"Soap is cheap."
In my first post on this blog, I mentioned my frugal grandma. She lived through the Great Depression and I think that experience left a mark on her for the rest of her life.
Anyway, I reshared that post recently because of my blog's birthday.
(that baby is my dad)
That put Grandma was on my brain, and I was reminded of something she once told me: "No matter how little money you have, you can at least keep your things clean. Soap is cheap!"
I think she was actually relaying something her mom told her, so this goes back to my great-grandma, a lady I barely got to know.
(I'm guessing she was a kindred spirit, though!)
Clean = a cheap luxury
I like the idea of self-respect inherent in this advice; you might not be able to have fancy things, but you can at least enjoy the luxury of having clean things.
I can imagine that in those lean years of the depression, keeping things clean helped my great-grandma and my grandma maintain a sense of dignity.
And in a situation where you have more time (and elbow grease!) than money, cleaning can help you feel a little more in control of your life situation. It's something you can choose to do.
Throughout my life as an adult, I have often thought about this advice, particularly in our leanest years.
A new, fancy thing doesn't feel too great when it's dirty. And by the same token, an older, not-fancy thing can feel pretty good as long as it's clean.
For instance, our little basement apartment was no great shakes, but keeping it clean and tidy helped it feel pleasant.
Your car might be old, but if you keep it vacuumed and you clean out the trash, it will feel much more luxurious.
Your deck might be old, but if you scrub it, it'll feel much newer.
Your kitchen linens might be faded, but if you boil them and then wash them, they'll smell like new ones.
Your kitchen might be small, but if you clean it and keep things put away, it'll feel bigger.
Your bathroom floor may be old, but it will look better when it's clean than when it's dirty.
Your wardrobe may not be new, but your older clothes will look pretty good if they are clean and mended.
Really, anything looks better when it's scrubbed and clean!
Decluttering is cheap too
While my grandma didn't say this specifically (she was actually a bit of a clutterbug in her attic!), I'd add that keeping things uncluttered also really helps, and as with cleaning, there's not much cost inherent to decluttering.
In cases where your stuff is worth selling, decluttering can actually make you money! And if you stop buying clutter, that will save you money.
Decluttering can also help a space feel roomy, fresh, and new, which is not too shabby for a process that usually costs nothing.
And this holds true for your car too; cleaning clutter out of there is an immediate upgrade!
What could you clean or declutter?
Instead of focusing on what I can't do, I always find it to be helpful to think, "What CAN I do?"
So, if you're feeling a little discouraged right now because you'd love to upgrade your house, your car, or any number of your possessions, it might help to think about what you could clean or declutter.
Ah, I immediately spotted a family resemblance in the pictures!
How true about looking after your things well.
Thinking about the depression: yay for indoor sanitation, washing machines and education for all!
Thank you for this! I needed to hear it today. I am in the process of house hunting (not frugal at all right now, it's just as nuts out there as you may have heard) and living with family in the meantime. I'm not used to being so constrained in my space and having so little control over what it looks and feels like. I admit I let cleaning slip because it feels so futile. But I definitely would be happier with a clean space, and that is something I can control!
Wow! Your grandmother, especially in the younger pictures, has your same smile. How wonderful that you are passing down her words of wisdom to the whole world through your blog. She would be soooo proud of the strong woman you have become. God bless.
One of my grandmothers actually didn't do too poorly in the depression (not rich but nowhere near destitute as my grandfather always had a job and they had a home) and she was definitely a frugal woman. Every bit of leftovers in her house was stored in old margarine tubs, her sewing case was a Danish butter cookie tin, she bought almost everything secondhand etc.
My other grandmother was born in the depression, the last of a large family on a dirt poor farm. She grew up, got married, had some kids, had her husband abandon the family and thus had to work for decades to carve out a little bit of life for herself. She is frugal because she had to be but hates every minute of it. She refuses to wear used clothes and gets upset with me for "over-mending" my clothes instead of buying new ones.
That all said, the latter grandmother has always pointed out that while she was poor she was always clean. She never had stuff strewn about her yard and her clothes were always clean and nice.
Interestingly, I think some of my grandma's cluttered attic was a reaction to the depression; she lived through a time where she probably couldn't feel secure about being able to replace things in the future, so sometimes she would buy extras of things and just keep them for years.
@Kristen, it's a very common response. My maternal grandmother's father died with a house full of McDonald's coffee stirs and napkins, and basically anything else people gave away.
