I'm sure we've all heard this old saying before. It was a way of life during the depression, when resources were extremely scarce. Now, in our days of excess consumerism, the adage is still extremely useful.
Use it Up, Wear in Out, Make it Do
Most of this saying refers to using the resources we already have to fill needs. Use the food in the fridge and pantry to figure out what to make for dinner, instead of running to the store, or picking up fast-food (or ordering pizza, which is admittedly our biggest weakness). Wear the clothes in your closet until they are worn through, rather than buying new things. Then when they are worn, patch them up and get more life out of them... if you have the materials to patch them already. When you have limited tools, use the ones you have to complete your projects. When you only have a 2 cup measuring cup, but need to measure 3 1/2 cups of oats... you'll just have to use the cup twice. When you're trying to make cookies, you'll have to wash the measuring cup between the wet & dry ingredients.
Saving Time
Often we think, "Oh, but if I have to wash the measuring cup in the middle of cookies, I'll be wasting time." But look at the bigger picture. If you do have two measuring cups, and use one for wet ingredients, and one for dry... then you have to wash two measuring cups when you finish, instead of one in the middle and one at the end. You're not saving any time, it's just shifting to a different part of the process. And, you'll have to store two measuring cups.
Pass it On
This is one line I believe should be part of the old adage. Just because you have something, and could use it, doesn't mean you should. I once accumulated a large supply of baby cereal and jarred baby foods before I discovered that my twin boys refused to eat any of it. This presented me with several choices: engage in a power struggle to force my boys to eat the food so it wouldn't be wasted, try to convince my older girls to eat the food (tried it... they hated it too), throw the food away, give it to someone who needed it. Around Christmas-time we ended up taking our entire baby food stash to Jiffy Lube because they were collecting food and diapers for the local food bank. The staff and Jiffy Lube thought the stash was the biggest donation they had seen all season, and handed my husband a discount card for 17% off oil changes for life. I can guarantee we get more use out of that discount card than we would have out of the baby food, and the food was passed on to a good cause.
As another example, I used to collect t-shirts. Girls' camp, church youth excursions, family vacations, school functions, etc. I rarely wore the shirts more than two or three times, but I didn't want to get rid of them. Shortly after my third daughter was born, I decided to make a quilt out of the t-shirts. Then my kids could see all the places I'd been and the things I'd been involved with, right? My husband eventually helped me find a different solution. I was the mother of three small children, I had many other projects on my plate, those t-shirts took up storage space we desperately needed, we already had cozy blankets and quilts that we loved, I didn't have time, space, or need for a t-shirt quilt, or space to store the materials until I did have time (which would probably never happen anyway). Instead, I pulled out my camera, took pictures of each shirt, front and back, and donated all the shirts.
Do Without
This is the most important part of the saying. How often do we hold onto something, or buy something because we think we need the item? I will admit that I often fall into this trap. We need more things because we have more children, right? Not necessarily. They share and take turns, and while it is helpful to have more than one princess dress-up... we don't have to have 4. Rarely do the girls ALL want to dress up as princesses at the same time, and when they do... they learn to share... we can do without.
In my kitchen, I have a cheese knife that I LOVE. We eat a lot of cheese in our house, and the cheese knife is nearly always in the sink or dishwasher and rarely put away in the drawer. I have mentioned several times that I would love a second cheese knife. I actually considered buying myself a second cheese knife when I bought one for my sister as a wedding present. I didn't end up getting another one and guess what? She's been married for 5 years now and I still don't have a second cheese knife. I would never get rid of my cheese knife, and if it ever breaks for any reason, I will definitely be replacing it... but I don't actually need a second. My husband told me that he nearly bought me a second as a Christmas present once, because he was also tired of washing it every time we needed to use it... but then he realized that if we had two cheese knives... they would both be in the sink constantly, and we'd still have to wash one to use it anyway.
On the other hand, we once stayed in the basement of some close friends for about 4 months. It was a temporary living arrangement and we only took the bare essentials with us for the stay. I brought my beloved cheese knife, but had to leave my KitchenAid mixer. The basement kitchen was stocked with some basics, and had a small hand mixer. After 4 months of frustration with the hand mixer, and frequently avoiding cooking or baking because of the darn thing... I determined that I DO need my KitchenAid. I missed it nearly every day and wished I had found a way to bring it with me. Coincidentally, during that same time period, I determined that I did not actually need my large electric griddle, or my set of five mixing bowls (two did just fine), or my 3 different cheese graters (one hand-held was just fine).
The Moral of the Story:
- Use what you already have, instead of going out to buy more.
- Pass on things you don't need, don't use, or that could get more use from someone else.
- Try going without something to see if you actually need it, or if it's something you don't even miss.
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