Shortage is not a problem: 8 life hacks from Soviet times

People in the USSR were very inventive. The shortage of goods forced the use of ingenuity and cunning every day. Some of this folk wisdom has survived to this day. Perhaps the Soviet “life hacks” that I will talk about today will even be useful to people of the 21st century.

Replacing hairspray

Most ladies in those days could only dream of such luxury. However, they did not despair - the scarce product was replaced... with sugar syrup! A glass of water, a couple of tablespoons of sugar, stir well. The result is an easy-to-use sticky mixture that holds the styling tightly. True, after it I had to wash my hair long and hard... You will go to great lengths to stand out with a fashionable hairstyle.

Vaseline for lips

Nowadays, there are dozens of hygienic lipsticks - with and without scent, transparent, decorative... But in the USSR, only people who had been abroad could boast of such luxury. And even then not always. However, fashionistas did not despair. The replacement for chapstick was simple Vaseline. It may not have smelled like “blackberry cheesecake,” but it did the job of moisturizing with flying colors.

Crafts from old clothes

As you know, in the Soviet Union nothing was ever thrown away. Throwing tights or stockings into the trash is unthinkable. The same applied to outdated T-shirts and sweatshirts. If there was nothing to sew on them, the knitwear was used up.Practical and comfortable rugs were knitted from fabric, pillowcases were sewn, and rags were cut. Things lasted until their last breath.

Pipe cleaner

At that time, housewives did not have any “Mr. Muscle” or “Toilet Duckling”. However, resourceful women have invented their own brew for cleaning pipes. They mixed half a pack of baking soda, half a glass of vinegar, let the mixture sit for half an hour and poured boiling water over it. The resulting composition dissolved (and still dissolves!) any nasty thing. Although it is quite aggressive, so it can harm delicate materials and even its creator.

Descaling

Now you can joke about a pack of soda that has been in the kitchen cupboard since time immemorial. It used to be featured in most life hacks. With a couple of tablespoons of this miracle powder, you could clean any pot or pan from carbon deposits. It is enough to boil the dishes and leave them in the solution overnight. To be honest, I still use this method to this day.

Food storage

Throwing something away was basically an unaffordable luxury. Housewives learned to take care of any food supplies. Every Soviet woman knew that bread should be kept in a wooden breadbox or at least on a board. Tomato paste was mixed with salt and vegetable oil. Well, the lard was ground into minced meat and stored in the freezer. And sometimes they even buried themselves in a snowdrift in the yard if it was winter.

Therapeutic facial scrub

There weren’t any special care products at that time, but I wanted to be beautiful. I had to do my own makeup. Crushed aspirin tablets were mixed with sour cream or yogurt. The face was rubbed well with this mixture and then washed.

Dry shampoo

Yes, the now fashionable device was invented back in the USSR.To create the effect of washed hair, women sifted a little flour or talcum powder through a sieve. After this, you had to carefully distribute the product through your hair. As in the case of syrup, after such a life hack, you still had to wash your hair thoroughly.