How making do yields more with less
My cleaning woman comes most Friday mornings about 6 a.m., tidies up the house, empties the trash, runs the vacuum (after the others in the household are up) and then washes the floor, usually on her hands and knees. She shakes the rugs and then goes to her regular job about 9 a.m.
I don’t really have a cleaning woman but I always feel good if I can go off to my real job on Friday mornings with my house somewhat clean. The thing I like about being my own cleaning woman is that I get a thorough work out on those mornings: I usually work up a sweat. To stretch and reach while vacuuming and cleaning is invigorating. So, I not only save money on a cleaning woman, I save on gym fees, gas (to get to a gym)—and we also conserve gas by not having a cleaning woman drive to our house. It is a real more with less idea that I have come to embrace, although, yes, I’d love to have a cleaning woman (or man!)
Most of us live with situations that are perhaps “making do” or, we hope, temporary, but can be looked at as a way to “do more with less,” such as adult kids living at home. We have joined many other parents whose kids come back home to live for a period of time. While it saves our daughter money while also providing a small income for us (she has a college degree and a decent full-time job), none of us want it to be permanent. But, while it lasts, we can be enthusiastic about the fact that we are doing more with less: sharing electric bills, telephone bills, satellite TV bills, food bills. If two can live more cheaply together than apart, then surely three living in one house magnifies the savings.
We also enjoy a frequent pastime of walking along the road with our dog and picking up aluminum cans to recycle. We fulfill at least four goals: exercise for us, walking the dog, earning a bit of money from the cans, and cleaning the roadways.
Cars and transportation are another way to reap huge benefits of “making do.” Keep an older car as long as you can (unless it is an extreme gas guzzler). Car and financial experts say even with repairs, you can afford to fix a car many times over the cost of depreciation of a new car. It is almost always less expensive to repair a car than buy a new one. And it’s not just the repair shop that will tell you that. A good rule of thumb to estimate when it’s time get a better car is if the cost of repairs is greater than either the value of the vehicle, or one year’s worth of monthly payments, according to: http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/fix-up-or-trade-up.html.
Last year I referenced a few ideas from one “Bible” on this topic, Living More With Less (30th anniversary edition by Doris Janzen Longacre, updated by Valerie Weaver-Zercher, 2010, Herald Press). Our media agency built on this theme this year in re-releasing some updated radio public service announcements which are airing across the U.S. A college video production class also created videos on the topic. Both the radio spots and the videos are available online if you are an Internet user. I can also send you a DVD of the videos or a CD with the radio spots if you could use them (great conversation starters for a small group study or even in a worship service). These are all available at http://www.ThirdWay.com/living.
At the website, you can also find a couple dozen people who share how they “live more with less.” Some of the ideas are tried and true: recycle, plant a garden, take shorter showers. Some are more innovative or maybe off the wall or tongue in cheek: “I put my underwear in the freezer during summer instead of turning on the air conditioning.” “I don’t shower every day.” “I always wear my jeans twice before washing.” “I used hot water from my woodstove for showers using a bucket.” I hope you’ll enjoy reading them and seeing the faces and consider how they might inspire you. Go to http://www.ThirdWay.com/living and click on How I Live More With Less.
We can all learn from each other about how to live within our means and live more responsibly with what we have—sometimes making do. In this season celebrating God’s gifts to us, it’s another way to give honor to God.
For a free CD of the radio spots to share with a radio station, or a simple DVD of the video spots/discussion starters, write to Another Way, Box 22, Harrisonburg, VA 22803 or MelodieD@MennoMedia.org.
Another Way is a column from Third Way Media by Melodie Davis. She is the author of nine books, most recently Whatever Happened to Dinner and has written Another Way since 1987. She is also the producer and co-host of Shaping Families radio program (shapingfamilies.com) airing nationally.
I don’t really have a cleaning woman but I always feel good if I can go off to my real job on Friday mornings with my house somewhat clean. The thing I like about being my own cleaning woman is that I get a thorough work out on those mornings: I usually work up a sweat. To stretch and reach while vacuuming and cleaning is invigorating. So, I not only save money on a cleaning woman, I save on gym fees, gas (to get to a gym)—and we also conserve gas by not having a cleaning woman drive to our house. It is a real more with less idea that I have come to embrace, although, yes, I’d love to have a cleaning woman (or man!)
Most of us live with situations that are perhaps “making do” or, we hope, temporary, but can be looked at as a way to “do more with less,” such as adult kids living at home. We have joined many other parents whose kids come back home to live for a period of time. While it saves our daughter money while also providing a small income for us (she has a college degree and a decent full-time job), none of us want it to be permanent. But, while it lasts, we can be enthusiastic about the fact that we are doing more with less: sharing electric bills, telephone bills, satellite TV bills, food bills. If two can live more cheaply together than apart, then surely three living in one house magnifies the savings.
We also enjoy a frequent pastime of walking along the road with our dog and picking up aluminum cans to recycle. We fulfill at least four goals: exercise for us, walking the dog, earning a bit of money from the cans, and cleaning the roadways.
Cars and transportation are another way to reap huge benefits of “making do.” Keep an older car as long as you can (unless it is an extreme gas guzzler). Car and financial experts say even with repairs, you can afford to fix a car many times over the cost of depreciation of a new car. It is almost always less expensive to repair a car than buy a new one. And it’s not just the repair shop that will tell you that. A good rule of thumb to estimate when it’s time get a better car is if the cost of repairs is greater than either the value of the vehicle, or one year’s worth of monthly payments, according to: http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/fix-up-or-trade-up.html.
Last year I referenced a few ideas from one “Bible” on this topic, Living More With Less (30th anniversary edition by Doris Janzen Longacre, updated by Valerie Weaver-Zercher, 2010, Herald Press). Our media agency built on this theme this year in re-releasing some updated radio public service announcements which are airing across the U.S. A college video production class also created videos on the topic. Both the radio spots and the videos are available online if you are an Internet user. I can also send you a DVD of the videos or a CD with the radio spots if you could use them (great conversation starters for a small group study or even in a worship service). These are all available at http://www.ThirdWay.com/living.
At the website, you can also find a couple dozen people who share how they “live more with less.” Some of the ideas are tried and true: recycle, plant a garden, take shorter showers. Some are more innovative or maybe off the wall or tongue in cheek: “I put my underwear in the freezer during summer instead of turning on the air conditioning.” “I don’t shower every day.” “I always wear my jeans twice before washing.” “I used hot water from my woodstove for showers using a bucket.” I hope you’ll enjoy reading them and seeing the faces and consider how they might inspire you. Go to http://www.ThirdWay.com/living and click on How I Live More With Less.
We can all learn from each other about how to live within our means and live more responsibly with what we have—sometimes making do. In this season celebrating God’s gifts to us, it’s another way to give honor to God.
For a free CD of the radio spots to share with a radio station, or a simple DVD of the video spots/discussion starters, write to Another Way, Box 22, Harrisonburg, VA 22803 or MelodieD@MennoMedia.org.
Another Way is a column from Third Way Media by Melodie Davis. She is the author of nine books, most recently Whatever Happened to Dinner and has written Another Way since 1987. She is also the producer and co-host of Shaping Families radio program (shapingfamilies.com) airing nationally.
Published: November 14, 2011
