Somewhere in TimeApril 30th, 2007 @ 7:01 am
You know it’s been a slow weekend when the most exciting things you have to blog about are your (awesomely) new clothes rack and the fact that you were able to use a $5 off coupon for it.
Look, it’s a new stainless steel drying rack. Gone is our ghetto wood one that is held together with pieces of miss-matched yarn and staples.
But look, it’s so new and shiny and pretty and cost way more money than a drying rack should cost. I don’t care. I like to think of it as an investment in my future.
Okay, so I like to hang my clothes up to dry. Whether it’s true or not, I believe it makes my blacks stay blacker longer and my clothes not shrink too much. Again, it’s an investment in my future. The only items I actually put in the dryer are the basics you know, underwear and towels. And maybe a blanket or two. But that’s it. I hang dry everything, even Babboo’s pajamas and onesies.
On the days that I actually have time to do laundry my apartment is full of clothes drying. The doorways have pants hanging on them, the chairs have jackets lying over them, and then there is the actual drying rack. I am able to use every available (and not so available) space to hang out clothes on. Even Babboo’s little socks find a space in the spots that can’t be used for anything else.
My friend Ann hates this. She says that only poor people hang dry their clothes. You see, my friend Ann is one of twelve kids. They were poor growing up. I mean with twelve kids, you would have to be poor. Ann said she hated always having crunchy jeans because her Mom would hang them to dry in front of the fireplace. So now that Ann’s an adult, and isn’t poor, she insists on using her dryer for everything.
I understand Ann’s logic. When I was younger, we were pretty poor too. Sure, we didn’t have twelve kids. But both my parents went back to college (which cost money) and we raised most of my dad’s siblings (which costs even more money) (and which I should really blog about one day). There were certain things that we did because we were poor that I just can’t bring myself to do now that I’m an adult.
For instant, I never buy squiggly soup. I don’t care how cheap it is or how good it tastes. I will forever associate it with being poor. We used to eat this all the time. Of course we didn’t know it meant we were poor. We liked it. We never went hungry.
I also remember my mom buying the hot dogs from the gas station when they had them on special for 4 for $1.00. We thought that was a real treat. Guess what, I still like (all beef) hot dogs. Um yeah, but I don’t tend to buy them at a gas station. Ewwwww.
My Mom used to buy me shampoo and conditioner by the case. I would go through it like candy. Remember, this was back when I had my very long, very not-pretty hair (click to see picture). My parents couldn’t have afforded a more expensive brand. So I used Aquamarine and was happy as could be. (Dude, it worked just fine and was like .99 cents. You can’t beat that.)
But yeah, I wouldn’t buy Aquamarine these days. It would be like the penny that Christopher Reeve finds in the 1980 time travel romance film Somewhere in Time that catapults him back to the present day and forever parts him from his One True Love of (young) Jane Seymour.
What I’m saying is that it would be like high school all over again. And not in a good way.
So tell me, are there things that you won’t do because they remind you of when you were younger, or poorer, or immature, or just worse times?
———
CALL OUT TO EVERYONE IN THE SEATTLE AREA:
Okay, so my best friend May just called me. Her husband, who hates his job more than I hate squiggly soup, just put in his 2-week notice. Which means they are going to move to Reno if he can’t find another job before the end of the summer. (We’re going to pay him to do some work over at our new house.)
They will stay in Washington if he can find a new job. Pretty much ANY job that pays more then $12.00 an hour. Seriously, he isn’t asking much. He is very computer savvy, but is a clothing designer by trade. Don’t worry, he doesn’t plan to stay in the clothing designing business. So really, any job.
Please tell me you have a job for him so that May will stay in Seattle and continue being my best friend.
Please.
(does it help that he’s nice and good-looking? Oh, and he speaks Portuguese. But that doesn’t mean much.)
Random · Apartment living · Back in the day
heidikins
said,
April 30, 2007 at 5:07 pm
I can’t wear short pants. I can’t wear capri’s, or cropped pants, or anything in the “not to the floor” family of pants. I was always tall, always grew fast and we never had money. And I’m afraid I will forever associate short pants with shopping on the clearance rack of the outlet store where odd sizes and short inseams go to die; or be taken home by really tall girls who can’t afford the “fancy” jeans that actually fit them. In my world, “fancy” meant Lee.
Kami
said,
April 30, 2007 at 5:13 pm
I hang my bras and undies, and my fancy pants. But not everything. OMG. We have way too much laundry for that business.
We don’t do a lot of leftovers, because it reminds me of my mom’s creation - fallout. You don’t want to know.
