Comments on: Let’s Not Forget Depression is a Dirty Word

By: Lise

Lise — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 05:16:12 +0000

Hi Linda! Welcome to the blog!

There are certainly benefits to be gleaned from growing up in a time of hardship. I think this post was more of a devil’s advocate post, since a lot of frugality bloggers tend to focus on the good aspects of that. But I certainly have my own experiences in the negative effects that living through hard times can have on a person.

By: linda

linda — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:21:54 +0000

Interesting take. My parents were born 1917 and 1919. Both had somewhat of a depression-era mentality. But it manifested itself in not wasting anything and a willingness to use previously owned things. My father also in a sense hoarded. The difference was that he knew where everything was and could put his hands on what he needed to fix or refurbish anything, from a toy to the rental houses he owned and maintained. With limited means when I was a child, they filled my life with love and laughter and fun, inexpensive adventures, just as their parents had done for them.

I enjoyed your posts and will return for more.

By: Frugal in the Fruitlands » Link Love: Emerging from MMO Haze Edition

Frugal in the Fruitlands » Link Love: Emerging from MMO Haze Edition — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:02:44 +0000

[...] by Lise on 18 Jul 2008 at 12:00 pm | Tagged as: link love Many, many moons ago, my article Let’s Not Forget Depression is a Dirty Word appeared in the Festival of Frugality #132, hosted at Budgets Are Sexy. Some of my favorite [...]

By: Lizz

Lizz — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:23:52 +0000

WOW. My mom went up north for four months to help my grandma get her life more organized. She had been convinced, finally, to move into an assisted living home where she’d have her freedom but also have some help. All we needed to do was get her house in order. It never happened–she would get just as upset when my mom tried to throw out a dirty rag that had been sitting around in the attic. It was frustrating for my mom, heartbreaking for my grandma, and ended up with four months of stress and one grandma still living in the same home a year later surrounded by piles of stuff. Now my mom and I both know where we get our tendency towards being pack rats from. Thanks for this post… sometimes seeing that my family isn’t the only one is really helpful!

By: Brandy

Brandy — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 04:06:13 +0000

ooohhh I o agree. my poor granny lived thru the depression and saved everything. she had a junk room. she was a great person but was overshadowed by her clutter. my poor mother grew up trying to toss stuff to tidy up and my granny would die. that made her and me thru my mom such not clutterers. she always had a stack of magazines to rad when she retired. she had a house fire that destroyed it all but her and her pets. we took them and set her up in an apartment and we bought her new stuff. i think it made her relieved really. she still had that mindset but didnt have all those years to retock the clutter. they made her move from the apartment due to this even though i cleaned it weekly so she moved in with us and that stopped it in the bud. she was pretty good then. i guess having the company around constantly made her not need the clutter.
but no they dont need to glamorize the depression at all. people were tougher then and it was a horrible time for the country.
i hope to God we arent headed that way.

By: Eat a Cheaper Breakfast, Dress Your Kids On Less @ The Carnivals

Eat a Cheaper Breakfast, Dress Your Kids On Less @ The Carnivals — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:53:02 +0000

[...] Let’s Not Forget Depression is a Dirty Word @ Frugal In The Fruitlands [...]

By: kathryn

kathryn — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:58:44 +0000

Interesting thoughts. My own mother was a Great Depression kid, and she stockpiled stuff her whole life. I take after her and also have a hard time giving things up…because “they might be useful sometime” (and sometimes they actually are!)

But your description of your grandmother’s house full of things that she COULD not give up sounds like more than just Depression era frugality…it’s probably what would now be considered clinical “OCD.”

Have you seen the short film called “Possessed”? It’s available via streaming at
http://www.vimeo.com/603058

—–
Frugality is just like everything else: there is a middle path that’s right for the people and the times…and it’s up to each of us to find our way down that path.

By: Monroe on a Budget » Festival of Frugality 7/1

Monroe on a Budget » Festival of Frugality 7/1 — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:45:46 +0000

[...] in the Fruitlands presents Let’s not forget Depression is a dirty word: “Stuff builds up, because everything is potentially useful; in the end, this Depression-era [...]

By: Frugal Babe » Archive » Festival Of Frugality

Frugal Babe » Archive » Festival Of Frugality — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:09:07 +0000

[...] post about frugal baby toys wasn’t in the festival, but I got there on a link from an article that was, and I loved the idea of giving a baby a paintbrush and water to ‘paint’ the sidewalk [...]

By: Meg from FruWiki & All About Appearances

Meg from FruWiki & All About Appearances — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:30:05 +0000

I saw that article over on Unclutterer, too, and it was definitely a great read. I don’t think we need another Depression, goodness knows, but I do believe that America needs to wake up to how much we waste and throw out. We can’t keep doing that if we want to get out of debt and not surround ourselves with garbage. I also believe in saving things to reuse/repurpose and I do believe in keeping a well-stocked pantry.

*However*, there is a difference between that and hoarding — a difference that anyone could see looking around my fairly neat and organized home. I limit what I keep and I try not to keep (or even bring in) stuff that I don’t need. Hoarders tend to fill every available space with stuff “just in case” they need it, and they tend to keep a lot of things more sentimental reasons — to the extent that most non-hoarding but still sentimental people scratch their heads.

For example, when I do have butter wrappers, I will keep them to grease pans. Why not? For me, it’s just too easy not to. However, you’re not going to find a pile of them in my fridge. I don’t go through that much butter, but even if I did, why keep more than I’d use in a reasonable period?

And if I happen to be given ketchup packets, I may use them at home — but I’m not going to take a handful if I don’t need them for my meal, and I don’t eat a lot of fast food anyhow. And I’m definitely not going to put them into a regular ketchup bottle. Now that is a waste of time! My advice to that person would be to get over it. There’s no shame in just using the packets.