I don't know if all grandmothers did this, but growing up in the 70/80's I spent a lot of time with my grandmother, and loved every minute. She was always saving containers and bottles and reused them.... for example the plastic butter container, plastic yogurt containers, milk containers you name it she saved it. If you went into her refrigerator, just because it was a sour cream container didn't necessarily mean there is sour cream in it... lol I thought it was hilarious as a kid...... now like 30 years later I find myself doing it. I'm not a hoarder or anything, but I catch myself buying a jar of nescafe, and thinking hmmm what can I use this jar for later? I am wondering how it happens? When do we become our parents and or grandparents?
We always are a litle bit our parents/grandparents, I think It's just we meet them, when they are adults already so we cannot check them against us when we are children or teenagers, even young adults. We start seeing similarities when we're older, maybe around the age that our parents were when we started memorizing them. But somehow I think it's nice, to feel that we're family, that we do the same things as people we love. Don't you think?
I haven't started becoming like any of my grandparents yet but now and then I do catch myself doing things that my father did. This is actually something quite natural. After all, where we did we learn our habits from if not from our parents and where did our parents learn their habits from if not from their parents, too. So it's something that's passed on from generation to generation. As to when we start doing that, in my case, it was after my father has passed away. Maybe I have been doing it while he was still alive but I noticed it more after he has passed away. Maybe it's because I missed my father and when I catch myself doing something that he did, I am reminded of him.
I know what you mean, my grandmother and aunt and other family members do the same thing! I started pretty early, I did it in college because I found myself unable to bother with purchasing dishes and Tupperware containers to carry my lunch in. Besides, it was a silly waste to not reuse half of the containers for things now. Especially the nice ones we get sometimes from Chinese take out here! My word, I couldn't believe it when I got actual plastic containers for some stuff. That way it also cut back on use of plastic bags for sandwiches. I consider it being more environmentally conscious. My mother still laughs at me because she will look in my cabinets for a cereal bowl and see a bunch of sour cream, cool whip, and butter containers instead. Most of my family grew up country and with a large extended family network nearby, so this is a lot of the reason they did it. She never understood what use I had for it. But I feel you, I almost do it without thinking now. My poor siblings and parents when they visit get dirty glares when I find them in the trashcan.
I have noticed that I seem to have acquired traits from my mother - mainly parenting things that I always swore as a kid that I wouldn't say to mine! lol I could do a lot worse than turn into my grandmother - she is 85 and probably the coolest person I know! )
Oh Livvi I heard that! I remember making that same vow as a kid that when I had kids I wouldn't do, and well we all know I did. SOmetimes when I cough, I actually hear my mother's cough coming out of my mouth! Its so weird..... PS. My grandmother was the coolest person I knew too.... I really miss her now.
Yes, kind of like famous last words. I still remember that I told myself I would never nag at my children like my mother did. It sounded so tiresome to hear the same story over and over again. Now that I have grown old, I know why. Sometimes the children just need to be told again and again. Mind you, that's not nagging. That's just reminding them for their own good.
I am constantly repeating myself - my children, especially my boys, have selective hearing! It frustrates the heck out of me! And Farrah, I can relate to the cough thing - I find I have picked up on many of my mother's mannerisms- I will do something and then I am like OH. MY. God. I am my mother! It's not good!
I grew up doing this, coming from a family that makes everything from scratch in the kitchen and crafts otherwise. I don't think I'll ever stop reusing those jars and containers for random things, although I'll admit that I have slacked off a bit because I already have so many now, hehe.
LOL, we do this too. I rarely throw any soda bottles, I always refill them with tap water and put them in the fridge. I don't really know about other containers, though.
Saving containers is smart! I save our butter bowls, water bottles, and all sorts of things like that. They come in handy.