@Battra92, When my grandpa died, we discovered that his attic was filled with toilet paper. Some of it was so old, it was unusable. Definitely a reaction to his Great Depression experience.
@Battra92,
Yes! about hanging on to things.
I mentioned my mother being born in 1920 - my dad was born in 1918, and both were poor during the Depression. They kept things orderly and neat, but they kept things! They had So Much Stuff in their house, shed and barn. The barn was small, maybe 20 x 30, but it took about six adults five full days to empty it after our parents died.
Among the sayings I grew up with was this one: "Don't throw that away; we might need that later."
@Kristen, My parents were the same way, but I attributed that to surviving WWII Europe and later immigrating to the States with very, very little in terms of material goods.
@JD,
I grew up with my grandparents ,both born 1919/1917. while everything was clean and starched ( till they couldnt move around much more on there own), there was everywhere stuff: plastic flowers, vase, glass dolls and had an entire sofa full of stuffed toys. Given the fact it was in the DDR, everyone had little and kept or gifted the stuff they did not use. Fast forward I am a minimalist by birth, the less the better. My poor husband grow up in Asia and sometime likes to have more than just a bit...the only think we can agree on , its extra Coffee, Wine and a bit food( thanks to covid).
I think all people who went through the great depression were changed for life
@Kristen, my aunt by marriage had parents and grandparents who were Japanese-American (her dad), and Japanese (her mom and grandmother). They were sent to internment camps during WWII, and lost everything -their home, their business, all but a very few of their belongings. They became hoarders once they were back "home" - beautiful sets of fine china sitting right next to piles of old bills, every margarine tub that ever entered their home - you get the idea. While I wasn't party to the house clean-out after her mother passed away, I heard through the family grapevine that it was quite the undertaking.
@Battra92, your two grandmothers remind me of my mother (the frugal/saving one) and my father (the one who grew up dirt-poor and hated every minute of being poor). As I've said in previous comments, I'm the product of a mixed marriage.
Also, happy blogiversary to Kristen, and thanks to Kristen and the whole crowd for being here. You've helped me more than you know.
@JD, I heard that a lot with the line, "free is the best price!"
I have issues with throwing things out but that's more of the fact that I don't want to have to create more garbage.
@Kris, I wonder if some of us will hoard toilet paper after our Covid experience.
@A. Marie, I second your second paragraph!
@Battra92, this is off-topic, but it seems you were commenting even on that first post on the blog linked to this article! That made me smile 🙂
@Bee,
I have to admit that I have an extra Costco pack of TP hoarded:)
@Sandra,
Me too!
Totally agree on the family resemblance - with the women in your family!
This definitely reminds me of something my grandmother would have said. She was full of frugal inspiration, & I think of her often.
Waste is one of my hot topics. Food waste, having items that go unused in our house, etc. Having a streamlined house where we are not storing/cleaning/maintaining things we don't use makes me happy. Despite constantly being on the lookout for things to declutter, there is always more work to do. I give away a lot on my local Buy Nothing group.
I noticed the correlation years ago, that depression can sometimes be held at bay by just ordering and cleaning the house. I'm certainly not talking a hoarding situation, but just redoing a small shelf or portion of closet gives one a feeling of control when your mind wants to tell that you all is dark and out of control. And decluttering is wonderful. Most of my long adult life has included having a bag somewhere that I add to when I come across unneeded items. When it fills, it's off to the thrift shop.
@Anne, I think this is true for me -- I get overwhelmed by stuff because I am not a good or organized steward of things -- so I need to PURGE. And you are so right -- even a small part of the room de-cluttered feels like such a victory 😉
Wow! You look like your grandmother. 🙂 Great post, by the way. Very wise words and was exactly like what my grandmother, who also lived through the depression, said to me.
My mother was born in 1920, so the Depression was a huge factor for her, and her family was quite poor, like so many others. This saying about cleanliness was one of her sayings as well. Granted, this saying applies mostly to people who have access to clean water and adequate shelter, but those particular conditions apply to all of us here, I assume.
I am really insistent on keeping my house, clothes and person clean - where I fall down is my car. I rarely take the time to clean it well, and I really should. I keep litter out of it, but it needs washing and interior cleaning. Maybe now I'll have the impetus to go do that!
Another phrase I heard growing up: "It may not be much, but at least it's clean," which was normally referring to homes. Keeping things clean is a good idea for our health, our attitude, and our finances!
