We can learn a lot from the depression era about living more frugally. The skills people had to use then can still help us save money now.
My Great Grandma had a very interesting life. She walked behind a covered wagon to Oklahoma, she experienced the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl in some hard-hit areas of Oklahoma. Hearing her stories is something I miss greatly. She also was a frugal woman that could always make do with what she had.
I often think about the Great Depression and how resourceful people were forced to be. Things are pretty cheap now and our economy has been much healthier, though the last couple of years have been tough. Now it’s so easy to just throw things away when they are broken or when clothing has a hole in it.
However, I think we have lost some useful skills and a good mindset over the years. Making do or doing without is not something many of us live by anymore. It’s creating a lot of waste and wasting money we could use on other things, like experiences with our loved ones.
There is so much we can learn from the trying times of the Great Depression. The resourcefulness was simply amazing. Not only will these skills help us now to be less wasteful and save money, but it also can never hurt to be prepared to have to be more self-sufficient.
Depression Era Tips That Save Money
Make Your Clothes Last
New clothes would have been pretty much unheard of for most families during the Depression. Clothes were mended over and over again. We also should be taking better care of our clothes. Make sure you wash them correctly and if possible line dry. This will save you money and also is gentler on your clothes.
Use It Up
Be sure to use up every drop of personal care, cleaning, and food items. All of the products that we throw out with just a little bit left really adds up.
Make It Yourself
DIY wasn’t just a trend in the Depression it was a way of life. While you aren’t likely going to start grinding your own flour you can make your own bread and other foods from scratch.
You can also make cleaning supplies and even a lot of personal care products can be made from simple ingredients you likely already have on hand. We have the big advantage of Pinterest to help us figure out how to make our own products.
Borrow Instead of Buying
When was the last time you went to your local library? Most books and movies we only watch once so it’s silly to buy them when we can just borrow them from the library for free.
You can also borrow things from friends or family. Just be sure to take care of these items and be responsible, otherwise, people won’t want to share anymore.
There are also options that aren’t free but still save you money in the long run and use up fewer resources. You can use Kindle Unlimited for ebooks and if you already have Amazon Prime you can watch movies and TV shows there at no added cost. If you watch a lot of movies and read a lot of ebooks this will quickly save you money and means less clutter in your home.
Use Less
Be mindful of the number of products you use. Soaps and detergents are some of the things we often use too much of. You really need a very small amount to be effective, sometimes using too much actually makes it less effective.
Reuse Everything You Can
When clothes can no longer be mended they can become rags, old food jars can store all kinds of things, junk mail can be scratch paper, there is almost always a way to use something in a new way to extend its life.
Grow your own food
Gardens were extremely important during the Depression. They still can help us to save money and to help the environment by reduced transportation requirements for our food. Foraging is also a lost skill that can help your food budget.
Don’t Waste Food
We waste a lot of food these days, 30-40% of it! There are so many ways to use up food “scraps.” Soups and smoothies are good for veggie and fruit scraps. Meat bones can also be good for soups and broths. Citrus peels can clean your garbage disposal or be used to make citrus vinegar for cleaning. And even inedible scraps can go in a compost bin to make your own compost for your garden.
The biggest thing I take away from the Depression is that people were more careful with what they had and they weren’t nearly as wasteful as we often are. We can learn so much from that tough time and apply it to our lives to make them better and more frugal.
Adriana Renee says
Never thought about borrowing! That’s a great tip!
Catherine Short says
What an interesting life your grandmother led! My mom grew up on a farm and her mother knew how to do everything. Sadly, because my mom was left-handed, her mother didn’t pass down all of her craft knowledge. Except for cooking. Both of my parents are great home cooks and I love it too! Baking bread is so satisfying.
Paula says
That is so sad. I’m left-handed and just learned to do things right-handed. I even took advantage of the neighbor to learn to knit. Right-handed, of course.
Rene says
Same. I’m a lefty that does a lot of things right handed. My mom taught me to crochet but she couldn’t figure out how to show my left handed so I crochet with my right. Along with many tasks it’s a righty’s world. Lol
Dee says
Everything I learned from my dad, I learned how to do left handed. Most people notice it when I cut meat.
Tabitha says
My mom is left handed… A lot of things I do as a righty, are actually the left handed way because that’s how I learned.
Kristin Cook says
These are great tips/reminders. We can so easily be wasteful, but we can overcome that if we make an effort!
