Nostalgia - A wishing for something that happened long ago or is now far away.
We are living in a troubled time right now as I am writing this article. People have emailed and told me they are very tired of all of the madness out there. They have found their way to my website trying to find something that makes them feel better. Some say they find peace reading my website and I am happy that it can bring some comfort.
We knew when we started living a more old fashioned simple life we needed to rid the home of televisions. We left one for the purpose of watching an occasional movie. The way things are now watching television can possibly make us depressed.
I can tell you that in only a few minutes of reading the news we can keep up with enough news to know we need no further information. Turn it off for the rest of the day. I have mentioned before I could never sit down and read because my mind was too active to concentrate. Now I enjoy reading books.
Small turned wood Bees Wax Pot for Bobbin Lace pricking needle.
My blog is about living more simple and living more like people did in the past. This is not some kind of pretend life, we don't decorate our home to look old fashioned nor dress up to look the part.
What makes our home look more old fashioned is because we actually live it. We started getting rid of modern things because they are not made well. We seek out the old things that were often more simple and built to last. That is why they are still around.
We cook from scratch and take the time to choose food that is the best we can afford leaving out the junk that is sold.
I choose to enjoy handmade quilts, fabrics that have more quality and design as they did in the old days.
For us living an old fashioned life is not a pretend thing to do, it is not something weird to do.
We choose to do the best we can to save money, eat homemade food and live as simple but comfortable as we can. We live more like people did in the past and you can do this too starting right this minute if that is what you want to do.
How?
Start by turning things off. Go around the house and turn off everything that does not need to be running and leave on only things that do need to be running such as the refrigerator or something cooking on the stove.
The first thing you will notice is the odd quiet, something you are not used to. We have become so accustomed to noise that it is very strange when we no longer hear it. Give yourself time to adjust to the quiet.
We become more aware of the things that go on around our home when things have been quietened. There is nothing more soothing to me to hear something simmering on the stove with the quiet bubble sound and the smell of food cooking. The coffee perking and the sound and smell blend and just feel right. It is no longer just noise in the house it is things happening with purpose.
Look around and figure out what items in your home have no real purpose and are only taking up space. Figure out what it is that you like about the past and form a plan how to bring that to life in your home. It is odd how it normally starts by letting go of modern things.
When we have too much clutter with objects that have absolutely no real purpose those things drain our energy and keep us from doing the things that we really desire to do.
People of all ages email me, some are very young and some old. The young people desire to live more vintage, the older ones enjoy reading about the past and many are trying to get back to that point too. The ones in between know they are tired of how things are and want a more simple life or something different than they are now.
I suggest, talk to someone that is elderly that can tell you about the past. You will often hear how their mother or grandmother did things, about how they had to walk to the store or funny stories.
They may tell you about the hard times because they have no desire to hand wash clothes again or do things that required a lot of physical strength. Often a lot of good memories came from those hard times too.
I have said before that in the past not all was good, there are bad things that happened in the past but we do not have to bring that forward.
We do not have to pretend to live old fashioned or vintage, we are not playing house looking like a museum where we place things for show. There is great satisfaction to truly live an old fashioned life. We are striving to live more simple, to have a better home with love and purpose. We are taking control of how we run our household and raise our children.
We call it old fashioned or living like the past just to give it a reference point. Right now I can tell you many good stories about the 1950s, 60, 70s and even 80s but after that things take a turn and seem to become a strange time to live. What is there to say about living in this time?
My husband is a good man, he leaves out for work with dignity and purpose. People respect him because of his work ethics. He is happy to come home and loves our old fashioned life. He enjoys finding better ways to do things and finds peace and solace in our personal space which happens to be more old fashioned than what others normally live.
I feel better living like a time that made more sense and showing you how we do just that. Grandma Donna
