Yesterday was Earth Day. And it made me think about my Mom, who was green before being green was cool.
Of course, the main reason is that she was a young adult during the Great Depression. In fact, she and my dad were married in December of 1929. Before that, Mom grew up in a nearly self-sufficient farming family. They raised almost everything they needed to survive.
Have you ever heard the expression: “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”? Mom lived by that motto for her entire life.
She rinsed out bread wrappers to reuse them – in the days before zip-lock bags. Nothing was discarded that could possibly be repurposed.
I remember Mom making almost all of her clothes, as well as mine, on this old Singer, which I’m proud to have. It’s in our bedroom, and I keep it closed with old family photos displayed on top.
As I was writing this post, I remembered finding information online about determining the date of an old Singer treadle machine. Although I had researched it before, I couldn’t remember the date on this one, so I opened it in order to see the face plate. It was manufactured in 1916. (My Mom would have been six.)
When I was very young, I would sit on the folded-out top and watch Mama as she sewed.
When panty hose came along, and a pair became unusable because of snags or runs, Mom would cut the elastic off the top. She would use that in the pajamas she made.
No button was ever discarded with an item of worn out clothing. The buttons were saved in her sewing machine drawer, along with snaps, zippers, and any other notion that could possibly be reused.
For my mom’s generation, and those before her, every day was Earth Day.
Mom, wearing slacks, blouse and jacket that I'm sure she made
these days of mine 
The Singer is a beauty, but your mom is even more beautiful.
Lovely picture of your Mom…..and it’s true that in those times people were ever so much more “tuned in” to what we now call being green…..saving everything useful, making things “from scratch” – the times have changed but the beat goes on. That Singer is a “beaut” !
Pam (and Sam)
Love this!
My gran had a sewing machine just like that one. It’s a beauty – so nice for you still to have it. I don’t know what happened to my gran’s machine.
We should really go back to the days of re-using things – today it’s a case of buy buy buy.
Lovely picture of your mum :)).
My mom still does that, Dianna, in her sewing group! Her ladies have a joke that they don’t dare get caught throwing anything away…mostly because she makes things for charity and it saves money! She cuts off buttons, saves zippers, snaps, elastic, knit cuffs, you name it! They even made over 30,000 (yes I said 30,000) diapers out of recycled t-shirts and sent to Guyana over the last 2 years! Lovely post about your mom…the Great Depression shaped so many of our ancestors, didn’t it?
I love the picture of your lovely mother. Imagine sewing slacks and jacket!
We took my MIL’s machine in to be serviced at the Bernina center. They offered to buy it from us, but I told them it wasn’t for sale. It’s a champ for just plain sewing.
Love the sewing machine and the wonderful story. Your mom was just like mine and a jewel.
And when I was growing up (and long before you were born) we always had a large garden and raised chickens….she canned vegetables and chicken. Home canning is becoming a lost art since freezers are so easily available. You’re so right…long before green was popular, she practiced it every day!
Brings back many happy memories. Still have my grandma’s sewing machine. Not attached to the machine, but still a part of history. Wonder what happened to Mom’s machine?
your mom was very much like mine. she rinsed out the bread bags and reused them until the colored printing wore off of them. we saved every button, reusable zipper, snap, etc. we also had an old singer like that. 🙂
How lovely. Your mother was a treasure! I know how much that Singer means to you too. It’s so easy to forget what life was like when everything wasn’t so “disposable.” I love the attitude of these women who truly understood the value of things. I’m enjoying learning about your sweet Mom.
Oh what wonderful memories of your mother and her work. We lived much the same way, throwing nothing out. I love the old machine; I have one made in 1927 which came from the college Home Ec. department. It’s had a little motor put on the back to make it electric. I’d like to have it replaced with a belt to restore it to the original treadle it was intended to be.
I laugh at the young generation that try to tell us how to be green while they drink out of their plastic water bottle. We did the same things in our family coming from a long line of German farmers. I still have a hard time throwing things away. I remember going to the shoe repair store to get new heels or soles on our shoes and begging the owner for an old rubber heal to play hopscotch. We reused everything! I love that you got to keep the old sewing machine. What a treasure! I don’t know what happened to
my Mom Moms but I do remember sewing on it before we got an electric one.
um, how do you know my mom?? i could have written this myself. mine won’t even through out the cotton from the pill bottle, to this day, she still saves them, she always says they are the best cotton balls. i buy mine for $ 1.00 per bag!!
What sweet memories of your Mom and the more simple times of life. I loved reading and remembering those days.
What a gem (and I don’t mean the pretty sewing machine)!
Excellent post! I do remember some of these, but one JUST came back to mind… after who knows how long??!!: I can remember – on more than one occasion – being at her house, and getting a cookie out of a reused bread bag!!!! Funny how the memory works !!
When did we become a disposable society anyway? My grandmothers found new uses for everything and wasted little. Thanks for reminding us that we have invented nothing where ‘green’ and ‘recycle’ are concerned.
loved your story and photo. my mom would take my sister and i on walks, and we’d carry a plastic sack to pick up trash along the way. always appreciated that about her 🙂 . on another note, CeeCee Honeycutt is yours! http://thesimplecountrylife.com/2012/04/23/saving-ceecee-honeycutt-book-winner/
I love this post. It’s so reminiscent to my Mom and my youth. My Mom, like yours went through the great depression. Their generation knew how to strectch a penny til it screamed and use everything until it’s uses was gone. It’s so great that you have your Mom’s sewing machine. It’s a treasure for the decades of love your Mom sewed on it. My Mom went through several sewing machines. Mine and your Moms were two prescious ladies. (((hugs)))
This was also my mom’s story. Those old Singers are in a class by themselves, love the treadle. My uncle made Mom’s into an electric machine and got rid of the treadle. Love the photo of your mom.
I love this post, Dianna! It could be my mother’s story, too. She made a lot of my clothes and hers, too. I have the base of my grandmother’s treadle sewing machine and put a top on it and use it as a small accent table.
I know nothing about sewing but that is beautiful and I love the idea of you sitting on the top talking to your Mom. Lovely memory and your Mom is lovely too, I am beyond impressed at the fact she made that outfit. I can barely thread a needle. My Mom sewed quite a bit but no sewing machine, just mending and hemming and I have her old sewing box and cherish it.
My Mom has my Great Grandmother’s old Singer…I’ve many a quilt that were pieced by it! My Grandmother saved everything as well, knowing that it would come in handy for something. Must be something I inherited, because I cannot bring myself to throw out any type of jar or plastic container….drives my husband crazy! 🙂
I love this post. Mom has a similar model Singer with a foot pedal just like yours – sitting in the “girls” bedroom in her home. The drawers are still filled with button and bits of thread; your post took me right back to that sunlight strewn room.
Beautiful … as was your pretty Momma.
MJ
Great post! My mom grew up during the Great Depression, so all the things you mentioned were normal occurences in my house when I was growing up. Washing and reusing plastic bags, yep. Saving buttons, snaps, even elastic and zippers to reuse. Definitely. My mom also took old clothing, cut it up and made quilts out of it. Our parents definitely knew how to be ‘green’ long before it became the thing to do. And they also knew how to stretch a dollar and use it wisely. Still think we need to go back to the good ol’ days on some things!
Sounds a lot like my grandmothers. They were both women of the depression era, and they lived just as you describe. They were thrifty! I wish I was more like that. In some ways I am, but I am not nearly as thoughtful about ways to repurpose as they were. Thanks for sharing! Love the antique sewing machine! ~ Sheila
What a lovely woman. The world needs more like her! She truly lived life to the fullest in all ways I’m sure.