Terryn Winfield says
We do almost all of these. We have gone through seasons of less, and have learned how to make do. I could get better with wasting food though, but we tend to give leftovers to the dogs so it’s not entirely wasted 🙂
Joy says
This is a great topic! We are aspiring minimalists, so I wholeheartedly agree with the majority of these. I used to be a chronic clothing shopper, but since I started working from home, new clothes have taken a serious backseat. I find this a little difficult when I need to take a long trip, and hardly have the clothes to cover the days we’re gone, but still 🙂 Wasting food bothers me SO much. I think part of my weight gain had to do with always finishing my plates instead of leaving some for leftovers – haha! Like those in the depression era, I relate to making do with what you have. We live in a society of excess. I know I have more than enough, but to others I may seem pretty frugal and own nothing more than the basics. To each their own, but I hope I can live a more minimalist lifestyle for the rest of my life! My money is much better suited for experiences 🙂
Heather Denniston says
Such a great message. I love this and there are so many changes I could make easily! Thanks for the reminder!
Elizabeth Storie says
Well said! I hate that we are such a “Throw Away” society. Spend more on good quality and take care of it. Make it last. It will save you $$ and keep crap out of landfills! I cannot love this post more.
Lisa Sharp says
It’s really sad. I really think before I throw things out. So glad you like this post. Hope you enjoy the others, be sure to check out Vintage Homemaking Skills because I think you will enjoy that post as well.
Tiffany L. says
Great post. My parents were always very frugal and taught me many good values in fixing what is broken, rather than replacing it. I laughed when I read the part about using clothes that can no longer be mended for rags– my mother always had a large pile of differently patterned rags from our old clothes.
Another great tip I would like to add to, from my grandmother, don’t throw out your old bread- if it doesn’t have mold it is perfect to be chopped up for homemade croutons and bread crumbs. The heels are great for bread crumbs! We have all wasted too many half eaten loaves of perfectly useful bread.
Tyler says
I never thought about half of these things. I hate how wasteful we are!
Pamela Wheelock says
Great post. I keep zip lock bags in the freezer. Any time I have edible vegie stems or garlic clove skins, onions skins, herb stems, chicken bones, etc. I add these to the bags. When a bag is full I make a pot of stock. I am always making soup. There is a lot of flavor in the parts of vegies we don’t always want to eat.
Madeline Butler says
I love your idea of putting ziplock bags in the freezer!! I’m going to start doing this!! Thanks so much for this tip!!
Dee says
I started gathering veggies in the freezer to do this just this year. I also take a small handful of fruit when we buy it and freeze (blueberries, strawberries, black berries, raspberries).
Penny Vant says
I made all the nursery bedding for my two granddaughters from pre-loved single and double bedding. This meant the fabric was soft as it had been washed so many times. The pram/crib sheets are now dollies bedding and the cot bedding has been passed on to other mummies to use. I got great pleasure from doing this and my daughter got even greater pleasure from using it all. I also hand sewed everything to save using a sewing machine and electricity. Pre-loved blankets were cut evenly into four pieces and blanket stitched around the edge with pink wool to make cosy individual blankets for the girls. They still use them now for cosying up with.
Lisa Sharp says
That’s wonderful! I’m sure that was really special for your daughter and granddaughters.
Kathy Davenport says
One of my grandmothers made very basic quilts and many clothes from chicken feed sacks which were made of cotton cloth up through the 50s. She’d go with Papa and pick out the sacks she wanted based on the design on each. This winter we’re using one of the quilts she gave my parents when they married in 1956. If she had food scraps (rarely with the big family), that went to the chickens. She made several pitchers of sweet tea every day with loose tea. Those used tea leaves went into her flower beds where she had some of the most beautiful flowers.
Lisa Sharp says
Thanks for sharing. These are great ideas!
Mona McCaslin Thomason says
Mom used to make our clothes and gave fabric scraps to our grandma. I used to love looking at the quilt squares and picking out the ones from some of my clothes! I also learned how not to be wasteful from my mom and my other gram! My family composts anything that doesn’t get eaten by family or animals! It sickens me to see the amount of food and recyclables thrown in the trash by schools and other businesses!
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com says
My great grandma, too, walked to Oklahoma behind a covered wagon! I think she and your great grandma would be proud of the way we have embraced some of their practices! Lovely post!
