Back In The Day
Most older generations are quick to compare their time with the future and reminisce about how things were. Your grandparents are no different, as there are many habits they loved that no longer exist.
1. Family Meals
With everyone’s busy schedule, it’s a rare thing to have family dinners. Many grandparents remember Sunday traditions where the whole family would get together, something that doesn’t seem as common these days.
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2. Having To Cook
Nowadays cities are full of hundreds of restaurants inspired from all sorts of cuisine. But if your grandparents wanted a certain meal from abroad, they’d likely have to make it themselves as restaurant options were limited.
3. Landline Phones
Before cell phones became commonplace, each household would just have a landline installed. This made it hard to keep track of everyone’s whereabouts, but on the bright side, people weren’t always plugged in to the world around them, and it felt freeing.
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4. Sewing Kits
It was good housekeeping to keep a sewing kit in the cupboard just in case a button falls out or a pant stretches too far. But now, most people just buy new clothes to replace old ones, and only hobbyists have sewing kits.
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5. Cooking Together
It was also a common habit to cook together, and the entire family would come over to prep a big dinner.
The kids would hang around the kitchen while the adults pitched in, making cooking feel like family time.
6. Thank You Notes
It was common practice to send thank you notes to people after receiving a gift. Nowadays, it’s more common to just send the person a thankful text, but back in the day they would have adorable envelopes and would perfect their penmanship for the perfect note.
7. Using Watches
While lots of people still wear watches, these days it’s all about style, not function. Most people check the time on their phones instead, but your grandparents remember when people had to check their wrists to keep track of time.
8. DIY Repairs
Back in the day, it would be seen as a wasteful to replace something just because it broke. Instead, your grandparents would instead try to fix or repair the broken item. If they couldn’t take it to a repairman, they’d try to do it themselves.
9. Newspapers
It was common practice to read the newspaper in the morning to get caught up on local and world events. Now, some people use the news on TV, but most just get a stream of information from scrolling their phone, messing up the sources, and leading to misinformation.
10. Writing Cursive
Back in the day, schools would teach classes on cursive writing, as a formal handwriting style was considered an essential part of becoming a professional.
This isn’t a thing anymore, and most people just write however they can.
11. Leaving Notes
Since people didn’t have cellphones, it was common to just leave them notes. If you’re leaving for work and want to let your kids know dinner’s in the oven, you’d leave a note on the fridge.
12. Using Cash
One of the perks of using cash is that you can really feel and see your money, making you more aware of how much you’re spending. However, nowadays everyone uses cards and digital currency, but your grandparents fondly remember when cash was king.
13. Local Grocers
Depending on where your grandparents lived, they might not have had access to big box stores with rows of household items. Instead, they would go to smaller local-centric grocery stores, which was a great way to support their community.
14. Memorization
The ability to memorize things was important when your grandparents grew up. They wouldn’t have fancy cell phones that could save numbers, and would instead have to memorize numbers so they can plug them into landlines and phone booths.
15. Punctuality
Being punctual was another important aspect of life back in the day. It could be seen as disrespectful to be late unless you had a really good reason.
However, nowadays, most people get away with delays.
16. Using Planners
Nowadays our entire lives are planned out on our phones, but grandparents instead relied on keeping track of their plans by hand. They would use an agenda, planner, or even a calendar to keep track of events, appointments, and engagements.
17. Clothesline
Dryers weren’t always commonplace, and sometimes they were far too expensive too. It was common for older generations to hang their clothes to dry instead, which also saved them money on those pricey electric bills.
18. Visiting Neighbors
It’s commonplace for most people not to know their neighbors, but in your grandparents’ time, everyone knew everyone. It was typical to visit neighbors and develop strong relationships to foster that sense of community and comradery.
19. Down Time
Your grandparents weren’t in as much of a rush to do things all the time. In fact, they remember spending their evenings and mornings just sitting on the porch and enjoying their community. Not too many people sit on their porches for long hours these days.
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20. Family Recipes
It’s a heartfelt thing to receive a recipe from a loved one, but back in the day it was common for family members to write their recipes into a book and pass it along. This way they would really capture the traditions of their family.
But instead, these days, most people just look up digital recipes instead.