Happy happiest bday to my fave big and blog community. Beautiful pictures!!!
That is exactly what I grew up with! My father would always say "there is no shame in being poor - there is shame in being dirty".
And it is true - I often come into posh homes cluttered by plenty of obviously expensive furniture and stuff but the owner seems to be overwhelmed by the task of keeping it free of dust and dirt....
My mom said this, too. She was born in 1930 and grew up in the Depression. She also was a fan of keeping clothes neatly ironed. Her idea was to make the items that she did own look the best they could.
You motivated me today to clean my kitchen counters. They are not dirty but just too much stuff cluttering up the counters (I guess I have too much counter space?) I'm going to work on that today. Have a great day!
So true! I always feel better about things when my little house and car are clean. 🙂 p.s. I think you look a lot like your grandma, and she's a very pretty lady.
Donna
This was a recent quote of the day in another page I follow.
Marcus Aurelius said: “Don’t imagine having things that you don’t have. Rather, pick the best of the things that you do have and think of how much you would want them if you didn’t have them.”
That's a shortened version of what he said, but a good reminder to be appreciative of what we do have.
My mother always said, “If your hair is shiny, your teeth are white, and your clothes are ironed, you are gorgeous!”
As the owner of a car that I want to see to its 40th birthday, I endorse this message! I’ll take a quirky, well-cared for item over a “fancy” one any day. I love all the dents and dings in our 120-year-old home and work to keep it tidy, for our sake and out of respect for owners past.
While not depression era, I have a 1941 pamphlet about “How to Cut Food Costs.” (It was 10 cents at the time and cost me $1 at an antique store!) It’s full of amazing tips and guides for typical item sizes, serving portions, etc. If that’s something you’d be interested in going over, Kristen, I’d be happy to email it to you. I scanned the whole pamphlet in to share with friends and to help preserve it.
@N, I have a bunch of pamphlets on making the most of your food, published in Britain during WWII when rationing was most severe. I have actually made some of the recipes and whenever I do that I am thankful for the abundance of today.
@Lindsey, your parents’ story below was incredible. It reminds me of a passage in “How Green Was my Valley,” when the narrator describes the amount of work his mother and sisters devoted to keeping their house spotless in a Welsh coal-mining town. The cleanliness of the houses was a reflection of the spirits of the people within; when those spirits start to flag, the coal dust and slag piles encroach.
My pamphlet doesn’t have any recipes, though it does have tips for stretching expensive or hard to acquire items like meat. The only depression-era recipe that I’ve knowingly made was Wacky Cake, which was surprisingly good!
I ❤ this post!
100% agree. I have drilled it into my kids, no matter how much or little you have, always take care of it!
My household project this month is decluttering/reorganizing my garage. It makes me feel so much better!!! It also saves money in the long run. It keeps me from buying items that I think that I need, but I really don’t. I just couldn’t find them in the chaos.
It actually soothes my spirit to take care of my home. There are some chores I find physically hard now that I'm in my 60s, but to have everything clean, in good repair, and in its place gives me a wonderful contentment. I also keep the inside of my car clean and tidy and wash the "nose art" off the windows after the dogs take a ride. My wonderful husband keeps the outside washed for me.
After WWII, my parents were in a displaced persons camp for two years, waiting to be accepted by any country that would have them. My father has several pictures from those years and what struck me was how clean and pressed everyone looked. My father taught me how to arrange your pants under your mattress so that when you get up the next morning, they looked pressed and fresh, which apparently the men did all the time in that camp. And the surroundings were pristine, not a piece of litter to be seen. When they got here, our house was always immaculate. On Saturday morning, my mother or grandmother would take a bucket out and wash the front porch AND the sidewalk right in front of the house. The ghetto they lived in was filled with other immigrants who had lived in concentration and/or displaced person camps and those Saturday mornings you'd see legion of women out there washing the sidewalks in front of their houses. My father used to say that sometimes the only dignity you can show is to be clean.
@Lindsey, love this, so true. By keeping theirselves clean and well-dressed they were recognizing and showing other their unchangeable dignity.
I loved this post! The photos are lovely, thank you for sharing them.
To me, clean means luxurious. I've always become more content when I thoroughly clean & tweak my decor. It makes such a huge difference.
Yes! My mom said her grandmother said the same thing, you're never too poor for a bar of soap.
