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[quote=Anonymous]Never eating at restaurants unless it was a special occasion. And often the special occasion restaurant meal was at the CC because they made you pay for a certain amount of food whether you ate it or not.

Thermostat at 66 or so during the winter. And we were to "put on a sweater" if cold. Which I always was. There was a fire going in winter in the den, so that room was warm at least. This was very much about controlling the electric bill.

My grandfather saved all jars and bottles and used them. A spaghetti sauce jar would be rinsed out and saved. This is more old-money-that-went-through-the-great-depression than just old money, I guess. My grandfather's family had plenty of money during the 30s, but the cultural ramifications of the depression -- including not wasting anything -- were strong. Also rubber bands, plastic bags, stuff like that. He did find uses for them.

No food was to go to waste. The tiniest bit of leftover cheese would be wrapped up for use later. They were very strict about "clean your plate." You should never take food onto your plate and then not eat it. That was not only a problematic waste of money, it was rude.

Clothing built to last was purchased, especially things like outerwear. My grandfather was from Maine, and he hunted, so lots of LLBean stuff.

The home they built after their kids were grown was relatively small. It was gorgeous; they worked with a well-known architect to build the perfect home that would blend into a beautiful landscape. It really was perfect. But it only had two bedrooms. Two bedrooms, two and half bathrooms, a small den, a large sunken living room, and dining room separated from a kitchen by sliding screens (design influenced by Japanese shoji) and a laundry room. Oh, and a small greenhouse -- they were big gardeners and had four large gardens, as well as fruit trees, berry patches, and even grapes. But by today's standards, the actual house was very small. They would not like the DMV McMansions at all.

Stuff like that. [/quote]

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