Old Woman Portrait by Michael Melrose
Did you have a green granny? A granny who grew her own food, lived without the luxury of daily hot baths, and didn’t drive a gas-guzzler? Maybe your grandma is still around (mine died back in 1985). Is your granny green compared to you?
Would Grandma Be Proud?
Let’s take a look at how I measure up against my green granny. Am I doing well? Would she be proud of me? Let’s take a look.
Meat, Veggies, Fruit etc
My grandmother couldn’t afford to serve much meat or fish. Meat would be either inexpensive cuts from the local butcher cooked to tenderness, Scottish bacon, or local or canned fish. I’ve cut down on the meat I serve my family and most of what I serve is local. I think I get a checkmark for this.
Veggies would be grown in my grandparent’s garden or purchased from a local greengrocer. I grow some of my own and purchase others through CSA. Apples and oranges and bananas aren’t grown in Scotland and not really in Kansas either. It seems I’m doing much the same – another checkmark for me.
Energy Use
My gran never drove a car in her life. She walked or took the bus. She had no computer and no freezer. She certainly didn’t have a tumble drier. I’m pretty sure she didn’t use much hot water every day (she was clean though). She had no refrigerator when I was small. She didn’t leave lights on all over the house – lighting was minimal and localized. Her heating system heated just the main living area, and only when she was present. Her lawnmower was a push mower. Despite my efforts to conserve energy and act responsibly I’m sure I don’t meet my gran’s standard. That’s a cross for me.
Water and Chemicals
Gran didn’t launder masses of big, fluffy towels or have a sprinkler system in her garden. I suspect she used some bleach and similar cleaners, though not much of them. My grandpa used some chemicals on the garden – minimal and very localized. I don’t have a sprinkler system, I rarely use a hose, and I use minimal chemicals. I’m going to give myself a checkmark here.
How Did I Do?
Maybe I’m a little surprised at how well I measure up. My energy use is definitely something to work on. There is still room for improvement on water and chemicals, and there’s more I can do regarding local food, preserving etc.
From my Gran I learned many lessons in frugality, hard work, contentment, making do with what I had, helping others, and appreciating good things from the Earth, sustainable things, green things, great lessons from a green granny. Gran, I hope you’d be proud of me, even though I’m not perfectly green.
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Yes, and the thing I always found most interesting is that “green” was never part of her vocabulary. She’d probably laugh at me if I told her she was.
She does all those things and uses her gray water for flushing and watering the garden. But it was because she came of age in the depression and saving and reusing everything was just how she was raised.
My one grandmother died when I was three so I don’t know much about her. The other was very frugal. She got married right before the Depression and they were very poor. My grandfather died when my mom was quite young, so money was always an issue. I remember she reused everything, including paper towels. We used to tease her that she could squeeze a nickel until the buffalo pooped. She never learned to drive so never had a car. She took the bus anywhere she wanted to go.
Despite all of the teasing we gave her, I am now trying to emulate some of her frugalness by participating less in the consumption culture. I drive very little, we grow some of our own produce and get the rest from a CSA, and I’m trying to lessen the amount of energy we use.
This was a great post. Thanks for helping me remember with fondness my grandmother!
Dana, I love that your granny uses gray water wisely. Did she have to pump water from a well when she was younger? In many cases I think modern conveniences make it so easy to be wasteful. We just don’t think about the energy involved in getting clean water to us because it’s not our physical energy.
Carole, it sounds like your granny would be proud of you. What struck me as I read these comments is the pride our grandmothers took in their own frugality. My mother wasn’t wasteful, but I don’t think she had quite the same pride in making do with what she had as her mother had.
My grandmother sounds very similar. She had a garden and was the Queen of reuse. She had a large chicken coop so whatever we didn’t eat, the chickens did! I don’t recall much of anything ever going to waste while I was at her house.
[...] Note: a tip of the hat to Alison Kerr, of Loving Nature’s Garden, for writing the article that inspired this very happy memory! [...]