How to live a simple life: 1970s style

[catherine]

Just came across this old Mother Earth News article (http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/zmaz70jfzkin.aspx?PageId=1) that was written in 1970.. a fun read. Most is still extremely relevant (after all, simple living is a timeless endeavor!), but the prices they list for food back then take me back:


Some frugal buyers can shade even this report. For example, there is V. Berglin, of Tucson, Ariz. For years he has not spent more than $75 to $90 per year for his food, only $6 to $10 per month — and he is one of the best-nourished and peppiest individuals in the Southwest.

One month's supply for a simple liver — this is an actual marketing list of a man who has followed this system of living for a long time — would run like this: 20 lbs. white flour, 10 lbs. corn meal; 6 lbs. bacon; 1 lb. salt pork; 1 lb. coffee; 1/4 lb. tea; 5 lbs. sugar; 10 lbs. potatoes; 3 lbs. macaroni; 2 lbs. raisins; 3 lbs. navy beans; 6 large packages each of corn flakes and oatmeal; 12 cans of condensed milk. The cost will run you at today's prices around $12.

[razz]

Interesting reading. Funny but I was starting out married life in the late 60's and we lived on a farm in the early 70's. We grew and preserved almost everything we ate. I don't remember feeling deprived of much. The state of thinking was different then. Much less consumerism and comparison to other peoples' assets. Very little difference between the have and have-nots compared to today's world or is it simply reported more?

[SteveinMN]

The state of thinking was different then. Much less consumerism and comparison to other peoples' assets. Very little difference between the have and have-nots compared to today's world or is it simply reported more?
I don't know as Americans are any less aspirational now than they were in the 60s and 70s. There always were Fords and Chevys for Everyperson, Mercurys and Oldsmobiles for the upper-middle-class, and Lincoln and Cadillac for the upper crust. There have long been Levittowns and Bryn Mawrs.

I do agree that we are in a much more consumerist culture. We've spent years watching (ubiquitous) advertising that urges us to buy all kinds of stuff. Americans have long equated 'bigger' and 'more' with 'better'. Our economic system has evolved to enable this: easier credit; the public acceptance of having never-ending bills for credit cards and car payments and such; a lack of cradle-to-grave product pricing that hides the costs of disposal and pushes them off to younger Americans; stock markets that encourage corporations to depend less on capitalization and more on short-term increases in sales.

And we've become more comfortable flashing the goods. Labels are much bigger now than they used to be. In fact, the brand has become the biggest attribute of some products. It's "cool" to own an iPad or a Mercedes-Benz or a KitchenAid stand mixer or a Coach purse (or lookalike) even if you rarely or ever use take advantage of most of what it can do. And, yes, a breathless cycle of TV and magazine articles and books illustrating what it's like to live in Beverly Hills or to float your business idea in front of self-made millionaires. Maybe I'll never make a lot of money. But at least I can have the same iPhone That Actress has or a Mercedes like So-and-So.

[catherine]

Labels are much bigger now than they used to be. In fact, the brand has become the biggest attribute of some products. It's "cool" to own an iPad or a Mercedes-Benz or a KitchenAid stand mixer or a Coach purse (or lookalike) even if you rarely or ever use take advantage of most of what it can do.

I think the whole impact of branding is so fascinating, and I think another branding change is the branding of the store itself! In the "old days" we'd just buy from a selection of merchandise at Macy's or Sears. But now, the store the item is bought in is as/more important than the item itself. DH bought DS33 and DS29 hoodies for Christmas. He was so proud of his purchase but then I saw the bag they came in--Aeropostale. I told him, they are never going to wear that hoodie! Aeropostale is a store for teen-agers! He didn't believe me until he saw the exchange of looks between DS33/DS29 when they opened them.

I asked DS 35 if he wanted anything from Urban Outfitter, and he said, "Not me! Maybe [DS28] or [DS29] would."

[Simply Divine]

I think the whole impact of branding is so fascinating, and I think another branding change is the branding of the store itself! In the "old days" we'd just buy from a selection of merchandise at Macy's or Sears. But now, the store the item is bought in is as/more important than the item itself. DH bought DS33 and DS29 hoodies for Christmas. He was so proud of his purchase but then I saw the bag they came in--Aeropostale. I told him, they are never going to wear that hoodie! Aeropostale is a store for teen-agers! He didn't believe me until he saw the exchange of looks between DS33/DS29 when they opened them.

I asked DS 35 if he wanted anything from Urban Outfitter, and he said, "Not me! Maybe [DS28] or [DS29] would."

This is true. If DS35 was caught wearing something from Urban Outfitter, people might assume he was trying to act younger than he actually was. There's a stigma to wearing the wrong label. But honestly, I'm now so out of touch with labels that I'm not sure what an appropriate label for a 35-year-old is these days. Maybe Gucci or Armani, I don't know.

[catherine]

But honestly, I'm now so out of touch with labels that I'm not sure what an appropriate label for a 35-year-old is these days. Maybe Gucci or Armani, I don't know.

Or Dockers? My DDIL just bought my son a pair of Dockers, and frankly, I was surprised! Seemed a little "uncool," but maybe now that he's married and about to be a father, Dockers are the thing to wear. As you said, who knows? I've been an Ann Taylor girl for over 20 years now, so just give me the classics. Oh, and I'm also an Old Navy girl--great yoga pants at only $19.

[Gardenarian]

A lot of the increased consumption is because durable consumer goods are so much cheaper now than they were then. Clothing, housewares, toys - a lot of stuff costs just the same (in real dollars) as it did in the 70s.
What has increased a lot is the price of housing and food. So we have a lot of junk food, a lot of junk stuff, and no place to put it all!

