RESOLUTIONS: Frugality

This is the last in a series of articles in which I will be looking at environmental resolutions that you can make. Each week will feature a different theme. If you are feeling brave choose which of the themes appeals to you most and attempt to put it into practice for the year 2001. If you want less of a commitment, then simply put some, or even one, of the suggestions into practice thoughout the year. Don't worry if you occasionally break your resolution. The aim is not perfection but small differences over a long period of time.

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This week's theme is: FRUGALITY

We live in a throw-away generation nowadays. Buy it and when you get bored with it, or it needs mending or you simply fancy a change, then throw it away. No wonder the landfill sites are overflowing and manufactures think it is extravagant to build anything to last.
Anon.

In the first of these articles, I told you how you can cut down on the things you need and live a simpler life. In this article we will be looking at how you can make the things you do have last and cut down further on the money you spend. That should be incentive enough but it is also good for the environment.

So why are we often so wasteful in what we purchase:

1. Because we do not take enough time choosing what we buy - so we end up with clothes that don't suit us or a tool that will not do the work we want.
2. Because we care more about the cost than the quality - so we end up with poorly made items that soon need to be repaired or replaced
3. Because we do not look after the things we buy so we end up with clothes that are ruined by careless laundering or being left wet, clocks that rust because they are exposed to wet environments, etc.
4. Because we do not put things away so when we need the item again it is nowhere to be found.
5. Because we don't mend things on time (or at all) so we keep having to replace them instead.
6. Because we don't have the means to make small repairs tool boxes, sewing kits, zips and buttons salvaged from other clothes, hinges and handles salvaged from old furniture, stick on soles and heels.

If we buy decent quality objects and look after them, they will last far longer and we will need to replace them less often. If we use a bit of initiative we will also find uses for old or worn out items, saving us further spending and using even less resources. For instance:

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