Make It Do

One of my husband's favorite sayings is "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."  This quotation reflects an attitude that both of us grew up with on our respective family ranches. We were conservative with resources because they were limited or not easily accessible.  Most ranchers do not choose to ranch for the money or the ease of the work, but because they enjoy working with the animals and the lifestyle for raising a family.  Town was twenty miles away for me growing up, but we only went to town on Sunday for church and one other day for groceries or other commitments like music lessons or a doctor's appointment.  This meant that if you did not have the ingredient for a recipe, you either figured out a substitute or didn't make it. This also encouraged creativity to come up with ideas of how to use what we did have to meet our needs.  It is amazing what you can fix with baling wire and duct tape!

  Now, even in the city, we try use our resources efficiently. I hang clothes out on the line to dry rather than watching the electric meter whiz around, plus I like being outside in the yard. I love the fresh smell of line-dried sheets and I'm willing to deal with towels that are not quite as soft as those from the dryer because it saves so much energy. I smile and nod when I see current magazines recommend going green by hanging clothes on the line.  I save the buttons off my husband's old shirts finding opportunity to use them again on other projects.  I mend his work jeans multiple times so he can continue to use them for tough jobs.  I like to make use of what we have if at all possible.
 Our pantry is well stocked, a habit from days on the ranch when the store was many miles away. I stock-up when items are on sale and plan menus for a week at a time so that I can shop once a week and have what I need for meals.  I can fresh garden produce, make jelly, bread, and usually make things from scratch rather than mixes.  All of these things are a reflection of the self-sufficiency and independence required on the ranch.  Yes, it is easier to buy things, but there is great satisfaction in seeing the fruits of your own labor because you realize  what it takes for the end product.

 I was raised with this is the perspective of using resources sparingly, and it is one that I continue to value many years later and in a different circumstance.