In matters of economy, Soviet housewives had no equal, so we have a lot to learn from them. Novate.ru tells what life hacks were used in the USSR so that a relatively small salary would be enough to satisfy all basic needs.
Life hack 1: Matches in lipstick
Modern girls can go to the store for a new lipstick at any time if the old one is over or they want new colors and textures. Such a luxury was not available to Soviet women, so they had to invent various tricks to make cosmetics last longer. Here is one of the popular life hacks: when the lipstick was almost over, and it was no longer possible to make up the lips in the traditional way, the girls extracted its contents with the help of an ordinary match. This made it possible to increase the resources of the tube and save on the purchase of new cosmetics.
Life hack 2: A string bag instead of packages
Cashier's phrase: "Will you take the package?" has already become a popular meme on the Internet. And usually buyers do not refuse the offer, replenishing their collection of plastic bags in a box. It would seem that five rubles is not such a lot of money, but as a result, they accumulate in a decent amount over the year, especially if you go shopping every day.
This was not the case in the USSR. The girls went to the store or to the market with a string bag in their hands. Made of strong threads, it could serve for years and not tear. Our mothers and grandmothers claim that in terms of durability, the Soviet shopping bag could even be compared with reusable shopping bags, which are now incredibly popular due to environmental problems.
Life hack 3: Soda cleaner
Surely you noticed that all household cleaning hacks revolve around baking soda. It became so popular back in Soviet times, after which our mothers and grandmothers willingly shared with us all sorts of household tricks involving soda.
So, it was used not only in baking, but also for cleaning plumbing fixtures and stoves, for washing cans before sterilization so that they do not swell, for brushing teeth. Another way to use soda, popular in the USSR, is to eliminate blockages. The housewives poured a few spoons into the drain hole, added vinegar there, left it for a few minutes to start a chemical reaction, and then washed everything off with boiling water. If the water still went badly, then the plunger was used.
In general, it was a universal remedy, but it was much cheaper than various cleaning powders and household chemicals for clearing blockages, which were far from always effective.
Life hack 4: Waste-free production
Agree, without experiencing an acute shortage of food, we often throw away a lot of food in the trash, because we know for sure that tomorrow we will buy something fresh. In the USSR, such wastefulness was condemned by society, so the housewives tried to use all products without exception. For example, crackers were made from stale bread or they were poured with milk, then to be added to minced meat for cutlets, and candied jam was used to make wine or moonshine. Sour milk became the main ingredient for pancakes or the basis for future cottage cheese. But food from Soviet housewives rarely spoiled - they did not buy them for the future, preferring to first eat old dishes, and only then go to the store for new ingredients.
Life hack 5: New life for old things
Probably, in the USSR, every woman learned the basics of needlework, so many housewives had the skills of knitting, as well as cutting and sewing. This allowed them to save on buying clothes, as they preferred to remake old things and dress the whole family with their own hands. For example, children's clothes were sewn from men's shirts, mittens were sewn from fur hats. Also, the girls had to puzzle over how to modify wardrobe items that were out of fashion. There was a shortage of clothes in the USSR, so you could look stylish and attractive only if you had sewing skills and a fashion magazine at hand.
Life hack 6: Simple food
Culinary delights and delicacies were alien to the Soviet people - their tables were always served with simple food from seasonal vegetables and fruits grown in the country, dairy products, and inexpensive cereals. Various soups, borscht and other first courses were popular, as their cost was very low, even if meat broth was prepared. If you look at the habits of our parents from the side of modern healthy eating, then their diet was as correct as possible. The menu was varied, fatty and high-calorie dishes were rarely prepared, mainly for the holidays. At the same time, the diet included vegetables and fruits filled with vitamins and fiber, as well as healthy cereals.
Life hack 7: Notebook with recipes
By the way, about a varied diet. So that the menu was not too boring or scarce, the housewives had to collect recipes bit by bit. The dishes they liked in a magazine or cookbook were immediately copied into a large notebook. Also, a friend could share a successful recipe after a festive feast. Sometimes these notebooks were passed down from generation to generation.
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Now it is much more convenient to copy recipes to a file on a computer, and then print for more comfortable use. Although some housewives traditionally prefer to take notes on everything by hand, having previously bought a special book designed to record recipes. Be that as it may, it is useful to collect dishes - you do not have to puzzle over what to cook every day.
Life hack 8: Buying in bulk
If some goods and products were in short supply, the housewives had to take them in large quantities, so as not to end up with nothing. Usually the "heroes of the day" were chickens, condensed milk, etc. It was allowed to take a certain amount of products in one hand, so the luckiest were those who had relatives working at the enterprise. In this case, much more food was brought home. If you apply this life hack in modern realities, then you need to buy goods at wholesale warehouses or not miss out on various promotions like “five for the price of three”.
Life hack 9: Repair broken appliances
If now you propose to your grandmother or parents to buy a new TV instead of fixing the old one, your idea will surely be met with hostility. In the Soviet Union, it was customary to use a thing exactly until it ceased to be repairable. In any case, the services of the master were much cheaper than the purchase of a new product. Although at that time household appliances and other things were of much better quality than they are now. Some devices from the times of the USSR still work properly. Therefore, if you want to save money, give a broken device a second chance - perhaps after repair it will delight you for many more years.
In continuation of the Soviet theme, read the article 7 reasons why combinations were fashionable in the USSR, but now they are not
Source: https://novate.ru/blogs/080422/62550/