Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, or Do Without

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This is the second of our family's 2011 New Years Resolutions. This saying, "Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do or Do Without" first came a commercial saying during the era of WWII (as noted above from the WWII advertisement). Even though I am sure that it was something that people had been saying for hundreds of years before it became a WWII poster.

So, what is out family's criteria for trying to meet this resolution for the year?

Use it up
-We are going to use up meal leftovers. By saving for another meal (example: lunch the next day) or combine several leftovers to make a new dish, casserole or soup. Hopefully this will help accomplish one of our other goals, which is to Waste Less. Items that we just won't eat or use up will be either composted or fed to the animals.
-We are going to use up household supplies and items that we currently have on hand (i.e. cleaners, toiletries, colognes, make-up, etc.), then we can make our own (which I prefer) or purchase (if making is not a good option). I will share recipes for cleaners and toiletry items i.e. shampoo, face scrubs, etc.

Wear it out
-We will be using items to their fullest in order to get the most for our dollars spent. This will include things like: furniture, clothing, bedding, towels, wash clothes, dishes, kitchen appliances, etc.
*Note: My Knight and I are going back on our diet (the one we did this last fall) starting this week, if we lose the same amount of weight as we did before, there will be a need for "smaller" clothing. We will be first shopping from home and seeing if we can "take-up" the clothing. Then we will shop from Thrift Stores, Consignment Shops and Yard Sales. Last resort will be buying new.


Make it do
-We will be making do with the items we currently have, which is way too much STUFF. We will be finding unique and creative ways to re-create uses and items out of the things/items/stuff we currently posses. This will help us accomplish another goal on our list, which is to recycle and reuse what we have. And it will help us to save more money.
*Note: One thing my sister, Amy, is doing is to not buy any wrapping paper or wrapping supplies for the year. Thus, she will be finding creative alternatives to wrapping gifts or recycling wrapping supplies she already has or receives during the year.

Do without
-This can be a tricky one....but our goal here is to find alternate ways to make do, trade, barter, share, borrow, recycle or recreate items that will get us the final product we would like or need. Now, I won't go as far as to say that we are going to go the whole year and not spend on anything....I don't think any of us (I am thinking one family member in particular - you know who you are) could totally commit to that. But, what I would like to see us as a family do is to begin to STOP and THINK about our purchases before giving into them.

Asking ourselves the questions:
Is there something that we currently have that will work or be just as compatible?
Can I barter, trade, or borrow for the item in need or want?
Do I really need it?
Can I make do without it?

All in the concept of really Simplifying our home and purchases.

Do you have any other ideas or concepts for each of these?