Make & Mend for Victory

Maybe you've seen this, but for those who haven't...

http://cargocultcraft.com/2010/03/18/download-make-mend-for-victory-both-parts/


I've had this for quite some time, I've even printed it and read it very carefully! It's great.

I've been thinking a lot about the austerity ways of the war, when you had to use everything in the best possible way. Fortunately there is no war any more, but the times are frightening where I live, money wise. I am not one of those who have been hit hard (not yet anyway) but it seems like the most horrible thing, to waste and to be careless with your things. I don't know how all of you feel, but I could really use the lesson of the ladies who lived during the war. Judging from my grandmother, they never lost that sense of not wasting.

A vague topic, but what do you think?

Thank you for the links! I think we should all be paying attention to those lessons. I'm not crying to all and sundry that the end of the world is nigh or anything like that, but we've got to be realistic about the future. It's extremely unlikely that things will always be as cheaply and readily available as they are now, or that the worldwide financial problems won't get worse before they get better. Making do and mending both make a lot of sense!

Dear Renaissancemedici,

I may not be quite as old as you require but I lived half my life in the Communist country. So the call for "austerity" really is nothing new. BTW, I have often mused on how I already lived a vintage style life - many people then visiting remarked on how 1950s things were: from mostly black and white TV with 2 channels, to mending laddered tights, darning socks, home sewing , home preserving, home medicines, and everpresent knitting.

Some things:

Taking good care of shoes - keeping each pair on a shoe tree, cleaning and polishing every other evening, if you cannot manage every night. Have repairs made to heels if necessary Adds years to their lifespan.

Buying your tights in 2s and 4s of the same. Then if one ladders, you cut off the faulty leg at the groin level. When another pair ladders, again cut off the offending leg (the sound of it, BTW )and wear one on top of another. Totally no way to tell - even in the state of undress.

Use an apron in the kitchen - it is a real life prolonger for your clothing .

Use up leftovers. Whatever is left from one dinner can be made over into a casserole, a salad or a soup the next day; a cake that went stale can be made into a baked pudding. Stale bread can be made into a pudding or savoury croquettes.

Do not buy prepackaged foods, buy from the counter and then do your own portions, suitable to what you are really likely to consume in one sitting. Deep freeze and use as needed. Will save money too.

When cooking, do not throw away inferior bits of meet, offal or bones. They make very tasty stock for sauces and soups.

Watch those lightbulbs, switch off anything you are not using (this goes especially for the computer!).

Old clothes and knitwear could always be re-fashioned into aprons, scarves, patchwork items, toys for children - we saved them until the right idea kicked in.

Stop buying newspapers and magazines. You will have to throw it away almost immediately. They truly are a sad waste of resources, energy, trees. Instead use the Internet for the online information and your library for the joy of reading. Will save you a surprising amount of money too.

Mend things rather then throw away, eg, sheets that got worn through could be patched or cut in half and joined to another worn out item.

Those are just random thoughts, but maybe others will have more usuful suggestions?

Marzena, you must have seen a lot of austerity in your time! I was only in Poland in 2005 or so, long after the bad old days, but I remember being in Romania some years before that and found it very shocking to see how little was available. Department stores were mostly empty space with things like tights locked behind glass cabinets. It was a real eye-opener for me and it must have been very challenging to have nice things or to dress nicely or eat well in those times.

I remember Marks & Spencer or one of those big chains used to sell tights that already had two separate legs, each with their own waistband. They were like pre-assembled stockings-and-garters. It was very easy to swap out one leg if there was a ladder, rather than throwing away the whole pair. Very sensible, but they didn't seem to be on the market for long.

I'm a big fan of making big batches of food and then portioning it out. In fact there are six portions of vegetable jalfrezi, each in its own glass tub, cooling on my worktop right now so they can go into the fridge and freezer for lunches tomorrow and next week. And my husband is great for using up leftovers. There isn't much left-over savoury food that can't be put into a frittata or stir fry, or turned into a pie

My attempts at making stock were always dismal until I found this recipe from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Now I always use up every scrap of a chicken carcass and all the bones. It is very satisfying to know that absolutely nothing has gone to waste, isn't it?

Splitting and turning worn bedsheets makes me think of the Little House on the Prairie books. It was Laura's most hated chore, wasn't it? It must be very difficult to hand-sew a smooth line that doesn't make an uncomfortable ridge down the middle of the bed.

Thanks for the ideas ladies. My cooking habits have always been like that, mainly because we don't eat ready food. I get the ingredients and then use them for many recipes. I freeze the meat, which I divide in smaller portions before it goes in the freezer etc. So there is no waste there. I was mostly thinking about clothes. I have more than I need, but sometimes I have nothing to wear . There is a growing sentiment in society here, that the consumer behaviour we had untill recently is irresponsible, almost unpatriotic. I know it sounds like a big word, but now I understand how people of the era would check themselves not to waste things, refashion them and reuse them. I have the idea that our times are similar in that way.


Happy you liked the link! It has a snood pattern, dikies patterns, how to turn a man's suit into a lady's one etc. I was enthusiastic when I found it!