Monday, May 16, 2011

Saving Stuff...

A friend recently wrote a blog about saving bits of string.  That's probably the one thing I don't save. We have lots of bits of paper to write shopping lists or notes on. My husband saves coffee cans and mayonnaise jars in which we keep our dry staples on the pantry shelf. I save bits of info about ancestors that I scribble on those saved bits of paper. (I even save, in my head, old phone numbers and  the birthdates and death dates of friends long gone. That, at least, doesn't take up any room in the drawers!)

I am prone to be the subject of family jokes because I salvage things that have use left in them. At every gift giving event, I race to save a large piece of wrapping paper, so that it can be used on another large, or several small, gifts in the future. I like to save ribbons and bows.  I cannot see the point of buying more of the same, when there's good use left in the item, just because somebody thinks I'm cheap or silly.

My parents were children of the Depression era. They learned early how to recycle, but of course they didn't call it that in those days.  It was a wise way to stretch a dollar, and in my opinion, it still is.  I tend to buy classic clothing so that I can wear it for many more seasons (or years, or maybe decades!) than if I choose to buy fad styles.  Call me cheap. Call me thrifty.  Call me a saver. Call me a recycler. Call me what you will, I will not be swayed from my mode of operation.

The landfills have less stuff in them because of this household.  The pocketbook has more dollars. I happen to be a huge fan of both!  Do you recycle? How do you feel about the subject? Do you think that most people are wasteful, or are more people doing good things for the future generations?

As for me, I think I'm doing my part to save one other thing...our beautiful Earth.

5 comments:

  1. I'm for recycling, when it doesn't become Just Stuff, for us to shelve. I'm not into "But maybe we'll need it some day." My husband is somewhat and we have to battle a bit, over that. Not much though. I've converted him to Simplicity.

    Perfection to me would be the old Morris quote... "Have nothing in your home, which you do not love or use."

    Being an only child, and having had to do the whole cleaning out of family home, showed me that it can be absolutely painful. For a remaining child [or children] to have to deal with a lifetime's worth of other people's things. A house hold full of things. -sigh-

    I don't want to do that to my children.

    Nor do I want to make them feel pressured to KEEP my things, just because I liked them.

    Ideally, I'd not leave much "stuff," for them to dispose of. And it is a bonus to me now. To not have to find storage and clean, a lot of "stuff" that I'll never use.

    Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... Guess this is a totally opposite view. Hope it's OK to comment thus. We're just chatting in comments... We each are free to make our own decisions. :-)

    ~♥~

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  2. I have no problem with 'less' stuff, believe me, but my problem is we BOTH like things we've kept and we do use it.I'd really LOVE to ditch the stuff we have 'stored'. Stored for what? I've told my husband that our kids will curse us as they toss it without a second glance...so we may as well save them the trouble!

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  3. I am also very "frugal" with parents who grew up with the depression mindset. But I'm more frugal about the things that you have to buy endlessly anyways. I'd rather spend money on fun stuff than toothpaste, shall we say--hehe!

    I do tend to clear out a lot more things than I used to. If I haven't used something for a few years but it is still good, these days I freecycle. Somebody will probably want it and come and pick it up! It's awesome to know it will go to somebody who can use it. Or I give things away to an outfit in town who helps the homeless get back on their feet. I don't like to have things around I won't use. Trouble is, I think I will use more than I do. LOL!

    My DIL has gotten me even more into recycling. She has got me using the cloth shopping bags, strange light bulbs, etc. It's a good thing. :)

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  4. I tend to be one of the ones that laughs about the wrapping paper Mama, but I do really understand why. The laughter has to do more with the fact that your grand daughter is so carefull about opening presents because she wants to be able to reuse the paper as well. It runs in the family!
    There are many things you have saved that I think we will want to keep as well and I will fight for them. (quilts, crafts, paintings)I am willing to share them with others in the family but at the same time will fight to keep them from going to the dump if anyone in this family is dumb enough to even think that should be the disposition of those items.
    I love that you have taught us how to reuse or find other uses for items. It is frugal and "green"

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  5. I have a tendency to be rather oblique in my writing at times. The point I was making had little to do with the saving of the string itself. I was attempting to speak metaforicly about holding on to the old ways and values. Thank you for your comments and those of your readers.
    Like you said earlier,this writing is good practice and I hope to improve upon it. Loving every minute of it !

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