Audrey
said,
April 30, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Tim is in charge of washing dishes, so he’ll do whatever it takes not to dirty an extra dish. More than once I have caught him peeling the label off a can of corn and placing the can directly on the stove burner so as not to dirty a pot. “We are civilized people!” I yelled at him. “You are not a bum! Nor are you camping! Use a damn pot!”
Since we got a dishwasher and washing the dishes requires little to no effort, I absolutely will not allow this type of uncivilized behavior.
Crow
said,
April 30, 2007 at 6:14 pm
all beautifully said. I love hang drying, too! Colorless kitchen sponges and old towels, blunt knives are reminiscent of worse times for me. So I try not to have them now. I am also very undecided, at the moment, if I should move into an apartment with a friend (who would become a flatmate, evidently). Growing up in a home that was always too small made me phobic about having to share a living space with anyone, at all.
Frema
said,
April 30, 2007 at 6:16 pm
Luke and I hang a lot of our clothes to dry, too, for the same reasons as you. To avoid crunchy jeans, I usually fluff them in the dryer for a few minutes before I put them on.
We were definitely not rolling in the money growing up in a house with five kids and a stay-at-home mom, so we used crappy shampoo, too, mostly V-05 and Suave. Now that I’m old enough (and employed enough) to buy professional products, I do. I’m not saying I wouldn’t switch if circumstances dictated it, but it would definitely be a last resort.
Lizzy
said,
April 30, 2007 at 6:26 pm
When we were kids, my mother used to make her own macaroni and cheese.
My brother and I used to BEG for Kraft. BEG! We even went so far as to go on a Mom’s Mac-n-Cheese Strike! No Mac-n-Cheese shall pass these lips! We were obstinate.
I used to have Kraft Mac-n-Cheese and red Kool Aid at my friend Chrissy’s house.
My mother never ever indulged us with the boxed goodness of powdered cheese. And not because she was being pure or wholesome. She couldn’t afford it. Most of our meals came from the Campbell’s soup can label–and still, some of my favorite comfort foods are the one-pot casseroles of my youth.
And Frema, we were a V-05 family, too. Sometimes we had the No More Tears when it was on sale.
(And in the great irony of the universe? I would kill for a batch of Mom’ Homemade Mac-n-Cheese!)
Heather
said,
April 30, 2007 at 6:48 pm
I won’t eat green beans. I can’t make myself do it. They taste awful to me and it is all because when I was growing up my mother had the biggest garden known to man. Seriously the size of a football field. And in this garden was always 5 or 6 rows of beans. Every morning we would get a grocery sack and were told to go out and pick enough to fill it. Or we would get a large green bowl and we were told to pick and snap enough to fill it. YUCK!!
Carrisa
said,
April 30, 2007 at 6:51 pm
I do not hang dry anything. Unless it were a really really nice sweater that was dry clean only… then I would wash it and hang it. Everything MUST go through the dryer. Clothes feel too stiff and not soft if they don’t go through the dryer. And I already use liquid fabric softener AND liquid detergent that has softener in it and they still must be dried. It is what it is.
I do NOT eat Hamburger Helper or Tuna Helper or any damn Helper or boxed casserole dinner. It’s nasty. I would much rather make my own lasagna than eat HH’s version. I don’t care how simple it is to make. It does NOT taste good.
But I will eat the Ramen. Not that shrimp flavor. I like the Beef ones.
And I do use salon products on my hair now, but only because my sister gets me such a huge discount. Otherwise I’d be using the Suave copycat versions.
Operation Pink Herring
said,
April 30, 2007 at 7:32 pm
My mom grew up really poor too (one of 7 kids) and they hung their clothes to dry to save money (on electricity? maybe they didn’t have a dryer. I’m not sure how that worked). She always talked about how her sheets were stiff and her jeans were crunchy and that just reminded her of being poor. I guess I picked up that association, because I put everything in the dryer, even if it’s only for a minute with delicates, to get that crunchy feeling out.
My thing is canned vegetables. So help me, I will never eat another veggie from a can in my life. Ugh. And I will never use Suave shampoo again. Just typing that makes my hair hurt. Those are the things that remind me of growing up with no money. I hope I can afford at least Pantene when I have kids!
SJ
said,
April 30, 2007 at 8:01 pm
You and I are totally alike with the clothes drying business. I dry pretty much everything we own on one of those neat drying racks (like you pictured) and only the things that can’t shrink or won’t fade go in the dryer. And I hang a bunch of things to dry too - all over my house! I thought I was the only one that did that….
As far as things that I won’t do because it reminds me of when I was younger, or poorer, or immature, or just worse times…I’d have to say I’m absolutely 100% against window air conditioner units. That was our only means of cool air when I was growing up in my house, and well, I hate them. I was always jealous of my friends who had newer houses with central air.
