I was thinking that if/when tshtf our way of living will likely revert back to the 1880's in a lot of ways. :geek:

So if you bug in or out are you prepared to go back and live the way our great great grandparents did or do you think it will be different? and how prepared are you really for this change? I sure have big holes that I need to figure out.

Can you mend or make your own clothes?

I came from a family that made do. We lived much like back then but had electricity, tho only in the later years.

Us kids went barefoot in summer to spare the shoes for school or what or whenever they were needed. A pair of overalls that did us in the summer. The only thing they went over, was underwear. Easy to wash, kept us cooler and we didn't need to watch what we were doing at play or chores.

Clothing was saved to hand down to the next child and remade from the oldest child for the next one. Clothing was traded back and forth between families that had a child that would fit into them.

A nip here and a tuck there, a patch here or there...lower or raise the hem levels. Dress/skirts always had a 'hem line'. Boys pants would have a 'cuff line'.
We were not out of place as all the families where dressed much the same.
Sunday/school clothing was change PDQ when getting home.
Yup just like the show on the Waltons and Little House.
edit to add for clarification. Was like the parent on both shows, after the kids to change your clothes!

If we ever got a new outfit just for us, even if it was the only one we ever got, it was real special! 🙂 Talk about feel proud wearing said outfit..but were we ever careful with it.

I will get back on my kick -- sheets subject . 😆

Sheets are one of those miracle articles. They can make so many things.
Shirt, skirts, dresses, blouse, dish towels, curtains, pot holders...etc...the list goes on.
Oh and yes they are also great for lining a new blanket or quilt.

Keep needles and thread a plenty and learn to use them! Even if you aren't good at it, you will get better...practice ya know. 😉

Its really a mind set that you have to deal with if/when it hits.
One part is learning to appreciate what one has ..not 'crying/whining' about what one has not. That will be the hardest lesson many will have to deal with IMHO.

OTG

To be honest, in many ways, I would welcome living a more 1880s lifestyle, which is very difficult to do in our present society, unless you have big $$ to get started. That said, I know when the SHTF it won't be all smiles and sunshine and we won't necessarily be living a relatively peaceful Little House life. As for your list, enuff, I can do most of that, which is great. Yes, sewing, and knitting too, are important skills, both of which I have. Producing/foraging/hunting your own food is even more critical, and I have built up my skills quite well there (much more to learn, of course). I feel that skills are more important to have than physical preps. You can lose your preps to looters, fire, natural disaster, or having them just plain run out, but you will never lose the skills and knowledge you have gained. And OTG, I agree that mindset is a huge factor. Heck, most people living in our current cushy society don't have the mindset to truly appreciate what they have, let alone when the SHTF!

No way we're ever going back.
You have a car now. Will you not brew alcohol from cattails to fuel it? Will you not pour canola or sunflower oil in your diesel engine?
Yes you'll probably make do with 50hp instead of 350 but it beats walking.
There's going to be a huge Compressed Natural Gas revolution in the next decade. Will you sit in the dark with a single candle while your generator could be running on it? How about wood gas? How about methane from manure?
You can still solar charge batteries, windmill, water power.
Will you not let your car sit in your driveway idling while it charges your battery bank?
You know your toilet will flush if you pour water in the tank? Or gravity feed from your own gutters. To your own septic system?

Many things will be hard to get or too expensive, probably imported goods, foods.
We'll probably be eating seasonally and closer to home but now we'll have triple glazed windows on the greenhouse instead of single pane and have a 2 month longer season.
Things will change but we've always been the smart little monkeys that adapt.

Oldtimegardeners - your post brought back memories from my childhood....hand me downs and hem lines....I remember them well. 😆

livingpower - I agree with you that the skills we have will be more valuable that what we have put away and for the very same reasons you wrote. That's why I'm still learning and taking courses. Some people go out into the woods and say "what is there to eat?" me, I see a meal. You can go out and shoot an animal and that gives you your protein but where are you going go get all the rest of the micronutrients your body needs to stay strong and healthy. Most people don't realize that you can get all your protein needs met except B12 from plants.

Prefessor - If you have the knowledge to do those things then I agree but most people don't or aren't set up to do it. In 10 years after I can't see us living 1880 lifestyle just for the very reasons you wrote about we will adapt and learn new and different ways but before then....who knows. Better to be prepared.

Lots to think about.