Thoughts of Purpose: vintage

Modern life benefits from a few reminders from times gone by. (Photo: iravgustin/Shutterstock)

Some of us romanticize the past, some of us brush it off altogether — but either way, there’s some good wisdom to be gleaned from generations that weren't bombarded with consumerism, surrounded by chemicals and discombobulated by the crazy pace of the digital world. Yes, we’re talking about the “grandma era.” Known for its wealth of practical solutions, clean living and common sense, the women who forged the road before us were smart cookies. Here are some are some of our favorite grandmotherly habits that are too valuable to be lost.

1. Go for a walk

Urban inhabitants and habitual walkers may know this, but for the rest of us it’s good to remember: Walking is fantastic for both body and soul! If you can walk to do your errands, do it. If you live in an area that requires driving, resume the grandmother tradition of taking a walk after dinner. The health benefits from just 40 minutes of walking a day are impressive; from decreasing your risk of stroke, diabetes and breast cancer to sparking up your sex life and saving money at the gym. Whenever you have the opportunity to walk somewhere, take it.

2. Cook from scratch

Of course we were going to include this on the list; it’s one of the basic rules of grandmotherdom. Even if you get home late from work or you don’t know how to cook or any other number of reasons, we’re telling you, give it a shot. It doesn't have to be labor-intensive (slow cookers and quick recipes abound), it is cheaper (by a lot), it is generally healthier (you can control the ingredients), it can be relaxing and pleasurable (some of us find it quite sensual, actually), it tastes better (once you get the hang of it), and feeding people something you've cooked provides the chef with the profound pleasure of nurturing loved ones. If you’re intimidated, read this: Why do people think cooking is hard?

3. Nurture a garden
And by this, we mean anything from having a giant plot of flowers and vegetables out back to having a pot of basil on your windowsill. The size doesn't matter, the essence is being able to nurture something in the soil and raise it until it can be harvested to eat, make tea, used in a natural remedy or put in a vase on the table. Along the way you will save money, enjoy a therapeutic hobby, have something natural to consume, and revel in the simple joy of self-sufficiency.

And then of course, put things in jars.

4. Don’t eat fake things

Photo: AnikaNes/Shutterstock

OK, for this one we’re going to jump back a few generations of grannies and offer some advice from modern food writer extraordinaire Michael Pollan, who says:

Don’t eat anything your great-great-great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. Imagine how baffled your ancestors would be in a modern supermarket: the epoxy-like tubes of Go-Gurt, the preternaturally fresh Twinkies, the vaguely pharmaceutical Vitamin Water. Those aren't foods, quite; they’re food products. History suggests you might want to wait a few decades or so before adding such novelties to your diet, the substitution of margarine for butter being the classic case in point.

Right? What would your great-great-great grandmother think of Cheetos or Cheez Whiz? Your reaction should be similar.

5. Write letters

It’s been so long since someone around here (not mentioning any names or anything) took up a pen and wrote more than a few words that their once-precise penmanship is now about as legible as ancient Phoenician. But personal misgivings aside, we should just all write letters on a regular basis. Not emails, not texts, but honest-to-goodness handwritten letters using a pen and stationery and slipped into envelopes and put in the mailbox. This serves many purposes. First of all, think of the poor U.S. Postal Service; it needs letter writers! But also consider how it forces you to slow down, ponder your thoughts, carefully select words you want to commit to paper ... and how the simple act of written communication works as such a good practice of mindfulness. Plus, the recipient of your letter will be grateful to receive something in their mailbox that isn't a bill or a catalog. (It will also ensure that you don’t forget how to form alphabet letters with little strokes of that thing that dispenses ink.)

6. Use natural remedies

If grandpa had a cough in the middle of the night, did grandma get up, get dressed, drive to the 24-hour pharmacy and plunk down $10 for a day-glow concoction of synthetic chemicals? No. She got up and gave grandpa some honey (and in fact, studies show that honey is more effective in treating a cough than cough syrup!). Why would you want to spend a lot of money on questionable chemicals to treat your woes when you have a whole natural medicine cabinet right in your pantry or garden?

For starters refer to the following for basics:

7. Take care of your clothes; mend when needed

Maybe your grandmother didn't actually darn socks but surely she did some mending. In this disposable culture so many things are tossed at the first sign of wear or tear, and that’s sad. And expensive. And just wrong! Paul Dillinger, the head of global product innovation at Levi’s, tells us to treat our clothes like flowers, and he’s got a really good point. With care and nurturing, our clothes will last a lot longer and will love us back. And if they start to flounder a bit, don’t be afraid of a needle and thread or of turning them into something else.

8. Turn off some appliances

Photo: nata-lunata/Shutterstock

We are grateful that laundry day doesn't involve a washboard, but that doesn't mean we have to rely so incessantly on our appliances; they cost money to use and they use power that increases your carbon footprint. Two great places to start are with the clothes dryer and the air conditioner.

After that, challenge yourself to figure out what other appliances you can not use from time to time. If you’re feeling brave, try the TV and other electronics. We’re not suggesting you become a Luddite, but being conscious of your appliance use can be liberating.

