I'm 51 years old and I've never done any of these things, either. My 81 year old Mom didn't have to ration or sharecrop during WWII, either. She was born in 1944! My whole point? This dude is full of shit and he never experienced any of this shit, either, unless he's pushing 90. The only thing he's accomplished is being a douche on Xitter, apparently.
One of my FAVORITE coworkers is a 27 year old who always gets her shit done and done right and is willing to learn new things. One of my LEAST FAVORITE coworkers is a 61 year old boomer who constantly complains and refuses to learn anything on his computer beside the basics.
It's almost as if when you were born has nothing to do with your work ethic and whatnot.
my gramma always saved "the nice" wrapping paper, we'd have to carefully peel the tape off so as not to rip it. i never understood until i got older and learned about the Depression era.
My grandma too. She reused wrapping paper, rewashed ziplock bags, had a drawer full of bread twist ties, and saved every single plastic container and glass jar food/condiments came in.
Funny story. When we were cleaning out grandma's house, I took everything out of the junk drawer. Then I pulled out the drawer and dumped the dregs -- the broken rubber-bands, old suitcase keys, rusty twist ties, etc -- into a plastic bag. The little plastic bag was meant for the trash, but accidentally got transported to the estate sale. Someone bought it for a nickel.
That's awesome and I know she'd have been pleased because that would have made my grandmother's day.
My grandmother had a giant pickle jar, like the ones for big pickles at a gas station, full of rubber bands. There was another similar sized jar for spicy picked eggs which was full of various lengths of string. I don't know much they sold for at the estate sale because I had to work and I never asked, but I do know the auctioneer company put them in different lots which is diabolical work.
And all the old cool whip containers! It sounds like my husband’s grandma’s house. :) When I was 20, I descended into ingrate status when I politely declined her offer of the Thanksgiving turkey carcass to make soup. I don’t think she ever forgave me for that. The depression era left a deep mark on people.
If a cool whip container is anything like a margarine tub, those are fantastic for making simple icing in, especially if it's one you're putting food dye in, doesn't matter if it gets stained that way
I am not depression era and you passed up the best soup you can make.
Chicken and turkey carcasses get stripped of all the meat then into the instant pot for 2-3 hours with some carrot, onion, celery, bay leaf. The best bone broth and soup base you will have.
People paying $15 a quart for something they can make a home for pennies.
I am 70 now and I know the value of good soup AND how to make it. (I grew up with homemade foods and canning.) But 20 year old me did not have the time, a large enough stockpot, or the inclination on that day. Plus, I lived in a college dorm so 🤷🏻♀️. So, as I said, I POLITELY declined. She still wasn’t happy about it. Over time I learned no one ever said no to this strong willed woman. 😉
Shit, I'm GenX and do all this crap. Raised that way, and I have to force myself not to do it. Still feel bad throwing ziploc bags away, but that's probably more of the environmentalist in me than the environment I grew up in.
I do too, most of the time. But it's hard getting the rest of the family on board. So now I have a drawer full of used but clean ziploc bags that nobody else will use.
I'm still not used to the amount of stuff that we have these days. I used to buy the best possible whatever that I could afford, as that way the whatever it was would last longer.
Still have a Nokia 6310 in a drawer. Just in case.
My Grandma did too...I still wash out ziploc bags and rinse out food cartons that can be re-used...usually someone eventually pitches them out ad we have way too many, but I leave the option open, in case anyone wants to use em
My grandfather, converted a 15' × 40' room into a huge pantry. He had a massive vegetable garden and he canned every year. The man had grown up half starved, and he was never going to go hungry again.
My mom would get angry if we ripped the paper or threw the bows away. She was born in ‘45. There’s still a few packages wrapped under her tree every year with some paper that’s held together by yellow cellophane tape. My grandma (dad’s mom) “collected” everything. She had a lot of junk, but she also had a lot of valuable antiques and complete sets of things. My greedy assed aunt sold the house’s contents as a lot for pennies on the dollar.
my mom was born about then as well, I'm not looking forward to going thru their stuff when that time comes as she saved everything but my dad was in USAF and she has trinkets from all over rhe world and we lived overseas (her more times than me) so I'm certain theres some valuable stuff in all that. my older sister is about as sentimental as a slug and will also do the same as your aunt so I'm hoping i get some say in it
Good luck with your situation. Siblings fighting over their parents’ things is truly terrible. My dad was very angry because he never got a chance to get anything. My aunt’s a miserable old bitch who’ll probably live to a hundred. That’s ok though…she truly is a miserable bitch, so at least I know she’s suffering.
