Before I get to the question of the day, I want to say I had a hunch about what would be required for me to live like Grandma.  Your stories have confirmed my hunch.  A life that is sustainable and simple is birthed out of a particular mindset.  My Grandma had that mindset and it sounds like many of yours did as well.  I plan to make some signicant changes in my everyday reality but will have to make some internal shifts as well if I want these changes to last.  I can do all of the reading I want on the topics of sustainability and simplicity but my life will not change until I adopt my Grandma’s mindset.  Keep your stories coming because each one of them illustrates a piece of that mindset.  These stories are the heart of My Grandma Was Green.

What Would Grandma Use To Get Around?  At first I did not think this would be a very exciting question to ask but after I spent $73.49 to fill the tank of my minivan with gas this morning, I realized this is probably one of the most important questions to ask in the What Would Grandma Do? challenge!  Remember the cartoon the Flintstones where everyone got around in cars powered by their own feet?  I wish I could say I depended on something with Flintstonian technology but instead I can’t live without my gas guzzling, 15 miles to a gallon, pink-colored, Ford Windstar minivan.  My husband rode his bike for three years, but due to the location of his job he is now dependent on our white Hyundai Accent.  The car originally belonged to his parents who bought it with the intention of converting it to run on vegetable oil but for now it guzzles gas almost as fast as our van. 

I used to have a bike I could use with our bike carrier for the kids but my bike was stolen last year and has yet to be replaced.  My husband’s bike usually sits in the garage gathering dust except for the occasional bike ride with the kids.  On the other hand, my boys race their bikes up and down the sidewalk all day long.  It has been my intention to follow their lead and ride to the Farmer’s Market just a few miles away but managing three kids on a bike ride is an intimidating hurdle.  When school is in session, I occasionally walk with a friend to pick up our kids but trying to steer 4 energetic boys and 2 babies toward home can be a challenging process.  Although I live in an urban setting, a lot of the places I frequent have moved out of the core city and are inaccessible by bike or foot.  I have never attempted to use the public transportation system in Grand Rapids.  Yes, my life is dominated by my minivan.

Is there a better way? What Would Grandma Use To Get Around?  Both sets of my grandparents had 6 or more children.  I doubt they tried to “get around” nearly as much as I do.  I am sure home was the center of their world.  Contrast this with my life where most days I seem to belong anywhere but home and even if I am home I am often managing the world “out there” more than being present to what is going on right in front of me.  I am not convinced this is a good thing.

In yesterday’s post you answered, How Would Grandma Bathe?  There was a very common thread to all of you answers - Grandma did not bathe as frequently as we do today!  Grandma was conservative in her use of water whereas I tend to use it like I have a personal pipeline to the Great Lakes.  Grandma also knew some natural beauty tricks that have been lost on us today and she used her hand soap until the last speck was gone.  I recently told someone I was considering switching to hand soap to save on packaging to which they replied, “Eww!  Hand soap gets gross and sticky.”  I can’t imagine what people will think if I consider bathing less!  And despite my commitment to a personal sense of style, your stories made it clear this was not a multi-billion dollar business back in Grandma’s day.  I am pretty convinced I can learn a thing or two from Grandma and still smell good enough to keep my friends!

Note:  Apparently internet technology and severe weather do not mix well which explains why I posted this so late in the day.  I am going off line for the holiday weekend but will return on Monday with What Would Grandma Use To Get It Done?  Please feel free to post on any of the previous questions in the What Would Grandma Do? challenge.

“My grandmother came from a farm background. She was born in the 1880’s when horse and buggy was the only method of transportation. Shopping was a major undertaking that took the whole day. She was forced to plan ahead because she just didn’t have the time to pick up a few things for supper.”   This is a quote from Dennis’ comment to A Letter To My Grandma.  It ties in well with my last post What Would Grandma Use To Get Around?

We live in an extraordinarily mobile society.  Although I currently stay home full-time with my kids, I rarely ever stay home.  I feel like I am in a perpetual state of motion.  My ability to be mobile impacts what I try to accomplish in a given day.  I live in a mindset of always trying to get the next thing done.  Rushing around from one thing to another creates an underlying feeling of discontentment in my life.  I never allow myself to settle emotionally or physically.  I consume my moments just like I consume my stuff.  Nothing satisfies when I live this way. 

What Would Grandma Try To Get Done?  I envy Grandma because she seemed to know the limits of her life.  She knew what each day required of her.  Her life had boundaries and structure.  Grandma’s week had a rhythm.  Dennis’ comment went on to describe his Grandma’s weekly rhythm as follows:

Monday: wash
Tuesday: iron
Wednesday: gardening
Thursday: sewing
Friday: baking
Saturday: shopping
Sunday: church

What would it feel like to have a daily, weekly, monthly rhythm?  What if I just focused on doing the basics instead of running around like a chicken with my head cut off?  Grandma knew exactly what that looked like and it wasn’t pretty!  What would I be giving up?  What would I gain? 

Learning to live like my Grandma is not just about sustainably and simplicity.  It is about having a rhythm to my days - not a longer to do list.  My frantic pace makes me feel disconnected from the details of my own life.  I am no good for myself and no good for others when I live this way.  I want to know what I am doing and why I am doing it. 

What Would Grandma Try To Get Done?  Did your Grandma have a rhythm?  Did it make her life more simple or more complicated?  I can get the basics done a lot more quickly than Grandma.  I should have time left over, but I cram a lot of unecessary activities into my day.  What if I had a rhythm that just covered the basics?  I wonder if it would open up space for the things I truly enjoy.   

My blow dryer broke last week.  I had another one for backup.  Actually, I had a third one I gave to my mother-in-law when her blow dryer broke.  I have no idea why I had three of them sitting around.  I tried to fix the broken dryer by unplugging it, plugging it back in and pushing the reset button on the outlet.  I also tried cleaning out the spongy piece that captures lint.  Nothing worked.

My husband’s cell phone also died last week.  It was a little over two years old.  When he brought it in to have it replaced the clerk said most phones do not last that long.  Apparently our cell phone company’s “new every two” program is not an option but a necessity because the phone was not designed to last that long anyway. 

It is a great marketing gimmick.  Get people dependent on your product but design the product to break so people will need to replace it every couple of years.  The other marketing scheme that seems to work well is to create enticing upgrades.  I just bought a new lap top computer but it doesn’t work with my “old” printer.  The printer is 5 years old and it does not recognize the operating system in my new lap top.

This is depressing because my house is filled with this kind of stuff.

Most of my stuff will not wind up in an antique store.  Most of it will end up in a land fill.  It was designed to break, and I don’t know how to fix it.  It often costs more to repair a product than to buy a new one.  My grandparents probably knew how to fix a lot of the things they owned.  My husband and I are handy but we do not know how to fix a hair dryer, a fridge, a cell phone, a dishwasher, or a coffee maker.  The list goes on and on.

I am glad only one thing usually breaks at a time.  But what happens when every one’s cell phone takes a turn at breaking?  Apparently 426,000 cells phones are “retired” in the US everyday.  Some cell phones are recycled.  But what about all of those broken hair dryers?  There isn’t a recycling program for those. 

My Grandma and Grandpa worked hard.  Their hands and feet were their most dependable tools for getting the job done.  They did not exercise because their bodies grew stronger with use, and when their hands and feet stopped working someone else stepped in to literally “lend a hand.”  I like that warranty policy.  What Would Grandma Use To Get The Job Done?

The link for the cell phone statistic will take you to www.chrisjordan.com.  Chris Jordan does amazing photo art depicting products of mass consumption.  His art leaves me speechless everytime I look at it.