The Great Depression was one of the darkest economic times in the United States. Americans resorted to new levels of frugality out of necessity and survival. People went to great lengths to save, preserve, and reuse things.

The generations that lived through the Great Depression were the Greatest Generation (born 1901 to 1927) and the Silent Generation (born 1928 to 1945), and their children and grandchildren gleaned many lessons in frugal living.

In a discussion among Boomers and Gen Xers on Reddit, they shared stories about frugality and frugal habits they learned from their relatives who survived the Great Depression. From clothing to food and more, these are some of the most interesting ways they made it through.

Nothing ever went to waste

“My grandmother kept all the clothes. They wore it, then cut it up into quilts or made rugs out [of] it. Cut the buttons off. She had jars of buttons. All sorted by color. Once, I poured the potato water down the drain after boiling them. I thought she was going to have a heart attack. She saved that for soups, gravy, or put it on her body as lotion after a bath.” – Key_Investigator1318

“My grandmother worked in a boarding house for room and board while my grandad was on a rail gang painting train overpasses for the WPA. My grandma was taught to waste nothing, so she learned to can fruits and veg and salt cure meat. She also learned how to make cakes and pies from practically nothing. She had a lifelong habit of hoarding washed-out food containers- literally had a tower of margarine tubs- and newspapers. She used them for stuffing cushions, filling cracks in the wall (with wallpaper paste- like papier-mâché) and even make some Christmas decor out........

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