Use It Up. Wear It Out. Make It Do!...

Sorry about another looooong absence.. but thanx for checking back again!

I've had this blog in 'the can' for months.. was reminded of it recently by a friend. I finally got around to taking the pics that I needed for the blog to make this thing work.

I am not exactly a 'saver' of things. Like everyone else, I accumulate 'stuff'. But, I'm pretty good at tossing things out with no remorse, if they die out, or no longer fit, or have no use.

Out with the old. In with the new.

But, I'm also a stickler for the 'keep what works' mantra. I guess it came from having Great Depression Era parents... and also those stories of making due w what you had during the Depression, and the shortages at home during World War II.

Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do.

(Can't you just picture that Uncle Sam poster, with his work shirt sleeve all rolled up, and a solid bicep?).

If it still works, fits, runs, blinks, heats, or does what I need it to do, why pony up some $$ for a new one? I generally don't buy new things (especially clothing) unless it's completely necessary. I'm quite sure that if I had kept the same weight I was at 10 yrs ago, I'd still be wearing the same sweaters, pants, shirts that I wore then, as long as they were in decent shape. (In fact, I'm STILL wearing some nice sweaters that I've had for at least 15 yrs, if not longer!). Even when I do have to buy new, non-work pants, for example (due to ever growing waist line with middle age), I only buy what I need.

I only have 2 pairs of levis to my name, and about 4 or 5 pairs of sweats. That's good enough!

Not counting technology (where I am DEFINITELY a "gotta have the latest and greatest" techno junkie!), I still find a need for lots of older, day-to-day items in my life. Everything I have -- old or new -- works, or fits, or still does what it's supposed to do.... and when it stops working, THEN it gets pitched.

Why toss it if it still does the job?

Thus, this blog....

Even tho I'm definitely a modern gadget junkie, I still have these blasts from the 'state of the art' electronics past...Mattel Electronics Handheld Football and Basketball games. Yes, they still work. Yes, they are clunky and decidedly out of date. No graphics, just red LED dashes representing the players. No surround sound stereo cards with fancy sound effects. No internet connectivity, or multiplayer mode. And no way to view the games on the big screen TV.....

... But, yknow -- these are still great games, and still provide lots of enjoyment. I couldnt even guess how old they are... 25 yrs? 30? 35? I still have them, and they work fine.

Similarly, I'm not a 'cologne' kinda guy. Yes, I'm always clean, and smell fresh. But, I've never gotten into the whole cologne thing. The bottle of Musk men's cologne in the pic is probably from about 1975... yes 1975!! It used to belong to one of my older brothers when he was in High School! He left it at home when he went to college, or moved, or whatever...it stayed there... I eventually ended up with it somehow, since it never got tossed or taken. Not being a cologne kinda guy, I don't use it very often at all.. maybe twice a year, if that. Probably only twice every 5 yrs!

But, yknow.. it still smells like a new bottle of Musk you'd sample at a fragrance counter. So, why toss it??

Goes to show that just cuz something isn't modern or new, it can STILL have a happy existance in my ultra-technology driven little world.

Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do.

Some valid advice in our decidedly disposable culture....