When I was a young fella down on Misery Farm, we never had rubbish bins or recycle bins. We didn't need them. We recycled everything! All the food scraps went to the chickens and ducks. Nothing came in plastic. All glass bottles got made into jars and reused. Our flour came in cloth bags that we used to make waggas for our beds, or horse blankets, or even blinds. Most of our other groceries were wrapped in paper. We'd cut that up to make toilet paper, trapping papers, or fire starters. Empty tins were made into buckets or billys. Even small jam tins would do for the little kids to cart water in. All our clothes got handed down to the next kid. When they tore or got holes in them, they were mended and patched up. Sometimes a shirt would have so many patches on it you couldn't even tell what colour it used to be. Nothing got wasted. If the handle broke off a teacup you used it any way. At one time on Misery the only two teacups that had handles were Mum and Dad's. The others were all poley cups. That's a cup with the handle broken off. All our plates had chips, and cracks and lumps out of them. Us kids weren't real careful when we did the washing up. Mum only had a little bit of good china that she got out if we had visitors. Her good stuff wasn't real flash but at least the cups had handles and the plates weren't cracked. Now, everything is disposable, and the world's filling up with garbage, but when I was a kid we didn't even need a rubbish bin...and they call it progress.
4 Comments
Michael Roberts
10/24/2013 05:33:06 pm
Hey Jack, I remember what Harley use to say about the old days and the things that never missed a new life.
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Jack Turner
11/3/2013 05:24:52 pm
Good on ya, mate. I hope we cross tracks again.
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Jocelyn
10/25/2013 09:49:09 am
My Granny used to recycle holey sheets by cutting them down the middle and then sewing the turning the outside in to the middle and sewing them up again. Old dresses were cut up and made into teatowels or clothes for children. Buttons and clips were also kept and reused. Her old treadle sewing machine was always in use. She taught me to sew on that one. I'm still a hoarder - unfortunately - my house is full of clutter that I'm sure I'll need one day.
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George Rumney
11/9/2013 12:51:26 am
It just goes to show how things have changed from a re-use and save society to a wasteful and throw away society.
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