Use it up.
Wear it out.
Make it do.
Or do without.
That quaint saying dates back to the Depression. I learned it from an elderly lady I'll call Gladys. Gladys recited this rhyme to illustrate a point. Growing up amid two world wars, she told me, everyone understood frugality.
Her wartime days of rationing and margarine coupons are long over. But, like many who lived through wars and the depression, she still has trouble throwing away something serviceable. That vase started out as a wine bottle. Bread is stored in a tin box cookies came in years ago. She repairs her clothes, sewing rips, replacing buttons. She still wears shoes she bought in the 60’s, and has clothes in her closet older than I am.
"Why would I buy a new coat? This one is fine."
Shopping for jeans the other day, I thought of Gladys, as I passed shops filled with "fast fashion" - inexpensive, stylish clothes bought to be worn for one season - heck, for one night sometimes. Every shopping center sports these flashy chain stores, filled with the latest looks and pounding music. Somehow, I didn't think it occurred to those hip young shoppers at the mall buying the trendiest new fashions, to mentally inventory their closets, and "make it do or do without."