[Lainey]

Just came across this old Mother Earth News article (http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/zmaz70jfzkin.aspx?PageId=1) that was written in 1970.. a fun read. Most is still extremely relevant (after all, simple living is a timeless endeavor!), but the prices they list for food back then take me back:

Related to this, I've been thinking for some time that those who are needing to use food pantries could get ahead of the cycle by having a once or twice/year supply of items just like this. So that if food stamps run out, they have a "larder" of items they can use for simple things like biscuits and gravy, just to keep everyone fed. Seems like it would not cost that much and would cut way back on the times when there's absolutely nothing in the kitchen.

[gimmethesimplelife]

I think the whole impact of branding is so fascinating, and I think another branding change is the branding of the store itself! In the "old days" we'd just buy from a selection of merchandise at Macy's or Sears. But now, the store the item is bought in is as/more important than the item itself. DH bought DS33 and DS29 hoodies for Christmas. He was so proud of his purchase but then I saw the bag they came in--Aeropostale. I told him, they are never going to wear that hoodie! Aeropostale is a store for teen-agers! He didn't believe me until he saw the exchange of looks between DS33/DS29 when they opened them.

I asked DS 35 if he wanted anything from Urban Outfitter, and he said, "Not me! Maybe [DS28] or [DS29] would."Your post here reminds me of a time I was shopping at Macy's a few years ago. I was upstairs looking for a fairly cheap pan and a pushy salesperson was trying to get me to buy something in Calphalon when something I cherish popped out of my mouth totally unplanned - I said - Nice cookware but the markup is too high for me as I have seen similar slightly used at yard sales and thrift shops for much less. I didn't say it the slightest bit unpleasantly but the look I received after making that comment - sharp enough to sharpen my garden saw lol. Right then and there I realized that some of the spell of consumerism had left me, hopefully for good.

LOL I bring this up as your post mentions that sometimes the store where something is bought is just as important as what was purchased. I was once sorta kinda ok I'll admit it - like that too but I've lost that and don't care to get it back. Rob

[gimmethesimplelife]

A lot of the increased consumption is because durable consumer goods are so much cheaper now than they were then. Clothing, housewares, toys - a lot of stuff costs just the same (in real dollars) as it did in the 70s.
What has increased a lot is the price of housing and food. So we have a lot of junk food, a lot of junk stuff, and no place to put it all!And something else I'm learning is that these days, having a big yard sale no longer means that people will take on your junk for you.....everyone's got too much of their own junk these days it seems. Rob

[SteveinMN]

Then there's the flip side of companies trying to look cool by exhuming the brands of the past. Great names like Westinghouse and Polaroid exist only as brands, without any single company (and certainly not the original company) manufacturing the items which wear that brand. Then there are brands like Jordache, which still exists as its own company but has reached down in a big way (from high-priced jeans in the 70s to Walmart today). Yet there's still the hope that the prestige of old carries some weight with the customer of today.

[redfox]

This is true. If DS35 was caught wearing something from Urban Outfitter, people might assume he was trying to act younger than he actually was. There's a stigma to wearing the wrong label. But honestly, I'm now so out of touch with labels that I'm not sure what an appropriate label for a 35-year-old is these days. Maybe Gucci or Armani, I don't know.


Oh, thank goodness I still run with a Goodwill crowd!

[iris lilies]

oh no you are not going to make me go back to this:

http://uglyhousephotos.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/phx70skitchennational.JPG


Yet, I am freakishly obessed with 50's and 60's kitchens and bathrooms as well as simple 40's wood kitchen cabinets, painted any color. So if I can live long enojugh I'll eventually like orange formica and poo-brown cabinets.

[ApatheticNoMore]

I've only though of clothing being "younger" as in too revealing, too sexy, and you don't want to wear that after, you're no longer young really, after 29 I've always figured.

[catherine]

That kitchen looks all too familiar to me, IL~ I just got rid of it three months ago....(well, mine wasn't nearly as nice, despite the harvest gold Kenmore wall oven and the old laminate--we had painted over the high gloss dark wood cabinets and also the brown teapot print wallpaper is long gone.)

[pcooley]

Hey now -- What's wrong with our high-gloss, dark wood cabinets?

[catherine]

Hey now -- What's wrong with our high-gloss, dark wood cabinets?

Nothing, Paul! Actually, iris lilies has me missing mine right now! :)

[razz]

Not sure if this is interesting but it is of that era.

Sorting and purging old records last night, I found the price of our new Ford Fairlane in 1968 was C$3000 and the options we chose were - an AM radio and bucket seats for $467 total.
Our first house in May, 1967 was C$21, 500 and sold in June, 1968 for $27,500. We had to move since DH's job was disappearing within the next year or two as demand died for industrial turbines and generators in the early 70's.
My diamond 1/3 carat cost $225 in 1965.

Getting started on the purging of the old records was hard but it is quite informative about that era. My goal is to get my stuff down to a minimum so that when I move or expire, there will be much less for family to move or dispose.

[JaneV2.0]

Oh, thank goodness I still run with a Goodwill crowd!

Yeah, me too.

If I ever rehab my kitchen, it will be with dark wood--which I have now, only better quality cabinets. By that time, it will be trendy again. I want to stay true to the original style.

[catherine]

Here's what I just got rid of six months ago.. may it R.I.P.

http://homesanctuary.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cc30c53ef01053593a05b970c-320wi