I can relate to Lizzy’s comments about homemade Mac-n-Cheese vs. Kraft in a box and I grew up using V-05 too. I personally prefer salon products now, but will use Suave or whatever else if the pocket can’t afford it!
I wish your friend luck on the job hunt! Wish I could help.
TV Goddess
said,
April 30, 2007 at 10:21 pm
OK, I have to laugh at the fact that you think a drying rack is an investment in your future.
Although, it is an investment in THE future because dryers are SO BAD for the environment. So … feel good about hanging to dry because you are doing something good for you and Babboo. And it doesn’t mean you’re poor. Sheesh!
Christar
said,
April 30, 2007 at 11:05 pm
My family grew up pretty poor too. My mom being a single mom with two kids, did the best she could, which was awesome for me! We went to the drive in all the time, because she only had to pay $5 for herself, and we got in for free, to see 2 movies. We constantly ate Top Ramen, and Speghetti or Speghetti O’s, and for breakfast, it was King Vitamin. Do you remember that cereal? I loved it! Until a few years ago when I found King Vitamin at the store, bought it and ate it… yea, it didn’t taste the same. Even though we kinda went without, we had an amazing childhood.
She had a great motto that I still live by today… you only have one life to live, and you should make the best of it. So she would save her money, and use it to take us to do something incredibly fun. Like the year she took us to Disneyland. It was incredible! She was repremanded on more than one occasion by our family because of it, but she didn’t care. She constantly went without, just so we could have more. She was and still is the best mom I could ever ask for. I am going to do something really great for her, like sending her on a cruise once I’m done with school to show her my appreciation and how much I love her!
Christar
said,
April 30, 2007 at 11:07 pm
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I totally hang dry all my clothes too! Shaun doesn’t get it, but us girls know… It keeps our clothes more vibrant and they hold up a lot longer! Not to mention they shrink if you dry them!
MK
said,
May 1, 2007 at 1:31 am
Amen to hanging all your clothes! I do it too! Mike is scared to help me with the laundry because he may put the wrong thing in the dryer!!
angela
said,
May 1, 2007 at 2:17 am
My parents always embarrassed me with the coupons. They had a little hand-held file folder thingy filled to the brim of organized coupons, and they took it everywhere they went. We used coupons for groceries and to go out to eat and for pretty much anything you can find a coupon for. That little file folder dictated where we’d have dinner and what we’d have and what types of things we’d buy at the store, and I hated it!
I’m definitely not a coupon clipper now that I’m on my own. I’m not completely opposed to using the occasional (really, REALLY good) coupon, but I certainly won’t go out looking for coupons and hoarding them away in a little pouch that never leaves my side.
metalia
said,
May 1, 2007 at 3:46 am
TUBE SOCKS. I can’t stand the sight of them, let alone wear them (not that i would anyway, because they’re all kinds of hideous, but whatever). They’re all I wore growing up, because my mom would buy huge packs of them for my brothers and I to share. I’m wearing them in practically every picture ever taken of me during childhood. I detest them.
ramblingmuse
said,
May 1, 2007 at 5:09 am
I don’t know if there’s anything I do or don’t do because of a modest childhood, but I can relate to having no dryer as a kid. We lived in AZ and in the summers our clothes would be “ready” in 15 minutes. In the winter we had to plan our wardrobe a couple of days in advance. LOL. I really don’t miss the “crunchy” clothes anymore. I’d agree that I think no dryer helps the clothes last longer, but somehow I think that’s just how us ‘no dryer people’ justify our quirky choice.
Erika
said,
May 1, 2007 at 11:06 am
It’s funny, they talked about this on the radio the other day and it seems like Janet mentioned it too. The girl on the radio said she had a friend who didn’t buy Kleenex in college because she was counting pennies (used TP for everything) and now can’t bring herself to buy Kleenex because it seems too extravagant!
Erika
said,
May 1, 2007 at 11:07 am
OH. And I hang up all my jeans and work clothes. I dry t-shirts and almost all of Jonathan and Evan’s stuff. But I totally get you. My mom says it’s the best thing to do, she was always just too lazy. I have a rack I can hang stuff on (with hangers) that folds up (unfolded it’s like a huge X). My blacks fade so quickly, we had a water analysis and they said we had “undissolved solids” in the water which acted like little metal shavings in the washing machine.
