My friend’s mom told me how she was young, they would unravel their sweaters, wash the wool to get the crinkles out, then knit a new sweater from the wool.
When I was a beginner knitter in Switzerland, more experienced knitters stressed the importance of finishing a piece of clothing so you can undo it later. Hand-knit sweaters have this quality. Industrial sweaters usually don’t.
1st, I like your mother. 2nd, I love your value: thrift, self sufficiency, community. I'm 94 years young and do almost everything religiously in your educational article. which gives me the satisfaction of accomplishment, no matter small or big. Thanks, Emily Huang
While we shouldn't romanticize the past, we shouldn't dismiss what our ancestors did either. According to "A Brief History of the Antibiotic Era" and "The history of antibiotics" (links below), humans used antibiotics over 1500 years ago and the antibiotic era began around 1905, possibly before your grandparents were born. It seems likely we could have reached similar levels of success with antibiotics without all the pollution and depletion.
People developed birth control methods even earlier, documented 4000 years ago, so likely practiced long before. It's also likely we could have developed modern methods without all the pollution and depletion of modernity.
If Advil is an anesthetic, humans using anesthesia goes back even farther.
To clarify, I'm not saying we should return to how people lived 4000 years ago. I'm saying stopping polluting and depleting don't mean we have to give up many things we like of modernity. For all we know, we could have developed more humane things had we polluted and depleted less.
Well said and so true! Ages ago, my granddad, who came from a much thriftier era, went grocery shopping with me once and just shook his head at all the expensive or unnecessary stuff I bought. Opened my eyes.
Life in the past was in many ways so much closer to the nature and with respect for it. Previous generations had so much more skills and knowledge at their hands. It feels like with all the development we are loosing the touch of it.
Anne-Marie, love the nostalgia and idealism of all of this, and certainly we can and should in my view take a lot of inspiration from Grandma. But times have changed. Grandma just might have a job (I'm a granny with a job!) And grandma is likely to live in California / far away than upstairs. So we all have to adapt accordingly. So, for example, we can't deny that people are time challenged. So, one 'concession' I'm making in my book on leftovers is 'meeting people half way'. If you can't make soup from scratch (like grandma did), it's perfectly OK to start with a package of ramen noodles (that you purchased at the supermarket) and 'doctor it up' with leftover chicken and veggies. Another example, if Grandma lives in another state and isn't around to teach kids how to cook, then we need to figure out a way using today's technology to 'replace Grandma' - so perhaps a You Tube channel with Grannies teaching kids how to cook? A new version of Sesame street?? Happy to discuss this more offline, and hope you're great. Thanks for the inspiration this a.m.!
Thank you for this! I should've read all the comments before I commented. I love this idea of "meeting people halfway." And Anne-Marie even said something like, we don't need a few people doing zero-waste perfectly; we need millions of people doing it imperfectly. :) Thank you both.
I might suggest you re-read this article, I think you may have missed the point. No need to “replace Grandma”, we can use the phone or Skype her. The point is to embrace the “less is more” and “do it yourself” habits of the past. Checkout Anne Marie’s book for great suggestions on “starting where you’re at”, and shopping your fridge first. She is an expert!
I love this post! It's all RIGHT ON and relevant to where we've ended up today. Young people who are bringing their amazing new ideas and talents to the world, while at the same time young people who have no idea how to cook, clean, use tools, fix things, etc. Let's keep sharing and caring because we are all each other's humanity and future. XO
Amy, Sorry if I was unclear. Anne-Marie is one of my zero waste heroes. I'm all in. All I was trying to say is Let's go zero waste, let's get INSPIRED by the past, but let's UPDATE some of the ways with worked then, by integrating them with today's lifestyles. So, for example, if not everyone has time to make soup, like grandma did, from scratch, it's OK to start with the pre-made bouillion cube and put your veggies into that. -- J.O.
Thank you for your inspiring work, and for your practical ideas! And also... Grandma probably didn't also work outside the house. And Grandpa didn't sew his own clothes and can his own preserves. I'm not suggesting that women give up trying to do all of these things you suggested (I love them all and wholeheartedly believe in making efforts toward zero waste), I just think we need to be realistic about what we can do, how virtuously and perfectly we can do them, and how much we can do all at once. Personally, I'm trying to shift my mindset away from convenience, perfection and an Instagrammable life, and accept that if I want to work outside the home, and raise kids and dogs, and also make my own ding dang shampoo and pickles and yogurt and clothing, that will mean I let go of some other things. I'm glad to do it, but I do think it's a privilege. And I get feisty when I feel like the weight of the climate crisis is falling on women to fix. Thank you for this conversation!
I love this post, especially since my 94 year old grandmother happens to be visiting right now. I always love your posts, this one just really hits home. Thank you for all you do!
My friend’s mom told me how she was young, they would unravel their sweaters, wash the wool to get the crinkles out, then knit a new sweater from the wool.
When I was a beginner knitter in Switzerland, more experienced knitters stressed the importance of finishing a piece of clothing so you can undo it later. Hand-knit sweaters have this quality. Industrial sweaters usually don’t.