9. Use your things until they die

Granted, styles changed less frequently and things lasted longer back in the days when our grandmothers bought stuff, but still. Would your grandmother commit a perfectly good white refrigerator to die an ignoble death at the dump just so she could replace it with a trendy stainless steel one? She wouldn’t think of it, and neither should you. Use your things until they die, then try to repurpose or upcycle them; you will save money and you will alleviate a bit of the stress on our overburdened landfills.

Likewise, apply the habit to food as well and reuse your food scraps until they have nothing left to give; see 20 uses for leftover fruit and vegetable peels for ideas.

10. Clean your home with things you can eat

Wise grandmothers did not reach for highly toxic products like corrosive drain products, oven cleaners, and acidic toilet bowl cleaners or things so laden with synthetic fragrance that they cause respiratory irritation and headache. No, they headed to the kitchen and broke out the baking soda and vinegar. These things are cheaper, safer, and better for the environment in oh so many ways. And they clean effectively, too! Start a nontoxic cleaning kit with the following goodies from your pantry, and if you accidentally get some in your mouth, you won’t have to call the poison control hotline.

IMAGE CREDIT:

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

In the late 1880s, cigarette manufacturers began inserting stiffening cards into their paper packs of cigarettes to strengthen the containers. It wasn't long before they got the idea to put artwork, trivia, famous people, and pretty girls onto those cards, grouped into collectible series. The cards, which continued into the 1940s, are highly valuable now, with the most expensive (bearing the face of stringent anti-smoking baseball player Honus Wagner) selling for $2.8 million in 2007.

In the 1910s, Gallaher Ltd of Belfast & London and Ogden's Branch of the Imperial Tobacco Co printed "How-To" series, with clever hints for both everyday and emergency situations. From steaming out a splinter to stopping a mad dog, these cigarette cards told you the smart way to handle many of life's problems.

(Please note these cards were published a hundred years ago, when safety was not as popular a pursuit as it is now. For that reason, we can't recommend trying any of these, as brilliant as they may be.)

http://mentalfloss.com/article/51702/10-lifehacks-100-years-ago

1. HOW TO MAKE A FIRE EXTINGUISHER

"Dissolve one pound of salt and half a pound of sal-ammoniac in two quarts of water and bottle the liquor in thin glass bottles holding about a quart each. Should a fire break out, dash one or more of the bottles into the flames, and any serious outbreak will probably be averted."

2. HOW TO EXTRACT A SPLINTER

"Fill a wide mouthed bottle with hot water nearly to the brim, and press affected part of hand tightly against mouth of bottle. The suction will pull down the flesh, and steam will soon draw out the splinter."

3. HOW TO PRESERVE EGGS

"Eggs for preserving must be newly laid, and by simply putting these into a box or tin of dry salt-burying the eggs right in the salt and keeping it in a cool dry place — it is possible to preserve them for a very long period. No air whatever should be allowed to get to the shell."

4. HOW TO FELL A TREE

"Having decided which side you wish the tree to fall, cut alternatively a downward and inward cut as shown. When about half through, proceed to cut the other side a few inches higher, and finally pull tree down by means of ropes."

5. HOW TO STOP A MAD DOG

"A scout's staff, a walking-stick, or even a handkerchief or hat may be held before you as shown. The dog invariably endeavours to paw down your defense before biting, thus giving you the opportunity of disabling him by a kick."

6. HOW TO KEEP PLANTS WATERED WHILE AWAY ON HOLIDAY

"Fill a large pail with water, and stand it a little above the level of the plants and group round or near as many plants as practical. Loosely plait two or three strands of wool together, immerse completely in water, and place one end in the pail, weighted, and touching the bottom. Rest the other end on the soil: a separate plait of wool is advisable for each pot."

7. HOW TO LIGHT A MATCH IN THE WIND

"The familiar difficulty of lighting a match in a wind can be to a great extent overcome if thin shavings are first cut on the match towards its striking end, as shown in the picture. On lighting the match the curled strips catch fire at once; the flame is stronger and has a better chance."

8. HOW TO MAKE A CHAIR TO CROSS A STREAM

"Fasten a strong rope to a tree and let a boy swim across the stream and fasten the other end to a tree on an opposite bank. Make the chair, fasten it to a running loop or a block pulley, and by means of a light rope fastened to the middle of (the) chair and held by a scout at each end, those unable to swim are safely passed over."

9. HOW TO RESCUE SOMEONE FROM ELECTRIC SHOCK

"In rescuing a person touched by a "live wire" do not attempt to take hold of him if he is still grasping the wire, unless your hands are protected by rubber gloves, a water-proof coat, or several thicknesses of dry cloth. Stand on glass or dry wood, and try and have (the) current switched off, and send at once for a doctor."

10. HOW TO MAKE A WATER FILTER

"A most handy and efficacious filter can be made out of an ordinary perfectly clean zinc water pail, through the bottom of which a hole has been drilled and a small pipe fitted. The water percolates through the layers of fine and coarse sand, and clean picked gravel and stones, with which the pail is filled, filtering through to the bottom in a clear state."