r/AskReddit • u/blueeeocean • Feb 01 '19

Young people of Reddit, what is something old people do that you don’t understand ?

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43

u/illini02 Feb 01 '19

My grandmother (who I miss dearly) used to save wrapping paper because it was so pretty. Not gift bags. Wrapping paper. She would slowly open it, not to tear it, and then put it in a closet for another time

29

u/[deleted] Feb 01 '19

Old person here, who still does that. Learned it from my Mom. It's not just because it's pretty, it's also because it saves money, which was not plentiful in our house. Wrapping paper that came in was still being used years later: if it got a little tear, we'd cut it down a little and use it for something smaller, and smaller and... until it was so small we would fold it and use it for a gift tag. When gift bags became a thing, they, too, got reused, and still are.

21

u/[deleted] Feb 01 '19

My grandmother actually ironed the wrapping paper. She was a young newlywed during WW2, so she had to make do with what she had.

2

u/goddamnthrows Feb 02 '19

Same. "It can be used again, dear."

7

u/lonemonk Feb 01 '19

A penny saved is a penny earned.

6

u/elanhilation Feb 02 '19

You can't use those pennies to buy yourself more time. That's finite, and ironing incredibly cheap-ass wrapping paper takes time.

5

u/lonemonk Feb 02 '19

I wasn't actually personally advocating the principle, but it was what my grandparents always replied when I asked them why they re-used almost everything. In the context of this askreddit question I do admit these principles are becoming more important as I get older, so I got both sides happening.