Silly things your mother did (lighthearted)

Insisting we go inside and sit at the dining table to eat 'properly' when we had a BBQ.

Telling us that we'd get peritonitis if we ate ice lollies too quickly.

I actually do use old clothes cut up for dusters including pants 😂

My DM was a great fan of what she called "sponging off". If a mark could be removed from clothing using the damp dishcloth it would be, to save washing. We regularly used to line up before exiting the house to see if anything needed sponging.

Spit on a tea towel to wipe something off my face, despite being next to a tap!! Was the 70s though 🤣

I think this thread should go in Classics.
It's the first thread I have laughed out loud many times when reading.

My Mum would mix the contents of the ends of the cereal boxes - Weetabix with Sultana Bran or Rice Krispies. It didn't matter what type- I hated that.
She used Dad's old white vests as dusters.
She " turned " sheets - no idea either.
My aunt would send her ghastly fancy patterned sheets and pillowcases, always poly cotton, from the US. It didn't matter that nothing matched. She'd send her towels too and these would be saved for when visitors were coming.
She cut crosses into Brussels sprouts too
She saved the butter foil for greasing.
She saved brown paper and the "satin" ribbon from any bouquets of flowers she'd got.
Gifts were unwrapped carefully to save the wrapping paper.
She had lived through tough times hence the frugality but would give you the shirt off her back.
Thankfully she's less frugal now.
But the mismatched bed linen is still going strong.

Iron towels and socks...she still does!

Used to smack me with the wooden spoon (she’s half Irish) - I’d forgotten until I watched Derry Girls yesterday (& it had me laughing)! I love my DM very much and accept that disciplining was very different in the 80s.

Great Aunt who would put a hat on before she opened the front door. If it was someone she wanted to see, she'd just got in and not had time to take her hat off yet. If it was someone she didn't want to see, she was just on her way out!
DM used to buy Vesta packet curries and make them 'more exciting' by adding sultanas and coconut.

@Kilcaple
Was your Mum/ Grandmother from Ireland ?

Sorry if this gas already been examined at length 😂😂

Laundry.

I wash things, hang them to dry, then, when they're just damp, iron them, using the dampness to make steam; they then go in the airing cupboard for a day or so to dry properly. Then into the wardrobe/ drawer.

Pants/socks get line dried, then, if completely dry, they go into drawers (unironed!! 😳), if damp, into the airing cupboard.

I am not a fan of the tumble-dryer; expensive, ecologically unsound, and they ruin clothes; but I recognise I am fortunate to have a garden for a hoist, and a spare bedroom for a drying rack.

I'm old, but even then, I don't do what my mother did, where Wash Day was a thing, complete with an open top washer with a rotating paddle, wrung into a sink of cold water, and repeat; separate spin drier (the luxury!) then hoist/clothes line. Ironed damp, with spray starch.

Also in 2002 my food nutrition (because you know you don't call it cooking 🤨) teacher taught us that throwing a piece of pasta a a tile would confirm its readiness. Mum laughed when I did it at home...

I also remember my mum sending me out to buy her cigarettes "20 Silk Cut" the red ones i was in primary school at the time. I also remember myself and my brother got some "cigarette bangers" from the joke shop stuck them in her cigarettes and when she lit one up it exploded burnt a hole in her dress we thought it was so funny but Mum went mad

'Ne're cast a clout till may is out' actually refers to the hawthorn blossom rather thant the month, though its often around May!

I am only in my 50's but feeling quite ancient after reading this thread. I like to iron my tea towels (good for hygiene) and I use a tea pot - just tastes better!

I am also a lover of an airing cupboard - though I have a perfectly good tumble dryer and central heating. Our house is ancient and very damp and clothes need to be really dry before they are put away. They are just so warm and fresh in the airing cupboard.
Ours is in the kitchen - also excellent for proving dough!

I also keep boxes from Amazon deliveries, packing materials and padded envelopes etc. My DD laughs at me but when she wants something posted that she has sold online - its all there ready to go and doesn't cut into her profits.

A lot of these things that make us smile come from having little. We all have a duty these days to be thrifty for the sake of the planet; I think unnecessary waste is immoral. I draw the line at using pants for dusters though.