Lisa Sharp says
I’m sure you are right. <3
Lynne says
My mother would always tell me to buy the best you could afford,and take good care of it. That way it would last a long time.
Lisa Sharp says
Great advice!
Holly says
Very good advice – lovely post! Thrift shopping is a great way to reuse so many things – I can afford to buy things new but the guilt kills me so I thrift shop almost everything. My house is full of lovely things I have thrifted (and sometimes re-made). Also, people rarely think of sharing. For example, if one family member has a large ladder – it makes no sense for anyone else to buy one when you can all share. That’s the way we live anyway 🙂
Lisa Sharp says
I’m glad you enjoyed the post!
Cookie Driscoll says
And about sharing…my friends and I swap clothes routinely and we even share jewelry freely. It’s like having one huge walk in closet when we all share so freely. Plus, it’s fun!
Elida says
When it comes to food, I like to make a broth using the “leftovers” (all parts that have not been consumed) form a rotisserie chicken to make a broth. And when it comes to actual leftovers, especially when it’s a small amount, I make tacos. You can turn any type of food into a taco.
Lisa Sharp says
I love doing this, it’s such a great way to use everything.
Patricia says
In Australia during the depression many women made quilts out of any old clothes or even bits of hession bags. They called them waggas. Funny because now I live near Wagga Wagga in New South Wales.
Lisa Sharp says
Feedsack and flour sacks were used here. They even made flour sacks with cute prints for awhile.
Deborah says
My mother and mother-in-law both wore feed sack and flour sack clothes. I loved listening to their stories. My food storage, I got from my mother and grandmother. Shopping on sale was a biggie to us, still is to me. I try to not pay full price for anything, although there are a few times that I’ve had to. I’m also in the process of getting rid of things we don’t use.
Sharon H. in IL says
I’m thinking about food waste a lot. And my pinterest boards. The connection between the two is that I am probably wasting food by trying to cook too many exotic new dishes. Grandma didn’t cook everything. She made a lot of things, but she repeated a lot too. Her mother cooked an even more minimal menu.
If I were to pare down the variety of meals I were to cook to a set few each season, I bet I could eliminate a lot of waste. Hmm. Going to think more about this.
Patricia Sneath says
When I moved into this Seniors apartment I needed a new set of clothes. I had not been shopping for a few years as hubby was so sick I just did what was necessary in town. food and bills.
Then I came here and they had a free table. You put anything that is in good repair that you now longer want and someone else can take it. I don’t know who puts out all the sweaters, and blouses, but there seem to be so many all the time. Our manager will clean off the table after a week if things aren’t moving ant they go up the hill < next building. to the thrift shop {supports the food bank in town}. We all benefit and I haven't bought any new clothes in a year! If I really need something I check up at the thrift shop and can usually find something there. At my age I don't need much stuff, I have been deleting for the past few years.
The freezer is a God send for meals. Make once and package several meals for another day. And soups! I love soups, they are comforting, good and use what I already have on hand. Also I keep powdered milk on hand. It isn't as cost effective as it was in the 70's , but will tide me over and make it so I can go an extra week or so to the store.
Lovee says
We took out our wall heater 12 + years ago, no central heat & air, we use electric blankets in the winter & cold times, sweaters & jackets, warm seasons – ceiling fans, shorts, & tank tops. We use a slow cooker, & airfryer. Partially dry clothes on lowest heat & then hang dry. Full loads. No dishwasher. Pay bills a year in advance – PGE, SMUD, cable, & car insurance, and whatever we can pay off do. Live debt free. Stay away from credit cards! IF you need to use them pay them off in full before the next due date! Buy clearance when possible. Buy in bulk – things you use & need. BUDGET! I save all my receipts – I do the envelope system – then I put all the receipts together for the month – mark the month on the envelope & what’s being paid, end of the month – they go into a plastic baggie – it has 3-4 months & the year marked on that baggie. This has helped when people said do you have your receipt? Yes I DO!
Tabitha says
I am 34 and learning to cook from scratch and sew from scraps-and garden…and cloth diaper. LOL All the things. Things don’t always turn out great, but usually edible or usable. If I can’t reuse food scraps-or put them in the compost, we feed the dog with them which cuts back on what we spend on dog food. My mom taught me a few things, but she worked full time so a lot of our food were things like hamburger helper or other boxed or frozen foods. I’m learning a bit at a time. My husband and I both wish we got the “build it” gene from our grandparents, but we’ve tried so many times and those have all been complete failures.