Wow...looking at the original post made me realize I'm more of an OG follower than I thought! (I found you in fall 2008 when I started grad school!) Happy blogiversary, happy to have been following you all these years!
Thank you for sharing this wisdom! This is almost like a thankful Thursday post. Bless you!!!
Love this advice and need to follow it. Totally see you in your grandma! 🙂
I loved this! There is such a dignity in keeping what you have clean and tidy.
I can tell this is your family, the resemblance is very clear!
It's so interesting that a lot of people have said that because I often don't think I look much like my dad's side.
But I have definitely noticed that people outside of a family are much more able to accurately see resemblances! Ever since she was small, people have been telling me that Lisey looks like me and I cannot see it at all. But the fact that so many strangers can see it makes me think it must be there and I just am blind to it.
I love these old photos, such cherished memories are represented. I learned an easy saying when my children were little. Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. Thank you to Kristin for producing such a fun and interesting blog. Here’s to many more years of your blog.
I am smiling because my granddaughter managed to dirty her new pyjamas and her mother was so cross. It was a simple and quick hand wash to make the pyjamas clean again. Sometimes doing the little things in a simple way is a great solution.
When my kids were little, we were poor--enough to qualify for Section 8 Housing (subsidized housing) and we lived in a city where many of our neighbors and the kid's friends were in a similar income bracket. All of our furniture was from garage sales or found for free, and our clothing often came from the free table of a local community center or from garage sales. However, everyone thought we were rich. Why? Because our house was clean, super clean, and well organized. That curb-side, garage sale furniture was cleaned and repaired/repainted as necessary. Our curtains were clean and opened to let in sunlight coming in from clean windows. Our floors were swept/mopped or vacuumed. Our clothing was clean and mended and even tailored (by me!) when necessary. This is all something I've practiced throughout my life, even now that the kids are out of the house and I own my home.
Kristen, my parents were both "depression babies" and as such carried anxiety about money. They lived simply but the burden of financial insecurity shaped how they talked about money (only fear-filled, doomsday scenarios) On the flip side, they were minimalists, found pleasure in the simplest of things and loved us unconditionally. I carry both sides within me, I love to clean to control my stress and anxiety and also find it makes me love what I have, not want more. The anxiety of what if we lose our jobs, my pension etc still lurks within me, but I have a safety net they never had, an emergency fund and a retirement account. I remind myself how strong they were to face such difficult times growing up in the depression and then losing everything in the 70s (pension went under with the factory closing down) Now I am the age they were when it all went under. It is profound, the respect and gratitude I have for them, they carried themselves with such dignity and raised us to keep going despite the losses.
I wholeheartedly agree with everything in this post! What does it matter if you have a brand new car if you fill it up with garbage? Our 11 year old minivan is kept clean and tidy (or as much as we can with 3 young kids!) Tidy and clean makes everything seem newer and nicer.
Wow! Do you look just like your grandma in that second to last photo!!
It's so funny that until I wrote this post, I have never, ever considered that I look like my grandma at all!
But I can kinda see it, in the way her eyes crinkle up when she smiles; mine do that too.
You are so fortunate to have such wonderful, clear, old photos in good condition. The genealogist in me has to ask if you have posted them (deceased folks only, of course) to sites, such as FamilySearch Family Tree or WeRelate (both free) to preserve and share with others? That would be a very generous gesture for your relatives and descendants.
Best Wishes!
I haven't! My mom gathered my grandparents' old photographs and scanned them so that our extended family could all have access to them, but those are just hosted on a private drive for family.
You post resonated with me. I am a towel freak so every pm I gather up kitchen and bath hand towels to put in the hamper to be laundered when I have a full load. I have 6 shirts waiting to be pressed. I refuse to pay $2.00 a shirt to be laundered professionally. One of the best tips I shared with trainees when I was in the work force was to always make sure clothing was clean, fit appropriately and shoes were in good condition
Yup, I air-dry my kitchen linens every night and throw them into the laundry room the next morning to wait for the next load of laundry. Moisture is the enemy!
Also, I boil my dishcloths every now and again and it works so well to get rid of stinkiness. https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/8-ways-to-keep-kitchen-towels-dishcloths-sanitary/
Brilliant, practical, definitely frugal, and gratitude-inducing! How did I miss this excellent blog post?? Thank you for linking it to 11/6/2023.
I really appreciate going on a journey with your family in photos and wisdom. Made me feel better and encouraged this Sunday evening. Bless you.