11 Forgotten Skills That Saved Your Grandparents During Tough Times
Having to do certain things on their own, older generations were able to cultivate some rather important and valuable life skills.
Perfect Wave | Shutterstock With how convenient everything in the world has become now, we've forgotten just how much things have changed. From being able to stream your favorite TV show or movie from the comfort of your couch, ordering food on an app, or even being able to call a car to pick you up and take you to any destination you want, it's easy to overlook that, just a few generations ago, our grandparents had to cultivate certain skills just to survive.
They were not afforded many of the luxuries that we have now, which makes them masters of not only being self-sufficient but resourceful as well. The forgotten skills that saved your grandparents during tough times allowed them to lead meaningful lives by relying on community and pure determination. These everyday abilities weren't just practical and easy, but essential to get through each and every second of the day. While we may not face the same struggles, being able to acknowledge these skills can hopefully empower us to appreciate simpler times.
Here are 11 forgotten skills that saved your grandparents during tough times
1. Growing their own food
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Being able to grow food straight from the Earth and tend to a garden wasn't just something your grandparents were doing just for fun. While it was probably an enjoyable hobby to pass the time, they also wanted to have food straight from the source, whether it was potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, or some other kind of vegetable and/or herb.
It meant they were able to feed their families fresh and nutritious meals even when their pockets might have been too tight to splurge at the grocery store.
Research published in Clinical Medicine has even shown that gardening has an immense amount of health benefits, too. From increased muscle strength and improved sleep, it can help reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, leaving individuals with a renewed sense of self.
Not only were your grandparents able to put food on the table, but they were also actively working on bettering themselves through this act.
2. Repurposing old clothes
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For older generations, there wasn't any throwing away of old clothes, especially if they couldn't help it. Instead, grandparents were taking out their thread and needle to carefully mend their garments.
Compared to how clothes may be cheaply made today, there was once a time when clothing was made to last. So being able to maintain and repair shirts, sweaters, and even jeans when a button was missing or a thread was loose, wasn't just practical but also a point of pride.
It became a skill that helped grandparents save money while also saving the clothes in their closet. Research from the journal TEXTILE has even shown that learning how to sew not only helps people practice mindfulness, but reduces certain mental health problems.
3. Coming up with home remedies
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Back in the day, a lot of grandparents refused to rely on modern medicine. Instead, if they or someone in the family were to get sick, they'd concoct home remedies using herbs, plants, and other simple ingredients they had lying around their kitchen or even in the garden.
These natural treatments are one of the forgotten skills that saved your grandparents during tough times and were not only used quite often, but sometimes ended up getting passed down the family line, almost like a family recipe.
While home remedies and natural medicines can solve and fix every sickness under the sun, it is helpful for being able to alleviate minor aches without having to take a trip to the emergency room where the hospital bill would be over the top.
Considering nearly 49% of uninsured adults in this country have difficulty affording healthcare costs, being able to rely on solutions from the comfort of your home is a skill that we should all be trying to learn.
4. Budgeting every cent
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Being smart with their money wasn't just a habit that grandparents picked up, it was a necessity. Through economic hardships and uncertainty, they simply wanted to make sure that every dollar and cent was accounted for and budgeted properly.
While nearly 59% of Americans in 2025 don't have enough savings to cover an unexpected $1,000 emergency expense, times were much different from older generations who weren't being bogged down by the cost of living crisis happening today.
They were able to meticulously track their spending habits and money coming in to make sure they weren't overspending in areas that they didn't need to be doing. This money management skill helped them immensely when it came to being able to keep them and their families afloat and avoid financial hardships.
5. Writing actual letters
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Older generations didn't have the convenience of sending a quick text when they wanted to get in contact with someone they knew. While they had the use of landlines, they much preferred handwritten letters that they'd mail off to their respective destinations.
