To ask you for the things your parents taught you/ did that you just do without thinking??

[Christmastits]

So tonight is like a zoo on the ward im in, people in and out all night. I'm trying to sleep but I can't. My mum came up today to visit me and we were talking about her new dishwasher and I was thinking about that and how when I was a kid the finish powerball things came out and when I 7 I got to put the tablet in the dishwasher

I remember my dad making this massive deal about how you shouldn't touch the tablet- especially the red ball and really drilled it home. So I used to open the tablet and then squeeze it into the tray in the packet never touching the tablet. I still do that today! It was probably because my dad thought I might eat it but I still do the weird dishwasher stuff.

I once heard of a woman who chopped her bacon in half- binned one half and cooked the rest. Her DH asked why bacon was so small and she said that her mum taught her to do it that way, so they asked the Mum and she said that her Mum had taught her that way- they asked the Granny why she chopped the bacon in half and she said that her pan was too small to cook a whole piece of bacon!! 😂 hilarious!

Also my mum took meat out of the freezer and put it on the microwave (because it's out of the way) so I did the same but DH will pick it up and put it on the cooker as that's what his mum does as her microwave is integrated... really annoys me! Although I've started putting it in the fridge because good hygiene..

So please help me get through tonight with your funny things your parents did that you just copied until you thought about it!

[Mistoffelees]

Me, my mum, and my gran all cut the first inch or two off the end of a cucumber because my great nan used to, I think she said it was 'sour' until you got to the bit with the seeds.

[CupcakeWithIcing]

When I clean a room I will have the windows wide open to 'air' the room out, it just seems to freshen the room up more than just cleaning if that makes sense

Chicken soup and un-buttered bread if the kids are poorly alongside a bottle of flat lucozade. They're up and about within half an hour. (Sugar perks them up and bread keeps the nutrients/calories from the soup down)

Also 'sweating out' the flu/viruses. I send the kids to bed in winter pyjamas and extra blankets with the windows shut after a hot bath and they really do overcome illness quickly (compared to their classmates anyway).

I shake the milk. But we get it delivered (full fat) from the Milkman and it does separate to cream on top so that is actually needed.

Also looking 'presentable' at all times. Me, the house, the kids, everything has to be perfectly preened and cleaned to perfection. Not a hair out of place! Stems from my grandparents, they lived on a 'posh' street (both grew up on council estates in childhood) and in order to stop the neighbours looking down on them my nan wouldn't let the kids out unless they were cleaned, brushed and matching perfectly. It's bloody hard to keep up but I do cringe when the kids or myself are having a lazy day and all look terrible

Also I shop in categories. Fruit&veg, eggs&dairy, meat&fish, bread&pasta and then tinned goods. It's all bought, arranged, packed and put away in that order too!!

[ballroompink]

I leave a little bit of tea or coffee in the bottom of the mug even though I drink green or herbal tea in bags so it is quite clearly pointless But my Gran always left a bit.

Writing a shopping list in the order of the aisles in the supermarket is just sensible.

[Birdshitbridgegotme]

I also peel and de-stalk mushrooms as thats what my mum does!

[MarieVanGoethem]

• I air my bed before I make it
• Like a PP, I cut up pizza with scissors
• I recycle as much as possible (much easier for me than it was for my parents when I was wee - kerbside collections for pretty much everything are vastly simpler than having to sort things [including checking cans with my trusty Puffin book club "If It Sticks, Recycle It!" magnet] & then haul them round to the nearest recycling bank [I do miss the satisfying CRASH! of depositing things into the bottle bank a wee bit; & of course now I'd not have to take turns with my siblings to put things in...])
• I do something positive for Lent rather than give something up
• I use the loo (or at least Go And Try) before leaving the house; and make my Brownies (I don't have any DC) use the loo (Or At Least Try) before we set off on trips/at any Last Chance For A While toilets. I also tell them it's what the Queen does, as that's what we were told & it seems to follow automatically from the exhortation to Go And Try...
• I wear a vest/thermals in cold weather
• I mend my clothes where possible
• I pair socks by folding the top of the right sock over the left sock down to the ankle (trainer liners to the line at the toe & knee socks approx 2" down)
• I check plastic bags for loose fruit/veg in supermarkets have a bottom (a tradition that began after the shopping trip with my mother where a bag I was holding for her turned out not to & a grapefruit went straight through & rolled merrily away)
• If buying baby clothes to give to someone who's just had a baby, I don't buy newborn ones, but ones for the baby to grow into
• Most of the reason I naturally sleep on my side is from years of being put to bed that way to help when I was coughing - I had to learn to sleep on my back (basically sitting up, more to the point...) when I had an NJ tube & it felt So Wrong
• I cook pasta so it's al dente
• I wash potatoes before stabbing them with a fork & putting them in the oven to bake - they are not soil-covered, but tbf I don't know who might have had their grubby paws all over them in the shop
• Until I lost my voice totally & had to have speech therapy (which lets me speak, but my almost-three-octaves vocal range is a thing of the past...) I used to sing while doing housework

[FingersCrossedHard]

Also 'sweating out' the flu/viruses. I send the kids to bed in winter pyjamas and extra blankets with the windows shut after a hot bath and they really do overcome illness quickly



I find this so weird and do the exact opposite.