Um.... that's wrong?....

😂😂😂😂

Also whenever my mum gave me weetabix she would add a dash of hot water then milk and sugar. my mother in law adds butter and sugar

Peeling sprouts, then with knife putting a cross on bottom of the sprout 🤔 I started to do this and realised that they cook perfectly well without having to do this 😆

Mine used to go mad if I ate 'raw' jelly cubes as they would 'stick up my insides'! My treat was cocoa powder mixed with sugar in an egg cup - it tasted nice but used to make me sneeze!

Repeated our phone number in Received Pronunciation whenever she answered the phone.

Another! DM mixed cocopops and rice crispies whenever she bought them.
And for my 14th birthday, I wanted to go to the cinema with friends. She sent me with sandwiches.

I'm loving this thread. Yes to the no eating in the street= common. Add to that no shouting or raising of voices in the street = common; no smoking in the street (esp bus stops for some reason) = common; going into a pub on your own = common (you should always meet mate or date outside first); wearing white shoes of any kind particularly stilettos= common; bra straps showing = common; anything too tight= common even when I was a size 8, she was very into the French idea of covering a little= keeps them guessing!

However, she was really forward thinking when it came to men: she encouraged us 3 girls to 'try before you buy' at every opportunity and swore that we would have every opportunity of our time despite being married at 17, 2 kids by 19 herself.

Ironed wrapping paper to use again: "my mother did this in the war, you know"

My DM also has a lovely habit of answering a question not asked.

Me:Will you be coming round for dinner?
DM:I know you will be going for a walk soon, I don't want to do a walk today.
Me: That's nice, would you like to come round for dinner?
DM: it's just I've had a long day and it's very cold out. I just don't want to walk today.
Me: Ok so dinner?
DM: I had a business call over my lunch break and didn't eat much.
Me: *!?!$!@#:# DINNER???
DM: yes please it will be great to see you. You know I won't eat meat though.
Me: Yes I am aware you have been a vegetarian for my entire life. See you later.

@moanieleminx the wedding was a mild comedy of errors.

On getting to the reception I went to mingle, was having a nice chat when I was given a shot of whiskey to calm my nerves. I was explaining that the dress issue was over now and I was just going to enjoy myself. And the whiskey giver said "no, because of DHs Grandma and the paramedics"... I had no idea that in the lobby DHs Grandma had ignored the mobility lift and tried to make the stairs on her own so she wouldn't be a bother, she fell, hit her face on a stone floor, lost consciousness and a lot of blood and DH was busy yelling at his family because no ambulance had yet been called. Turns out they didn't actually know where they were. Obviously DGM was taken care of, the photographer (our second hired because the first had ended a long term relationship 3 days before and couldn't do a wedding in her state) kept bugging us for photos, we didnt budge so he took a LOT of pictures of food and wine glasses- it's not like there were 120 family members and close friends there he could have amused himself with.

DGM was given a clean bill of health and told not to drink or dance, she was extremely annoyed. A few family pics were taken - none with DGM as she was too embarrassed about the plaster on her face.

Fast forward a few lovely hours, my DB comes over and says he has to go home - he lived very close- I presumed his new shoes were causing him pain...nope he had been burgled and he and his housemates had to make a statement to the police about any missing items. At this my DS fainted...turns out she had left precious, expensive and very sentimental earrings at DBs. Just out on the side. Thankfully these werent taken but the fainting and crying bit was fun nonetheless.

My DM to bring it back around did her usual running commentary from the sidelines (not one to have too much fun) about how drunk my DF and friends were, how the dancefloor was "rowdy" and how all the miniature fairy lights we had put into jars to look pretty were being used as skipping ropes, a limbo pole and crowns. The dancefloor was a sea of twinkly lights...it was AMAZING but my DM could only tut.

To finish the night me and newly DH got into separate cabs with some of our friends to carry on the party at ours....he got vommed on by a young cousin that had gone too far, had a row with the taxi driver who was obviously upset, and had to walk over a mile to get home...where I was dancing around. He was not pleased.

But it was one good story!