WWND? What Would Nana Do?
How much I loved these people: my Nana and Poppa
In my research about how we could get ready for climate change, I started to look at the Great Depression Not the recession in 2008, but the one in the 1930s. My grandmother lived through that time, and was a teacher who worked with my grandfather in very small country schools around New Zealand. She lived a frugal life, doing things we don’t think of now.
Nana had the old bach (what we call a family beach house in New Zealand) and when we stayed there, we slept in beds that had thick cotton sheets that she had sewed up the middle - she’d taken 2 worn-out sheets and taken out the holey bit and sewn the leftovers back together. Now this isn’t something I want to have to do myself (those sheets were uncomfortable), but one day it’s something we might have to. If there’s no easy access to new textiles, maybe we’ll be making do like Nana.
So I’ve started to think: WWND? What would Nana do?
Nana made jam and bottled fruit and vegetables when it’s growing season
Nana baked her own cakes and cookies
Nana mended her clothes
Nana bought few pieces of clothing, but they were always good quality
Nana stayed fit by gardening and walking
Nana had fruit trees and a huge veg patch
Nana had a pension and invested in real estate
Nana did all her own cleaning and gardening
Nana (well Poppa in this case) cooked almost all their meals from scratch
Nana didn’t use convenience foods
Nana lived in a small, simple house
Nana drove a small old car
Nana lived in a walkable neighborhood, so didn’t use the car much
Nana used public transport
Nana kept studying her whole life
Nana was classic, her and Poppa own a duplex (two flats in New Zealand-speak) at a small beach town that they rented out. The place had a large-sized lawn that they dug up and planted a huge vegetable garden that they harvested for themselves. Not sure what the tenants thought, but it worked for all of them as the rent was super-cheap.
So my first step to Nana-dom, is to cut convenience food out of our lives. We don’t eat out very much, but I like to pull something out of the freezer on the days I don’t want to cook. I know I could do this myself, cook extra and put the leftovers into the freezer, make our cereal, bake our snacks. so I’m going to try.