What "old school" things do you still do?

[athena53]

I'd forgotten about paper maps. Yes, I still use them on occasion although I just got rid of a big box of them on Craigslist. I use my phone apps for navigation in the car but when I'm walking I really prefer paper. It took me forever to figure out that when an app tells you, "In 0.5 miles turn right on Main Street" and then after you've proceeded for a distance, "In 0.7 miles turn right on Main Street"... you need to turn around.

I still use pencils when I'm trying to assemble my thoughts. Yesterday I was cleaning out a drawer and found 5 erasers and 3 pencil sharpeners. Maybe I don't need all of them. The pencil sharpeners are little metal ones made in Germany- I first found them in a stationery supply store in the 90s. I don't like the electric ones.

Also- VERY few specialized kitchen appliances and few gadgets. I have a blender and a mixer but prefer to chop my own vegetables and do 99% of my cooking in cast-iron or some old enamel-clad pots that belonged to my late MIL. No air fryer, Insta-Pot, not even a Crock-Pot. Which reminds me- in my paring down process I can probably get rid of the Revere Ware. I never use it.

 

[Out of Steam]

Mostly based on Gumby's list, I do fewer old school things than I thought I did.

Take handwritten notes of meetings and phone calls in a bound book.
Have a doorbell with two actual tubular bells and an electromagnetic striker.
Receive bills on paper (most of them)
Check fluids and tire pressures on our cars.
I keep paper maps, but use them mostly as backup.

I would do most of my own vehicle maintenance, but my arthritic hands make that unpleasant on a good day, impossible on a bad one.

 

[Car-Guy]

Still use USPS. - Usually works, but sometimes not so well
Still write checks, but not to often.
Still have land line(s) - Need it for DSL
Still hang out at a couple of forums - Mostly car related
Still have a printer - Not even considering getting rid of it
Still file taxes by paper/mail
Still get most (not all) bills by mail, but I pay on-line
Still have/use DVD's regularly and sometimes use my VHS and BetaMax
Analog wrist watch (with Roman Numerals)
Still drive gas guzzlers but they are new - Gas Guzzlers = less than 12mpg
Don't use Facebook, X, etc

 

[Dtail]

Paper planner
Credit card receipts until they clear
Write a few checks

 

[Dawg52]

Same. I use my printer daily. I’m shocked when I read how many people don’t own a printer anymore.

I have a printer but use it maybe twice a year.

Just got through watching an old Andy Griffith show and occasionally Johnny Carson reruns. But I don't view on a tube tv as I moved into modern flat screens a few years back.

 

[audreyh1]

I do keep paper receipts if offered or given to me, but if offered text or email I prefer that. I do have to be more disciplined about collecting receipts the right location if they are electronic but it’s nice not dealing with the paper.

When traveling a long period (> 2 weeks) in Europe I sometimes get overwhelmed with the receipts so I’ve had to become more organized about it. Last trip which was 6 weeks with a lot of city hopping I started a spreadsheet on my iPad to organize them. I also had the hotels give me envelopes for the hotel receipt and I put the other receipts from that stay in the same envelope. Boy that really helped when we got back home!

 

[aja8888]

Change the oil in my (old car) and daughter's family cars.
Wash and wax my cars.
Still talk to people using my phone (I hate text conversations).
Go to a regular barber for haircuts (Henry - He's a 30 year tradition in The Woodlands).
Clean my own house.
Do my own laundry.
Still stay in touch with old friends from decades ago.
Still use my old Garmin on long road trips.
Cut my own grass and do other landscaping tasks.
Fix anything that gets broken (if repairable).
Finally gave up on restoring classic cars though.
There's more, I just can't remember it!

 

[mystang52]

Only read "real" books.
I'll buy show tickets online, but print them for when I attend the show (vs using my phone)
DW uses phone for tap-to-pay credit card, but I still whip out the plastic card.
Still have the landline.
Have 2 magazine subscriptions.

 

[Cobra9777]

...For printing: the most likely thing I print is sheet music for the piano...

You should try forScore on the iPad. Turning pages is SO much easier.

 

[athena53]

Still file taxes by paper/mail

Someone mentioned upthread that they'd done this until a few years ago. I was the same way and then in early 2020 I filed for a large refund on my Federal taxes- by paper. I know the government can find out anything they want about my income and expenses but I didn't like wrapping it all up in one place and tying it with a nice electronic bow.

