‘Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without’

Signs of spring are here. The daffodils are poking through the warming earth. Snow is melting. I am reminded of spring cleaning. My attic is filled with items and things I accumulated with the intention that I will reuse them someday for whatever reason. Cleaning is a good thing. Recycling is even better. The outcome of repurposing makes me feel good. Spring is the right time to start the process.

There is a common phrase — “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” that became popular and which originated from the Great Depression Era around the Second World War. It was associated with President Calvin Coolidge, this phrase represents the New Englander’s frugality and thrifty lifestyle.

Amazon delivery boxes, small and large, are piled up and sit in the basement. I am thinking of clearing them all sometime this spring.

Growing up in the 1960s in South Korea, my siblings and I were experts in repurposing without any prior learning from New Englanders. We collected old newspapers or boxes to swap to get a few morsels of sticky rice candy called, “yut.” We also got most of our snacks like popcorn from exchanging empty bottles or whatnot in the household. In fact, I cleaned the house eagerly in search of any items which I could trade for snacks.

It may be hard to imagine for our millennials that there were times when we had to conserve our scarce resources — trees, fuel sources and daily provisions. In today’s affluent environment, one can hardly realize that Korea, after the war, had this experience. Then everyone was voluntarily involved with the movement we call today recycling or upcycling. What do you have at home that you no longer need or use, but could be repurposed to do something new and useful?

Gone are the days when we had to do such things just to get snacks. It may even be unimaginable when children had to do so. In the super digital and industrialized society of Korea today, you can get any snacks 24x7 with an international level of varieties: bread, pastries and drinks can even be delivered to your doorstep.

In retrospect, I wonder whether I could appreciate the environmental recycling concerns at all without having had the life experience of “use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without ” over half a century ago. It is truly a good thing to practice this way of being in the world even if things are readily available and abundant.