homemaker

Back in the day, when people recycled, they really did RE cycle.  If they broke a part on their bikes, they went to the hardware store, bought the part and installed it themselves.  They replaced seats, tires, handlebars, baskets–you name it.

People carried the ashes from their coal furnaces to the curb once a week.  The trash men collected those.  Some used ashes to coat the sidewalks on snowy days.  Do you think the rest are still at the dump?

Everyone recycled their clothes.  Patches went on jacket elbows and jeans.  Rips were stitched up with plain old thread.  Socks always had holes that needed darning.  I’m sure old clothes were given to charity, if they had any life in them at all.

Of course, the milkman always delivered products in glass bottles.  They were recycled on a daily basis.  Same thing with diapers.  If someone was rich enough to have a diaper service, their diapers were washed at a factory everyday, also.

During the Second World War, people learned to recycle everything because everything was scarce.  Metal, paper, wood and rubber (maybe cloth, too) items were loaded into piles to be shipped to some obscure place and reused for military stuff.

I guess this all means that there’s not much anyone can tell an older person about recycling.  They’ve been scrimping, sacrificing, saving and doing without, well, forever.

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