We can look like the present and live like the past. Living like the past is simply living more simple. We can live more simple and still have modern things. I prefer the old things to the new things but there are modern items that can help us to live like the past. It may look different but does the same thing. For instance a modern stove.
In the past people cooked over campfire, fireplaces, wood stoves, coal, fuel and such. Along came electricity and the electric range was made. They all serve the same purpose. Cooking homemade meals.
We can string a clothesline or use a modern rack to dry clothes.
They achieve the same thing, to dry our laundry using the sun and wind like they did in the past.
It doesn't matter what dishes we use, what is important is to sit at the table with the family to eat our meals as they did in the past.
Charles Great Grandmother lived alone and set a formal table for herself when eating her meals.
We can grow vegetables as they did in the past and it is still important to do so but today there are traditional and non traditional ways of doing this. We are looking for a harvest so we do what it takes to achieve that. Some of the old methods of gardening are wonderful and there are also many new things learned to help this along.
Charles and I love the old pieces from the past and we have been gradually replacing modern pieces with pieces from the past because of the quality. Many things made today are poor quality and we want items in our home that will last and can be passed down instead of having to be replaced or thrown out.
Also Charles and I love history. We are aiming to study the 1930s soon, we have studied the early 1940s for 4 years now. We have learned a lot and that has made us want to remain living like the past. That is why I came up with my own era that is a mix of the time in the past.
There was a lot of craftsmanship in the past. This furniture was made using dove tail joinery. This dresser was made in the late 1800s or very early 1900s.
Some of the very old pieces have wooden wheels. We currently have two pieces of furniture with the wood wheels, this buffet and a washstand. I am fascinated with these pieces.
Remind you, Charles and I are very frugal with replacing our items in our home. Some pieces came from thrift store finds, some were pieces that people put out as trash because of broken parts. We always feel happy when we repair it and give it new purpose.
We are not setting up a museum, this is a purposeful life we are living. There are no empty pieces sitting around as decoration because living an old fashioned life as we do, we need all the space available for real tools.
An example is food preservation tools take up a lot of space. There are canning jars and large pots and tools that go with that.
We don't have to look like the past but what we are finding is by looking more like the past makes us want to be more frugal. I know that it has helped me to focus.
Many of you have noticed from my blog photos that we keep moving our furniture around but there is a reason for that.
This is because we have been downsizing as we have been replacing items. When we add a different size piece into the house everything shifts.
We have paid for the items as we can afford them so we have not gone into debt for these new old pieces. We have to do a lot of searching to find things that are affordable and as I said earlier in this post often we have to do much repair to the piece.
This buffet that you have seen in my photos for the past year was in pieces. Our son called us one day and he found this buffet and was going to burn it because it was falling apart unless we wanted it. We wanted it!!
So Charles and our son wrapped it with bungie cords and string to hold together what was still somewhat holding on so we could get it home. The drawers were completely fallen apart, the back was off the sides were separated but all the pieces were there. Charles took it to his work shop and this is what we ended up with.
It makes me happy every time I pass by it because I feel it tells me thank you for given me purpose again.
I feel the history of it.
Each piece that comes into our home must have a purpose or we do not need it. This has much purpose as it holds table cloths and linens.
Something interesting is how the house has a different smell. It seems getting rid of modern pieces has stopped what I call off gassing of chemicals in today's furniture.
The house smells better. Also by decluttering there is better air flow around things.
This past weekend was a very emotional weekend. An eagle came to visit us. Charles was overwhelmed with emotion, this is simply not something that happens here.
I feel inspired and Charles feels so much emotion there is no word for the experience of having a eagle fly down our driveway and perch on a nearby pole.
By the Eagle visiting us, I feel we are doing something right as we are trying to keep or morals, our awareness of the importance that we do not need to waste our resources and our determination to remember those from our past that came before us and teach what we have learned.
This is not just an eagle, it is a sign and a reminder that we should be respectful.
The eagle flew away and the next day we had two large beautiful hawks fly over. I saw them because I was being even more aware now. Nature is all around us even if we live in the city as we do. We need to be careful as to not cause them harm.
We are part of the past because we are part of our ancestors. We are getting further removed from when they lived and there is much knowledge that is being lost. They were resourceful and did not waste like we do today which is very important. Maybe living like the past is a good thing to do. Grandma Donna