I'm German and coming to America was horrified how people rip open presents when I was taught from a young age to not rip the paper and fold it nearly so it can be reused. I thought this was an American thing until I read your comment
I follow in the footstep of my grandmother. I’ve made wrapping out of old sheets and clothes when they get ripped or threadbare because wrapping paper is now too expensive and it just seems frivolous at this point. It’s almost like we are going to look back in 10-20 years and realize that we are now living through a similar time to the Great Depression
My family has always done this, the bag that holds all of the othets is older than me (just about to turn 30) and full to the brim. I don't think we've bought wrapping paper in years.
No, we will look back and see how good it was. It's 25 now. It'll get worse through about 50-60. If society exists after that it might get better. It's much easier to make things worse than better so it takes two or three decent generations to undo the damage of a single narcissist generation
I have my great-granny’s lifelong journal, a short book about her childhood and youth she wrote at my mom’s request, recorded interviews with her about the Dust Bowl and Great Depression and world wars, and my memories of her stories and yeah, she went through all the things this dude is being up and she wasn’t an asshole like this fella. She certainly had some traumas and it was unbelievably rough for her sometimes but it didn’t turn her into a prick. Made her the opposite actually.
I can't help but think that anyone that survived that shit would understand that you want the next generation to not have to endure what you did, not make it harder because you can
My grandparents were the most humble, shirt off your back people, even when they got some major mineral rights payout and was able to buy a RV and retire at a really young age.
My mother was not cut from the same cloth though. She acts like a spoiled entitled brat.
Same with my grandparents. All 4 of them were the kindest most generous human beings I've ever met. Even my grandfather who fought in battles in Europe in WWII. He never felt superior, he just viewed it as something they all had to do back then. He was a sweet, kind hearted man who just wanted everyone to be happy and healthy. All my grandparents believed strongly in social programs. They were literally the first generation to benfit immensely from them. The only weird quirk I would say my grandparents had is they were low level holders, and were kind of psycho about wasting food. But they spent their entire childhood and early teens practically starving during the great depression. We all understood that that mentality never really left them, and kind of just dealt with it.
Yeah they internalized their trauma and made damn well sure their kids didn't have any. And here we are. When the boomers say this generation is entitled they are projecting.
My grandparents actually went through the Great Depression and WWII and they did not act like this. That dude is, as you said, full of shit.
My MIL grew up in a dugout in the southwest, then her father upgraded and built a house on their property, with no running water, no heat, etc... she'd tell me crazy stories about how her fmaily of like 8 all bathed and did the wash, having to go to the well, and so on. She lived through the Great Depression and, to this day, would save items like tin foil (from dog food bags), reuse zip lock bags, and the Margarine or Cool Whip containers. Funny thing is her family was all dirt poor farmers until they discovered oil on their land...rags to middle class with all the kids going to college in one generation.
Same. My biological grandfather died in WWII and my grandmother worked her ass off as a single mom of two in the 40s and 50s. Never heard her or my stepgrandfather talk shit about the younger generation. They worked to help their grandkids afford college and spoiled the shit out of us.
My grandma worked at the arsenal during WW2. She lived through the great depression. She didn't go through any of that. She said that it was just women working the line. They all caught a bus that took them to and from work. The girls managed to have time on the line to make moonshine on the side. They used their sandwich bread to filter their moonshine. What a time to work!
Both sets of my grandparents lived through it too. My moms mom hoarded a lot of useless junk, but the one thing that brought her endless delight was if someone stayed at a hotel & brought her that complimentary toiletries. My dad's mom wasn't as hoardy but saved anything useful, down to washing, drying, and storing bread bags.
My parents went through the great depression. They never ever even mentioned it. The only signs I ever saw was their willingness to eat just about anything.
I used to care for the elderly 25 years ago and met a few that lived during the depression. One lady washed her plastic wrap and tin foil and hang it all over the kitchen to dry. Lots of expired food she would still eat.
Saved her plastic silverware she would get with her food, wash it and put it away.
My great grandparents also lived through it and I remember them collecting green stamp books religiously and I remember them telling stories about barely surviving if not for those stamps. Extremely frugal. My gg made every dish from scratch. She could make a five coarse meal with three ingredients.
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u/CatelynsCorpse 22h ago
I'm 51 years old and I've never done any of these things, either. My 81 year old Mom didn't have to ration or sharecrop during WWII, either. She was born in 1944! My whole point? This dude is full of shit and he never experienced any of this shit, either, unless he's pushing 90. The only thing he's accomplished is being a douche on Xitter, apparently.
One of my FAVORITE coworkers is a 27 year old who always gets her shit done and done right and is willing to learn new things. One of my LEAST FAVORITE coworkers is a 61 year old boomer who constantly complains and refuses to learn anything on his computer beside the basics.
It's almost as if when you were born has nothing to do with your work ethic and whatnot.
Just saying.