me a sourdough kit at Christmas and a soft cheesemaking kit for my birthday for making the likes of quark, ricotta and feta. I am really enjoying learning the processes of both. The sourdough is inexpensive to make. The cheese kit doesn't save a great deal of money, but I like that I have the knowledge of how to do it. It is important to me that I know how to do these things.

We are trying to eat simply but also be healthy. If we see cheap produce that is in season, we preserve it if we can. This week we bought 10kg lemons at 99 cents per kg. We go through a lot of lemons. We will juice them all and freeze them in large ice cube trays so that we may enjoy them when lemons are $6, $8 or $12 per kg. We are trying to not waste anything and to be resourceful in how to use things up.

I have four raised beds for vegetables but I am finding that it is costing a great deal of money to produce annual vegetables from them. If it continues to be so difficult and expensive I may turn them over to growing turmeric, ginger and sweet potatoes which are easy to grow. Perhaps perennials would be better in them. The vegetables in pots seem to do much better for some reason. Citrus, bananas, passionfruit, figs and papaya grow well where we live, and we have 20 or so fruit trees in the ground.

I am finding great delight in walking my neighbourhood early each morning with my dog and this has replaced the desire to have outings at the shops for me for the most part. We are experiencing a lot of crime and hooning in our area of a night, but fortunately these people all seem to be asleep between 5am and 7am. :) 

We have had some minor injuries in the family this week. Not enough to go to the hospital or to justify a doctor's bill, but a good reminder of the gaps we have in our first aid kit. That will be my focus over the next couple of weeks, I think.

Michelle (Australia).

Hi, everyone!

First of all, happy belated birthday Jenny! :) God bless you and your family! We also have a new house with a yard (a small one in our case) and will be planting soon!

Grandma Donna, as always your post made think and feel calmer about the future. With things the way they are, it is so easy to feel scared and in panic sometimes, but even with everything being internet related these days, there are ways to prepare oneself better for the future.

I love reading your blog and these days I try to only read blogs and watch videos on Youtube that can help me grow and become more capable and at the same time, less technology dependent.

Since we now have a small garden, part of it will be planted with vegetables and we already started to plan what we will grow.

I used to successfully grow bell peppers, tomatoes, strawberries, aromatic herbs and lettuce in pots when we lived in an apartment, so I hope to grow them even better here!

Another thing I did was buy how to books online. I bought them from OLX (it is like your Craigslist, I think...) That way, I can consult them easily if we don't have internet and because these days people look for everything online, there are a lot of them cheap.

Have a blessed weekend, Grandma Donna and Grandpa Charles and please let me know if you received my last email.

Sending love and prayers!

Paula