Originally Posted by
Greenheron
My MIL saved dishwater to soak dirty clothes, ironed socks and turned bed sheets over to the 'clean' side. God bless her, she had to work like a dog from her pre-teen years; caring for an ailing/dying mother and keeping house and cooking for father and brothers in a home without indoor plumbing. Although employed for all of her adult life, she also found a way to get her teaching certificate in her 30's and taught in rural one-room schools for many years. Which was she, a person with odd ways or a valiant woman?
When people had to carry water in and out - I think it made them very much more aware of how much was being used - and for what!
What may be considered "odd" now may have been "standard operating procedure" in that time and that community.
I would consider her valiant.
Did she change her " ways" after she got indoor plumbing?