(
Kath
said,
May 1, 2007 at 12:56 pm
i, too, love to hang my clothes, especially in the summers. it smells so good, you can’t resist it ! but also, like most of your readers who hang up clothes to dry, i will pop them in the dryer for a few minutes to avoid the crunchiness.
i avoid canned veggies & potatoes. my father came from a family of 16, & he believed that every meal, including spaghetti, had to come with boiled potatoes. SUSTENANCE. there are NO potatoes in my house, ever. if i want some, i buy them INDIVIDUALLY. which freaks my dad when he comes visiting
Durga
said,
May 1, 2007 at 2:38 pm
I’m sorry that May’s husband is finding it hard to get a job. I really only know u guys in Seattle so I’m no help. Does he go to a church that has a job finding program? Can their church may be help them with food and bills while he’s look for a job? I’m sure u’ve suggested these already.
Desiree
said,
May 1, 2007 at 4:03 pm
I could help with the worse case scenario thing since I live in the dreaded hell hole that is Reno, but not with Seattle. More than $12.00 an hour? Can he do clerical? He could apply for jobs at any of the universities doing filing, or reception work. If he can speak portuguese he could check out the college foreign language departments and even if he were doing secretarial he could help out with tutoring. If he is compuer savvy there must be dozens of boring temp jobs out there that he can take until he finds something better, have him register with every templ agency there and be very strict with his no less that twelve bucks an hour rule. He will be okay.
Sadie
said,
May 1, 2007 at 4:19 pm
I also hang up a lot of my clothes to dry - expensive jeans and black clothes fade in the dryer, not to mention the shrinking! Plus underwire bras or delicate underwear are ruined in the dryer. BUT once my clothes are air-dry, I usually fluff most of them in the dryer with a Bounce sheet, just so they smell good and get less crunchy.
When I was little we were pretty poor too - I saw that bottle of Aquamarine shampoo and was like “Holy shit! We used that too!” or the Strawberry Suave.
As an adult I will still eat Ramen noodles occasionally, but I am with a Operation Pink Herring before me: I will NEVER eat canned vegetables again. Salty, nasty green beans, slimy mushy asparagus, chalky lima beans - no way.
Also, I always buy quilted toilet paper, because my entire childhood I suffered through the cheap Scott TP that was thin and scratchy.
Stephanie
said,
May 1, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Oh, the ways your parents scar you. I can’t wait until I can scar my own children.
I have to say I hate a lot of clothes on the clothes line outside bc my mother puts things out there all the time. Oh, it is 40 degrees outside today, perfect for drying sheets. I will hang things inside. (mainly pants because I don’t want to have to squeeze into them when they shrink)But my mother hung everything. Towels (ouch) Sheets, crispy jeans, stretched out shirts, stretched socks, everything.
For a long time I couldn’t eat pork or fish because my mom likes to over cook pork tenderloins and undercook fish. So nothing like rubbery pork and watery mush fish.
My mom also let us wear whatever we wanted for our year book pictures. Seriously. I was hideous. Greasy, a giant yellow sweater and hideous.
Art Nerd
said,
May 1, 2007 at 6:59 pm
My mom must have been really good at hiding the fact that we were poor. I do remember a lot of pasta in my youth, but I always thought it was because I was a picky eater. Took the leftovers for my lunch, too. And Scott TP because the other stuff, erm, irritated us. Come to think of it, I don’t know how true that even is! Hold on, I have a call to make…!
CPA Mom & Soccer Mom Angela
said,
May 2, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Well, I refuse to use Scott toliet paper tissue or Scott facial tissues. That’s all we had. It had better be cotton soft to go on my bottom these days.
Britt
said,
May 2, 2007 at 5:15 pm
I’m sure there’s something I refuse to eat/use/look at as a result of my upbringing… I just can’t think of it right now.
My fam was poor, too. Single mother with four jobs…. that whole story. And my dad had seven kids in the house, and he was dirt poor, too. But I learned a lot growing up that way, and I appreciate everything I have now because I’m much better off than my parents ever have been, but I wouldn’t be if they hadn’t taught me to save my money and go without a lot of useless things (I’m still pretty weak though).
alana
said,
May 2, 2007 at 11:00 pm
I hang-dry most of my stuff as well, but I think that’s more because I’m afraid of ruining them in the dryer (can you tell I’ve done that a number of times already?). The thing is, my roommate is also a hang-dry kinda gal, so we always end up fighting for free hanging space (the shower rod is a particular favourite - one time we loaded it up so much it actually fell. That was not fun, let me tell you).
hola, isabel » Blog Archive » Why didn’t I teach you this before?
said,
June 5, 2007 at 3:44 pm
[…] It took my mom about 30 minutes to impart of all her laundry wisdom on me. She told me her secret of using liquid detergent for all her bright color, cold water washes. She explained why she hung dry most of the clothes and went on to tell me if you get your clothes out of the dryer as soon as they were done, you never have to iron them. […]