resolution #1: make do and mend

make do and mend print :: bold and noble 

In an effort to save money for debt reduction and some major expenses we are anticipating this year, I am going to make a concerted effort not to buy anything new for ourselves or home if we already own an acceptable alternative.  The key word here is: acceptable.  There are quite a few things I would like to replace and or add to the home, our wardrobes, and my craft stash.   However, very few of these things are absolute necessities.  In some cases, we already have something that is being used or can be repurposed  or mended to get the job done in the short term.  Also, I am going to try avoid buying the "it would be nice to have" purchases - those things that we may not have, but that  I can do without for the time being.

This is not to say that I will not make any new purchases this year.   We will need new clothes and shoes, and there will be birthdays, and other gift giving holidays and celebrations that we will need to buy for, and things that just need to be replaced or added.  I am by no means looking to suffer or sacrifice to point of unnecessary and daily frustration.  I just want to save a few dollars by making clever use of what we already have.

I am anticipating some bumps along the road.  In particular, I think I will struggle with not adding anything new to the craft stash.  A few days ago I went through a major craft purge and bagged everything up for Goodwill.  Today, I pulled some of the items back out of the bags because I knew I could use them for some upcoming projects.  

My friends, this was a moment when my 2009 (and 2008) resolution to simplify collided with my 2010 resolution to "make do and mend."  I worked really hard the last two years to get over the "I may need it someday" syndrome.  With my husband's help,  I managed to purge a lot of clutter and prevent quite a bit more from coming into the house.  Although there are times when I want to add, add, add, I have enjoyed our new simplified lifestyle, especially since adding a baby into the mix.  So, I am sure you can imagine my dilemma when we were going through our new year's purge.  I handled it by trying to anticipate real future uses for things.  Instead of saving something because "I may use it someday" I only saved things that I knew I would use for a specific purpose in the near future.  And thus, I took a small step on the road to becoming a "resourceful simplifier" in 2010.

ps - I am pretty sure I overused quotation marks in this post - my apologies.