Nowadays, writing an actual letter is pretty much unheard of. According to a 2021 CBS News and YouGov poll, 37% of Americans say it's been over five years since they've written and sent a personal letter. But for our grandparents, writing letters was something they did often. It was how they stayed connected with loved ones and friends, both old and new.
It wasn't just about communication but making sure that they were putting thought and care into the connections they had, and maybe that's something missing from the relationships we have today.
6. Telling stories from memory
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When it came to talking about family histories and what it was like growing up during certain times, grandparents were able to rely on their memories to tell stories. It was a way to pass down traditions, life lessons, and even funny stories from their youth. Research from Care Management Journals found health benefits from storytelling, including mental stimulation, improved memory, creativity, and increased activity among older adults.
Grandparents are the keepers of stories, and it's such a luxury and blessing to have them share those memories firsthand. Being able to listen and learn from them is not only a way to preserve the intimate details of family history, but to make sure that connection is strengthened through generations.
7. Cooking without recipes
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For many grandparents, cooking isn't just about following a random recipe, but rather, having watched their own parents and family members cook certain recipes and memorizing them to pass along once they were older.
Cooking without a recipe is one of the forgotten skills that saved your grandparents during tough times, as it was about preserving family history, and making sure those cherished meals and the accompanied memories didn't get left behind as time moved on.
Most grandparents made sure to keep all of the family recipes stashed away in a safe place so they wouldn't get lost or damaged, while some were just able to have them down from memory. Whatever the case, there's something incredibly heartwarming and important about keeping those recipes alive, especially during tough times.
8. Walking everywhere and anywhere
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Grandparents and older generations were the masters of not relying on cars and even the convenience of public transportation, especially if they were able to walk to their destination. This skill has been traded in for things like Uber and Lyft, but there was a time when walking wasn't just the exception. Grandparents constantly moving not only helped with their overall health but helped them truly connect with the community.
By taking a walk down their street, they were able to converse with neighbors, local shop owners, and even other families who were just going about their day on walks similar to them. These everyday interactions meant they were not only building connections with those that lived around them, but also simply getting to know others.
9. Using a clothesline
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Long before it was common to have a dryer in your home, grandparents and older generations were hanging their clothes up on a clothesline either in their backyard or somewhere in their home. It might have taken longer for the clothes to dry, but as one of the forgotten skills that saved your grandparents during tough times, it was such a normal part of their routine that they were able to get other things done while waiting.
Not only did it save money, but it also preserved their clothes for longer. Their clothes were able to avoid the destruction that a dryer can do over time. It made the process of washing clothes much more simple than it might be today, and allowed them to slow down and relax while doing chores.
10. Making guests feel at home
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There's just something about the hospitality that grandparents and older generations were able to exhibit to family members and friends that would come to visit them at home. It wasn't just about making sure they were comfortable but about creating a sense of warmth to make sure their guests felt at home, and that kind of skill has been lost in today's society.
For grandparents, it was paying attention to the little details of their guests, like if they enjoyed a fresh cup of coffee in the morning, or stocking the bathroom with their favorite body soaps and scents. This skill really allowed them to nurture the relationships in their lives and make people feel as if they always had a place in their home.
11. Using a physical map
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Before the reliance on GPS technology, grandparents were using good old-fashioned maps to get around. It was a quite impressive skill for them to be able to get around and from place-to-place, especially when traveling through unknown areas.
It required immense focus and patience, and while it was difficult, it was also something they had no choice but to master. Unfortunately, for younger generations, they don't even know how to read a physical map, relying instead on apps. One survey from Ordnance found that over 83% of Gen Zers rely entirely on their phones to get around, and don't know how to read a paper map for navigation.
Being able to read a map helped give grandparents a true sense of independence and being able to rely on their own knowledge and quick-thinking. They simply didn't have the luxury of being able to tap their phone and not have to think about where they were going because the GPS was taking them to that place, and because of that, they were able to truly practice self-sufficiency which helped in many other areas of their lives.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
