GRANNY WAS GREEN LONG BEFORE IT WAS A CATCHPHRASE

“Everything old is new again” has never been more apropos than it currently is amid the environmental crisis that we are grappling with, but with that statement, I must offer a reality check of sorts. You know all of the handy-dandy, environmentally-friendly domestic tips swirling around the universe and plastered on green-websites-du-jour -- the ones that tell us how to reduce our carbon footprint(s) and live more responsibly?? They were not (I repeat, NOT!) born out of Martha Stewart’s maniacal yet undefeated mastery of all things hearth and home. Perhaps in recent years, her team of supreme worker bees did in fact spin a few of their own distinctive, absolutely original ideas for repurposing common items otherwise destined for the trash can, but you wanna know who really deserves the credit for eco-innovation? Grandma.

Many (if not all) of the current crop of eco-tips we regurgitate, share and practice on a daily basis were originally brainstormed by the rosy-cheeked, white-haired grannies in our lives. Come on -- stowing leftovers in empty plastic cottage cheese and ‘oleo spread’ containers?? There’s nothing NEW about it -- chalk it all up to Grandma. Ditto for soap slivers tucked into the foot of a stocking, or reserving the nutrient-rich water from boiled veggies to use in homemade soups rather than thoughtlessly pouring it down the drain.

Who among us hasn’t witnessed at least one sage granny saving every single metal coffee can and glass jar that she could get her mitts on in order to potentially use down the road? Do you remember peeking into one of those containers (anticipating some sort of sweet, granny-inspired treat), only to discover a stockpile of solidified bacon fat which typically made us recoil in horror? Of course (unbeknownst to us), when she fried our eggs in it, we were in blissful, artery-clogging heaven.

Our environmental trailblazers of yester-year may have been motivated to conceive multiple applications for basic household items based on their modest financial resources and desire to stretch their budget(s), but the examples they set are still timely and worth emulating. Consider the humble foot covering known as a “sock” and its propensity to fall prey to holes. In today’s wasteful culture, many of us have been guilty of pitching countless air-conditioned socks, but grandma taught us that it’s nothing that a needle and thread can’t fix.

For those of us who cop the “I can’t sew” plea, grandma also demonstrated that by slipping a hole-riddled sock onto one’s hand, messy cleaning jobs could be tackled with less of a ‘yuck factor’ and shoe polish could be applied and buffed into leather with great ease. Many torn jeans were patched with sock remnants, and the culturally iconic sock monkey was born out of the perennially question, “How can I make the most of this perfectly good resource that just so happens to have a small imperfection in it?”

Some tips bestowed upon us in our formative years were (and still are) slightly unconventional. I recall one of my grandmothers saving beet juice (oh, how she loved canned beets) and using the crimson liquid to stain her cheeks and lips in lieu of purchasing commercially-produced cosmetics – not terribly kooky, but that was one of her more conservative habits. She was quite a big fan of creating ‘everything-and-the-kitchen-sink’ sandwiches, a lip-smacking, gastrointestinal explosion of bizarre leftovers that she would squash between two slices of margarine-slathered bread -- think cold baked beans, leftover mashed potatoes and a dollop of cottage cheese.

This same doyenne of domesticity would harvest alarmingly large wads of her shoulder-length hair following her nightly brushing ritual and deposit whatever she collected into an empty coffee can (surprise, surprise!). When the can reached full capacity, she would happily scatter her tangled strands in the flower beds outside of her home and tell me that birds could now enjoy a toasty winter once they lined their nests with her donations. For evidence that the “old-is-new” philosophy has traveled full circle to once again become the next best thing since sliced bread, consider the latest spokesperson that Oxfam International has chosen to represent their UK site. Inspired, indeed! ________________________________________________________

Greenwalas, can you recall what eco-inspired tips your granny bestowed on you? Please share your recollections of what granny used to do as well as your accounts of what you still do today (thanks to the example she set) in the comments section below -- thank you!

http://agricultureguide.org/granny-was-green-long-before-it-was-a-catchphrase/