I grew up in the 40's/50's/60's/70's with practical parents. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminium foil after she cooked in it, then reused it.There was a time when things were built to last - yes I know that is a cliche but there is some merit to it. Now if your DVD breaks down, it is more expensive to repair than replace (and besides, if you have had it for more than 30 seconds it is obsolete anyway.
She was the original recycle queen, before they had a Name for it... A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones.
Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the time for fixing things. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress Things we keep.
It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.
My Grandma, my mom and all my Aunts made clothes for their families. Now, the fabric is WAY more than expensive than going to a department store (or even the chains) and buying a finished product complete with all of the other bits (cotton, buttons, zips, whatever) that weren't factored in with the fabric cost. Which could launch me into another rant on Fair Trade but I will get to that on another day.
We (the world I grew up in) grew fruits and vegetables for which the surplus which was shared with neighbors as well as being frozen, bottled or made into jam, pickles or chutneys. Now it all needs to be purchased which again makes the price prohibitive to make our own. Same goes for tomato sauce, mayonnaise, pestos, you name it.
So not is this all costing us money, and polluting the planet, but it exposes us to more chemicals, preservatives and other bits that I am sure aren't good for us physically or spiritually.
I belong to The Compact. I also belong to the local Freecycles.
It's not just about saving the planet but it extends to saving money, to minimizing the need to buy 'stuff': to reduce, reuse and recycle for environmental, social, financial and spiritual reasons.
And yes I have spent the first part of my morning doing minor repairs to various items of my wardrobe. So endeth my rant for the day. :-)
3 comments:
Well I enjoyed your rant for the day Rae :) This made me think also, and I have blogged the story of Tony's ancestors who settled in the Orara Valley. It definately was a different time, a time of less is more. We seem to be so resource rich these days but far less resourceful. I know myself we live up to the income we earn, so my challenge is to put money aside and seriously look at the way we consume stuff! Thanks for the thoughts :) BHG had a fabulous session tonight on reusing items as planter boxes in the garden, will try to find a link for you.
Mwah,
k
Loved it,both my gran's had a ball of string and brown paper they saved from parcels one gran used this heaps for baking, bread crumbs in mince to make them go further, all men, it seemed could repair a tv, radio, clock. My mother-in-law taught me to turn collars on mens shirts so they would last twice as long..Milk shake containers, with the bottom cut out, to protect seedlings, saved for following years. Tins dug under hydranga's to make them blue.
Hello Raylene...hmmm.N here! This reminds me of a rant I had today with one particlar lovely brother of yours :)
The discussion was based around the consumer society we live in, the crave for contant 'having' of things. I think alot of us may be ripping ourselves off, not getting everything out of life, this is why.....
I beleive that we/a lrge group of the population has lost the ability to appreciate. Appreciate the true value of what they have to them, and If it has no value to them, be honest to themselves.
I truly beleive that the constant consuming of 'unessecaries' that people feel they 'need' to fulfill themselves, the never ending search for satisfaction at kmart is driven from a lack of appreciation.....so many people are missing out on so much in life.
But how to teach a world to live, let live and LOVE every bit of the moment.
It may start at truely appreciating something as simple as a glass of water, the glass that holds it, the hand that holds the glass, and the mind conected to the hand.
oops....another rant. I reckon you'll know what Im on about though.
Love and Light
N.....ancy :)
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