Don’t waste a thing (or string)

My mom, having lived through World War II with almost nothing but clothes on her back while fleeing from enemy soldiers, was always the epitome of frugal. She was a practitioner of “reuse, reduce, and recycle” decades before it was a thing.

While I’m not nearly as good as she is, I have been influenced by her to not be wasteful. Food waste, in particular, drives me batty. But even little things like strings are worth considering.

Back around 1990 to 1992, I worked in the office of the sociology department at the University of Delaware. The mail would come delivered tied up with string (no, no brown paper). The other secretary would just cut the string and toss it. Me, I carefully untied the knot and then wound the string in a neat coil and saved it to be used later.

And, indeed, it was used later. In the 30+ years since, the Spousal Unit would use these perfectly good cotton strings to prop up plants in the garden along with other miscellaneous tasks that need strings. We’ve not had to buy strings…ever. I know it’s just a small thing in the grand scheme of the universe, but it makes me feel good that I didn’t waste something perfectly serviceable, and the SU and I have a good laugh about it every so often about my squirreling habits.

What do you like to not see wasted?