I air the dc out when ill. Wrapped up on the sofa but with plenty of air ventilation and windows open. As long as they're not really ill, I also get them outside and for fresh air walks ASAP.

[ohlalalala]

I use a specific pot just for boiling eggs... because my mum and dad do!
My dad told me it was something to do with bacteria that the eggs leave behind.
I would never dream of boiling eggs in one of our non egg boiling pots!
Dh warmed up beans in our egg pot once and I made him throw them out 🤦‍♀️

[Linnet]

ohlalalala my mum had a pan used just for boiling eggs. I thought it was just her 🙂

[TooManyPaws]

Dad used to give me a spoonful of brandy for bad wind - usually from stealing raw peas - because that's what his grandmother did. Mum used to put warm olive oil in my ear when I had an earache.

I still do both.

[DreamyMcDreamy]

peeling mushrooms is completely normal!

Nooo, it really isn't! How do you even peel them anyway?! There's nothing to peel,you'd be taking half of it away!
I rinse them under a little water to take off any loose dirt.
What you're supposed to do though is not wash them at all,just brush or wipe them.
Washing them apparently floods the gills and can waterlog them so I only very slightly show it to water to get surface dirt off.

[EmpireVille]

I peel mushrooms. Entirely normal to me. Very easy to do - there's a clear and obvious skin to remove. Plenty of mushroom left, it's a fine layer.

Try it.

[DreamyMcDreamy]

Try it.

Nooo,'cos it's all edible and it's needlessly throwing away food!
I had mushrooms earlier today and thought of this thread. Looked at the mushroom like WTF are they peeling away?! lol
It's like saying you can't eat potato skins and have to throw them away (but even more as mushrooms don't have to be peeled at all )

[UterusUterusGhali]

I realised a few years ago you don't need to even chop mushrooms!
I just crumble them straight into the dish.
Life-changing.

(Agree though that they used to be wormy in the past. They're not these days.)

[Windowgazer123]

@bluebells1 He IRONS a newspaper before reading it?!!?
WHAT?!? That is very funny/weird!

[EmpireVille]

Looked at the mushroom like WTF are they peeling away?!

Have another look. It's quite clear which part is peeled. You can do it with your fingers, don't even need a knife really.

I'm talking cup mushrooms not button obviously.

But each to their own.

[Smidge001]

It's surely not that hard to see how you peel a mushroom. Here's a picture from t'internet, mid-peel. (Personally I wouldn't remove the stalk)

[BertieBotts]

I don't peel, wipe or wash mushrooms, just cook them.

Sometimes remove the stalk especially if they are old as I find it tastes off more quickly, but if they're fresh then no need.

[ginghamstarfish]

Just a note re the 'sweating out' colds ... I used to live in another country and that it the traditional cold/flu remedy - make a drink of hot water, lemon, mint and honey. Drink it and then into bed with loads of quilts and 'sweat it out'. Always worked for me anyway!

[MyMarmitePurrs]

My other half always peels veg and potatoes into a bowl of water - then he uses his hands to remove the peelings to the bin dripping water all over the kitchen floor - he then rinses potatoes (to get rid of the starch) Again dripping water all over the floor - drives me flaming crazy !! All because that's how him mum used to do it !!! FFS he's 66 !!!

[spidey66]

Use fabric conditioner on every wash.

I hate sprouts but if I'm preparing them for my husband I'll put a little cross on the bottom. No idea why she did it though.

[FiveLittlePigs]

I always crack eggs into a cup instead of straight into the mixing bowl so if there's a bad one you don't waste the cake ingredients.

I cut the ends off cucumber.

Don't peel mushrooms, they just need a wipe.

Use loo cleaner last thing at night.

Don't have the water running when cleaning teeth, fill a tooth mug and swish your mouth throughly. Use the rest of the mug to wash any splashes after spitting.

My nan used to keep a duster in her pinny so if she saw something that needed dusting she could do it there and then unlike me who will put a magazine over it or something

[Mammyloveswine]

Yes to snapping spaghetti! And always fry off the mince and drain the fat... i thought everyone did this until my friend didnt and a few more people told me they dont bother... yack!

Always start the day with a coffee watching the news whilst putting on my make up, just like my mum.

This is a terrible one but spoiling my children at Christmas... we get loads even as adults and my mum always tells me i go mad... i remind her she did the same!

New clothes for Easter... DH does not understand at all but we always got a new outfit bought at Easter so i get them for my boys!

[aabidah86]

Not read the whole thread but I keep squash/cordial (like Robinsons) in the fridge because my mum does lol.

[n0ne]

Just thought of another one! If you're feying something and it catches on fire, I juat blow it out without thinking, like my Dad taught me. I'm sure if he hadn't taught me that, I would totally freak out and not know what to do!