Mom's short stories, long life: Home goods
It’s absurd how I go out of my way to purchase bamboo toothbrushes in an attempt to save the planet. I understand that my decision to buy less plastic toothbrushes is not making the slightest dent in slowing down global warming. But I still get them. Is it something I do to help me sleep with my conscience at night? Possibly.
About 70 years ago, Mom’s dental hygiene experience involved ripping off a guava tree branch and using the broken end as bristles. Today, I lazily whip out my phone to touch a screen to click on a manufactured bamboo toothbrush that gets shipped from China. And I don’t even have to get up from the couch for it to get here. Same thing!
Talking to Mom about what she used as basic necessities is an instant reality check on what I take for granted.
Walk around your house. What do you use for light? How long does it take for you to get warm water? When you lay in your bed at night, is it soft? Where do you store your food? What do you use for soap?
Take stock of your home goods. In comparison, here’s what you’d expect to find in the early days of the Balcita household:
Electricity: Mom’s first experience living with electricity was after college. This meant life revolved around the sun. In high school, Mom used a kerosene lantern so she could study. Called a lampara, it was used by the family to see and do things after dark. Dinner must be consumed before sundown.
Running water: There was a well about 3 meters from the house. Have you ever carried a bucket of water recently? It’s always heavier than I think. Imagine having to haul water from a well through a bucket for everything, like for drinking, to wash the clothes by hand, to take a bath, etc. Bath water was used to water the plants. Nothing went to waste here.
Clock/watch: Mom managed to get to school on time every day without a clock. Because the Philippines is located close to the equator, the length of day and night is the same so they can reliably use the shadow to tell time. What if it is cloudy? You can rely on the trusty rooster’s crow to let you know it is 4 a.m. and it’s time to start the day. Mom finally bought a clock with her first teaching job salary after college.
Bed: This was made out of bamboo, no cushion included. It’s elevated from the floor… so that you’re not sleeping on the floor. Also included a mosquito net.
Refrigerator and freezer: Mom’s first fridge was when she came to the US in 1972. When she earned enough money in the US, she would send funds back home so the family could finally have a refrigerator. In another post, I’ll explore food preservation and meals. In short, Grandma went to the market each day to buy food so there was nothing to keep and store.
Stove: They used a clay stove that was heated by wood fire. They did have the luxury of having matches to start the fire. But times were tough, especially during the rainy season, when they couldn’t find dry wood.
Kitchen sink: Grandpa built a tank that pumped water from the well that pushed through to a faucet into the house.
Dish soap: The ashes from the stove were used as dish soap; it’s the only substance available to take out the oily residue from pots and pans.
Toothbrush: Like I said earlier, this was the stalk of a guava branch broken off, the edge of the stick used as a brush. Colgate was nowhere to be found so rubbing salt on their teeth was the option.
Toilet: There was an outhouse about 5 meters away from the house and with a hole in the ground. When you need to do #2, go to the outhouse. When it’s #1 and the middle of the night, or it's the rainy season and they didn’t want to get their feet wet just to go pee, they used an arinola. Basically, it’s a nighttime urinal. Oh, and good luck finding toilet paper. They either had nothing to wipe, or used a stick or leaves.
Tub/shower: Mom knew what Recycle/Reduce/Reuse was well before we had the catchy phrase over here. Kerosene (remember, this was used to light their lantern) was sold in a 5 gallon square container. This is what they’d use to fill with water, pulled from the well, to take a bath. Forget about the idea of a shower, there was none of that.
Shampoo/conditioner: They burned the straw of the rice, collected the burned remains into a coconut husk. The liquid that seeped out was used to wash hair. Mom said this was a delightful coconut smell and great for washing their locks.
Pads/sanitary napkins: This was an old rag folded up and pinned to their underwear. On heavy flow days, Mom would hope for the best and that her flow wouldn’t be seen through her skirt. She’s even attempted an extra layer of plastic underneath her skirt. It’s a flawless idea visually, terrible idea audibly.
Laundry: They’d wash their clothes near the well and hang dry clothes on a line. Mom doesn’t remember how they dealt when it was the rainy season and clothing would take longer to dry. Did she go to school with damp clothes? She said “we managed.” That’s a good way to look at it.
Iron: They were always wrinkle-free because they were religious about ironing their clothes. They had an iron but, remember, there was no electricity. They’d take hot coals and put it in their iron. Voila, a hot iron ready for pressing. Corn starch was used to starch garments crisply, and as a tactic to better keep the dirt off their clothes.
I am sure there are quite a few things missing on this list, let me know if you’re curious what Mom used back home.