Joseph says
Wonderful post. Thank you and God bless.
Jean says
I was born in the ‘40’s so my grandmother, who had begun making her living as a cook on a Montana ranch near Two Dot was the cook who taught me. Those cowboys never ate so good, and when she and her husband and daughter went back to Illinois, I bet they missed her!
She bought her flour in 25# bags, because she not only baked bread, but biscuits, bread, cake, pie, cookies, anything with four in it, she made from scratch. It really is not worth buying packaged mixes for anything. It really isn’t that hard to cook from scratch, it only takes practice. Recipes for “mixes” have been around for ever, so if that speeds your cooking in a busy world, make mixes, don’t buy them. I also buy 25# of oatmeal every fall, put it in two food grade buckets (I buy screw tops for all my buckets), and make granola from it all year. The flour fits in two and a half buckets, (my grandmother had a large tin can, and for some time I used a salvaged popcorn tin.) I live in an apartment with 800sq ft of space, two bedrooms, and no pantry, my buckets are my bug free pantry, for all my bulk items, and they stack nicely. I keep various grains, in their various packaging, in one bucket, various dried beans in another. Sprouting seeds (for Fresh winter greens in another. Various sugars use that salvaged popcorn tin, now. I have smaller pop top canisters for daily use, filling them from the buckets as needed. I always know when I need to order more, since the bucket level keeps track of my supply. I track how many of what I have in each bucket, and buy as needed, in the largest size I can. Yes, bulk buying is the way to go. If you are being frugal, make it yourself, and buy in bulk.
Deborah says
I mostly get my books on my IPad for free. We watch movies on Dish, and record them to watch again. We are trying to conserve everything. And reuse a lot of items. I have so many canning jars, that I don’t need to save others. I have all of mine, plus all that my MIL had. but really hate to throw jars away. I have 3 of the largest plastic coffee cans for food storage. We just got a dog food storage bin. We’ve been fighting moths, so I’ve been putting food stuffs in air tight containers. Some glass, some plastic, but all air tight. I cooked a small roast in the slow cooker all day. I made gravy with the drippings. First day we had open faced sandwiches. Next night we had it over potatoes. Tonight, I may fix a stew/soup wit veggies. Waste not, want not. That is how I feel. I’m a 50s baby.
Lisa Sharp says
Those are some great tips!
MaryBeth Myers says
I am so thankful the weather is supposed to be warming up without rain & snow in about a week so I can use my clothesline! One of my fondest memories is the scent of sheets fresh off the line on Saturdays as I was growing up!??
Sharon North says
In England, when I was young, my mum used to go to the local jumble sales, buy all the home knits, unpick, unravel, rewash the wool and knit all our cardigans and jumpers. I dont think we had charity shops in those days, clothes were just patched and mended, (beautifully, I might add, couldnt see darning when Mum did it!) and handed down from our more wealthy cousins! Mum cooked everything from scratch and Dad learned trades to save what little money they had. They passed on many skills to me, and although Im a lefty, as is my son, who is a chef (chopping onions, left handed at great speed……frightening!!), I managed quite well. I have a brand new grandaughter, and both Mummy and I will be handing on these skills, which include darning and changing a tyre!!! Love this post, brought back so many happy memories of baking with both Mum and Dad and under my car with Dad,
Nonarae says
I just wanted to comment that grinding your own flour actually is a good idea. Wheat berries store much much longer than flour does, and it’s a lot healthier since parts aren’t removed to help it be shelf stable, and then re-enriched. I’m sure it’s not something for everybody, but it is a great skill to have.
Lisa Sharp says
My mom has a wheat grinder and grinds some of her own wheat.
JONESCRUSHER says
Our last recession was partially caused by stupid consumer spending. People who barely made $90,000 a year bought $500,000 houses or $45,000 cars. then they got laid off. Banks were stupid too. They loaned people money without checking on their
actual assets. When the stuff hit the fan; they got stuck with lots of foreclosed homes.
Our grandparents sometimes owned cars for 20 years or more. People also lived in houses that their families bought 40 years before. If we do not learn to live like that again; we might get hit with another recession
Lisa Sharp says
There are many issues at play.
Karen says
Living this way has been a way of life for us when a lot of folks are living beyond their means. Our lifestyle serves us well now that we are retired. You never know how long your retirement income will need to last!