S/o Saving the World--Things Your Grandparents Did

[fairfarmhand]

My grandmother was a full time nurse. She worked very hard. When she had my mom at the age of 40something in the 1950s she and my Granddad worked opposite shifts so someone was at home to take care of mother. When mom was 2 or 3 she went to a babysitter while her parents were at work (I suppose the split shifts became too much) So yes, my mother was in childcare, an only child of two working parents in the 1950s. And she was very happy and one of the most well adjusted people I have ever known.

Great Grandmothers on both sides were farmers wives which especially back then were incredibly hard working, strong, independent women.

[SKL]

Oh as for working, my mom and both of my grandmothers were working moms, at least part of the time.  They took the bus to work if it was too far to walk.

On the recent thread about learning self-care, I mentioned that I should ask my mom how she stayed sane with all she had going on.  I was visiting on Saturday and mentioned it.  She said that going to work, which shortened the hours of dealing with home crazy, was what saved her (and us).  She's said that before also.  She had originally wanted to be the perfect homemaker, but found it extremely frustrating and thankless.

Edited November 3, 2021 by SKL

[Elizabeth86]

If it’s brown flush down, if it’s yellow let it mellow. I apologize, but it was a thing. 🤣

[Melissa in Australia]

3 hours ago, Murphy101 said:

We are the only people I know who reuse plastic containers and jars and water bottles.  We are the only people I know who don’t buy paper towels, napkins and plates and cups.

We don’t either. The only time I buy paper plates is for craft 

I don’t buy many things in plastic containers.. I think ice cream . We use those containers in the shed. Occasionally when we need a new water bottle we buy soft drink. Not for the ghastly stuff in it, but just for the bottle. 
butter here comes wrapped in paper.

[Shoeless]

5 hours ago, Murphy101 said:

We are the only people I know who reuse plastic containers and jars and water bottles.  We are the only people I know who don’t buy paper towels, napkins and plates and cups.

I am in a recipe group on fb, and am always surprised by how many people use paper plates every.single.day. Every meal on a paper plate. Just...what? Why?!

We have a package of paper goods for emergency use. Heating water on the grill in order to wash dishes during a power outage not something I care to do again. 

[marbel]

4 hours ago, MEmama said:

Absolutely. June Cleaver was nothing more than marketing. 

Marketing what? I am truly puzzled by this, not being snarky if it sounds that way.

Most of my childhood I was mostly surrounded by stay-home moms though of course I knew working women too. My father's 3 sisters always worked; my mother, her sister, and the wives of their brothers did not. (None of us was wealthy.) There were always lots of stay-home moms in the neighborhoods I lived in. I was born in 1956. 

I enjoyed my time as June Cleaver (minus the heels and pearls while doing housework). I was well-suited to it, and my husband appreciated that I took care of all the home stuff while he worked. It was a good division of labor for us - not to imply it's best for everyone or anyone else. 

But anyway, I can't figure out the marketing angle. What am I missing? 

Edited November 3, 2021 by marbel

[Murphy101]

1 hour ago, Melissa in Australia said:

We don’t either. The only time I buy paper plates is for craft 

I don’t buy many things in plastic containers.. I think ice cream . We use those containers in the shed. Occasionally when we need a new water bottle we buy soft drink. Not for the ghastly stuff in it, but just for the bottle. 
butter here comes wrapped in paper.

The “butter” containers most are discussing isn’t butter - it’s margarine. 
Our real butter comes wrapped in paper too.  We also reuse jars and the sour cream tubs. 
 

2 couple cases of water bottles lasts us years of reuse. I keep 1 case in van and one in the house for emergencies. When we are low enough on water bottles that we can’t find a suitable one to reuse, I’ll buy another case.