So amazing, this is the first time I've heard of this!
1st, I like your mother. 2nd, I love your value: thrift, self sufficiency, community. I'm 94 years young and do almost everything religiously in your educational article. which gives me the satisfaction of accomplishment, no matter small or big. Thanks, Emily Huang
Love your book💚
Thank you very much!
While we shouldn't romanticize the past, we shouldn't dismiss what our ancestors did either. According to "A Brief History of the Antibiotic Era" and "The history of antibiotics" (links below), humans used antibiotics over 1500 years ago and the antibiotic era began around 1905, possibly before your grandparents were born. It seems likely we could have reached similar levels of success with antibiotics without all the pollution and depletion.
People developed birth control methods even earlier, documented 4000 years ago, so likely practiced long before. It's also likely we could have developed modern methods without all the pollution and depletion of modernity.
If Advil is an anesthetic, humans using anesthesia goes back even farther.
To clarify, I'm not saying we should return to how people lived 4000 years ago. I'm saying stopping polluting and depleting don't mean we have to give up many things we like of modernity. For all we know, we could have developed more humane things had we polluted and depleted less.
https://microbiologysociety.org/membership/membership-resources/outreach-resources/antibiotics-unearthed/antibiotics-and-antibiotic-resistance/the-history-of-antibiotics.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3109405
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_birth_control
https://www.woodlibrarymuseum.org/history-of-anesthesia
Well said and so true! Ages ago, my granddad, who came from a much thriftier era, went grocery shopping with me once and just shook his head at all the expensive or unnecessary stuff I bought. Opened my eyes.
Life in the past was in many ways so much closer to the nature and with respect for it. Previous generations had so much more skills and knowledge at their hands. It feels like with all the development we are loosing the touch of it.
Anne-Marie, love the nostalgia and idealism of all of this, and certainly we can and should in my view take a lot of inspiration from Grandma. But times have changed. Grandma just might have a job (I'm a granny with a job!) And grandma is likely to live in California / far away than upstairs. So we all have to adapt accordingly. So, for example, we can't deny that people are time challenged. So, one 'concession' I'm making in my book on leftovers is 'meeting people half way'. If you can't make soup from scratch (like grandma did), it's perfectly OK to start with a package of ramen noodles (that you purchased at the supermarket) and 'doctor it up' with leftover chicken and veggies. Another example, if Grandma lives in another state and isn't around to teach kids how to cook, then we need to figure out a way using today's technology to 'replace Grandma' - so perhaps a You Tube channel with Grannies teaching kids how to cook? A new version of Sesame street?? Happy to discuss this more offline, and hope you're great. Thanks for the inspiration this a.m.!
Thank you for this! I should've read all the comments before I commented. I love this idea of "meeting people halfway." And Anne-Marie even said something like, we don't need a few people doing zero-waste perfectly; we need millions of people doing it imperfectly. :) Thank you both.
I might suggest you re-read this article, I think you may have missed the point. No need to “replace Grandma”, we can use the phone or Skype her. The point is to embrace the “less is more” and “do it yourself” habits of the past. Checkout Anne Marie’s book for great suggestions on “starting where you’re at”, and shopping your fridge first. She is an expert!
I love this post! It's all RIGHT ON and relevant to where we've ended up today. Young people who are bringing their amazing new ideas and talents to the world, while at the same time young people who have no idea how to cook, clean, use tools, fix things, etc. Let's keep sharing and caring because we are all each other's humanity and future. XO
I've just realised - I am now the grandmother....................🤦♀️🤣
Amy, Sorry if I was unclear. Anne-Marie is one of my zero waste heroes. I'm all in. All I was trying to say is Let's go zero waste, let's get INSPIRED by the past, but let's UPDATE some of the ways with worked then, by integrating them with today's lifestyles. So, for example, if not everyone has time to make soup, like grandma did, from scratch, it's OK to start with the pre-made bouillion cube and put your veggies into that. -- J.O.
Upscale Gramma’s victory garden with an iHarvest indoor hydroponic garden.
That mom of yours!!😍
Thank you for your inspiring work, and for your practical ideas! And also... Grandma probably didn't also work outside the house. And Grandpa didn't sew his own clothes and can his own preserves. I'm not suggesting that women give up trying to do all of these things you suggested (I love them all and wholeheartedly believe in making efforts toward zero waste), I just think we need to be realistic about what we can do, how virtuously and perfectly we can do them, and how much we can do all at once. Personally, I'm trying to shift my mindset away from convenience, perfection and an Instagrammable life, and accept that if I want to work outside the home, and raise kids and dogs, and also make my own ding dang shampoo and pickles and yogurt and clothing, that will mean I let go of some other things. I'm glad to do it, but I do think it's a privilege. And I get feisty when I feel like the weight of the climate crisis is falling on women to fix. Thank you for this conversation!
I love this post, especially since my 94 year old grandmother happens to be visiting right now. I always love your posts, this one just really hits home. Thank you for all you do!
Love this so much.
Love it !!!!