Then COVID happened. I waited and waited and waited... and finally my brother the tax accountant told me to go ahead and e-file. I did and the refund arrived promptly in my checking account. Then last year I had to file my state return on paper because of a particular form I was using. The Post Office LOST it. I'd paid for tracking and it just disappeared from the system. They had no explanation. I had to print it out and do it all over again.

So it will be electronic from now on. That state form was a one-time thing- a 50% credit for donations to food banks.

 

[Cobra9777]

I like staying current with technology most of the time. I get no paper statements or bills, don't use paper calendars or maps, and I don't maintain an offline check register that has to be reconciled.

That said, the kids do make fun of a few things:

1. Our landline phone. In my defense, it's totally free using a Google Voice number plus an Obi VoIP device.
2. Our giant desktop PC with three 27" monitors. And yes, we have a printer with scanner. Rarely use it though.
3. Our home theater audio set-up based on Klipschorns and tube amps. No vinyl though.
4. The fact that we sometimes leave the house without our cellphones.

What amuses me even more are the old-school habits making a comeback with young people... vinyl records and portable record players, playing board games, knitting, instant-print cameras, cooking and baking from scratch, etc. DD watches sitcoms from the 60s and 70s. Pretty soon they'll be writing checks and polishing their shoes.

 

[harllee]

I have not seen anyone mention this--I wear a wind up wrist watch without a battery. I got tired of having to replace batteries in my wrist watch. I have had my wind up watch for many many years. They are hard to find--I usually buy them from Vermont Country Store.

 

[audreyh1]

You should try forScore on the iPad. Turning pages is SO much easier.

I have a large iPad but I don’t turn pages while playing. I have a wide set up with at least 3 single sided pages of music displayed at once and I might shift a couple more over once. I also work hard to memorize the pieces.

 

[pacergal]

Use Dayplanner, on the right side of my desk for years
Vinyl records
checks and checkbook
paper books
have and still use my printer
could not get by daily without my post it note reminders!
make lists on paper
send birthday and Christmas cards in the mail
still have my old wind up watch

 

[Badger]

Same. I use my printer daily. I’m shocked when I read how many people don’t own a printer anymore.

I didn't know that was a "thing". I use my printer often. I don't know how I could do without it.

 

[Lorenzo]

DW and I sit down with a snack and a drink and watch the news on television every night at 6 pm, despite that we have already been made aware of much of what happened that day through Internet browsing. Oh, and I suppose another old-school thing I do is capitalize "Internet."

While on the topic of the Internet, I believe it is old-school to write in complete sentences and to use forums like this where people discuss topics using more than just abbreviations, emojis and pictures. Will tomorrow's crop of retirees learn how to navigate the issues discussed here using TikTok?

 

[Ronstar]

Carry a pocket knife everyday and sometimes a fixed blade - have made my own knives
Use paper maps, many that I made myself
Read printed books
Subscribe to a few magazines
Hand stitch leather knife sheaths
Do some of my woodworking with all hand tools
Take hand written notes in a field notes book that I carry with me
Navigate by compass on longer hikes
Buy things with bills and coins almost every day
Still use a toolbox that I made in high school 55 years ago
Hike with hiking sticks that I made from fallen branches

 

[Bestwifeever]

DH has always carried a little coin purse in his pocket and has held up many a grocery store line as he fishes out the exact change for the bemused cashier.

 

[Slotracer]

I have not seen anyone mention this--I wear a wind up wrist watch without a battery. I got tired of having to replace batteries in my wrist watch. I have had my wind up watch for many many years. They are hard to find--I usually buy them from Vermont Country Store.

Automatic and hand-wind watches are a popular hobby. They are available from large watch companies (Timex has even re-issued some) as well as micro brands which sell a variety of designs, many of which use Seiko or Citizen movements. For the most part you have to order them on the internet rather than walk into a store (except higher-end watches at jewelry stores).

As far as other old-fashioned things, I use (and collect) fountain pens and mechanical pencils, I read paper books, I own an eight-track player, my motorcycle has carburetors, and I do much of my own car maintenance. We do have a check register. On the flip side I have and use a 3D printer, so I'm not entirely opposed to progess.

 

[Gumby]

Automatic and hand-wind watches are a popular hobby. They are available from large watch companies (Timex has even re-issued some) as well as micro brands which sell a variety of designs, many of which use Seiko or Citizen movements. For the most part you have to order them on the internet rather than walk into a store (except higher-end watches at jewelry stores).

As far as other old-fashioned things, I use (and collect) fountain pens and mechanical pencils, I read paper books, I own an eight-track player, my motorcycle has carburetors, and I do much of my own car maintenance. We do have a check register. On the flip side I have and use a 3D printer, so I'm not entirely opposed to progess.

I have seen some very nice hand-wind watches from a Detroit company called Shinola, but my old Timex is serving me well so I will stick with it.

 

[brett]

I moved all bills, etc to email years ago. And we pay all bills either through auto pay or etransfer. We both review our electronic bank and credit card statements for acuracy. I also check our on line accounts on a regular basis. I could not even guess where my cheque book is hiding.

I have several recipes that I prepare. All in hard copy printouts.

BUT....I still use a hard copy calendar which my spouse finds very odd!

I sometimes refer to an email as a memo...which DW finds somewhat amusing.

I have abandoned hard copy newspapers but much prefer hard copy books.

I do not subscribe to mobile data on my cell. Just regular phone service.

Each of us on our third (or is it fourth) ipad. Cannot imagine living or traveling without one! Still use my 14 year old desktop with no plans to replace.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

Listening to talk radio on a radio.

I'm listening to the Green Bay/Chicago football game on the radio as I type this.

 

[Midpack]

I have not seen anyone mention this--I wear a wind up wrist watch without a battery. I got tired of having to replace batteries in my wrist watch. I have had my wind up watch for many many years. They are hard to find--I usually buy them from Vermont Country Store.

I haven't worn a watch since I started carrying an iPhone, but then I've never liked jewelry of any kind. Sold the valuable ones I owned around 2010, and threw away the cheapo digitals - batteries had died anyway.

 

[scrabbler1]

Okay, I'll play.

I have a land line although it uses an internet-based service since 2016 when I changed providers.

My cell phone, which I rarely use, is a low-end flip phone which can send and receive texts and costs me about $5 per month.

I file my tax returns by mail, as I do for 3 other people. I do send and receive tax payments/refunds electronically, including estimated payments. I still write some checks, maybe 10 per year.

My 18-year-old car, a Corolla, is a low-end CE model. It lacks power windows, so I still roll them up and down with a hand crank. It has a CD player, as Toyota had only recently switched from cassette players. That kinda sucks because I can't play my tapes going back to the 1980s any more. I never even used the CD player until a few years ago, as I own maybe 3 music CDs. No GPS, of course.

I still play my Strat-o-Matic baseball games using cards and dice, not the PC version many gamers use. I use spreadsheets for the support work and stat-keeping.

I tried Facebook about 15 years ago. I thought it was stupid (like what Betty White said in her 2010 SNL appearance) and canceled the account a few days later.

I read regular paper books. Lots of them, from the library.

I write my shopping and errand lists on scraps of paper and backs of used envelopes.

I use cash for small purchases (under $30) and for a few larger ones if there is a price differential, a topic discussed to a considerable degree in the last year or two. Most bills I get on paper, especially if the billed amount varies by month.

I play Scrabble a lot with my (snake-bit) friend the same way we have done going back to the 1980s (except we use tile tracking scoresheets the last several years).

I use a printer often, for my Strat and Scrabble stuff mostly.

I had a dishwasher in the 1990s but returned to hand-washing after I stopped working FT.

Edit to add: My microwave oven I got as a gift back in 1987. It has no turntable, no digital display, just a dial like on an egg timer and 2 settings: cook and defrost. Still works great.

 

[ls99]

Paper calendar, cut and chop wood, scraper or straight razor shave, paper checks, balance checkbook register, carry knife and shooting iron, pencil, hand write grocery list, no TV, vinyl records, though in car use USB stick, Reel to Reel Teac tape player, Cell Phone always OFF unless a must make phone call, use cash most of the time, use 12Yo Epson printer, keep zero personal info on cellphone (iphone5).