We live in a throw away world,,,,,,,,

Greetings!!

I was over on facebook playing games and wondering what I was going to write about this morning when God laid it on my heart as He usually does.  This ties in with the subject of "being good stewards" as I have written about many times before.

My folks, as I am sure many others, had a phrase when I was a kid, "take care of ________________(fill in the blank)  and it will take care of you."  I can remember in one particular case, my brother Leon bought me my first bicycle, my father said, "take care of that bike and it will take care of you."  I didn't fully understand how a bike could take care of me but I knew I had better take care of it!!  I washed it regularly, never left it out in the rain, greased the chain when it needed it, kept the tires filled properly with air and so on. 

As I got older I began to understand what my father was saying, if we take care of something it will last a long time.  I learned by watching my father's example with his car.  He changed the oil regularly, always checked the fluids, air pressure in the tires and had regular maintenance done to the car.  It lasted many years.

Mom was the same way, she took care of things in the house.  A good example that comes to mind with her is the toaster.  I remember weekly she would thoroughly clean the toaster.  She would dump out all the toast crumbs that would linger in the bottom, clean the toaster and check for any loose wires or heating elements.  She had dad change the plug on it twice over the years as I recall and tighten the heating elements when necessary.  That old toaster lasted decades!!

Today we often say, "they don't make things as good as they used to".  Is that really the case?  Or do we find it easier to just throw it out and buy a new one?  I believe too often we will throw it out and buy new.  Toasters are a very common thing to throw away when really all they need is a little maintenance.  How many times do you clean your toaster, check the plug and heating elements?  I remember learning at a young age how to change a plug on a small kitchen appliance, and tighten heating elements in a toaster.

Until just a few years ago I was still using the same Dormyer Stand Mixer that my mom had used since 1946 when it was given to her as a wedding gift.  The plug had frayed and needed replacing.  I let my husband at the time take it to change the plug but he wound up destroying the mixer in the process.  What a shame!!  It was the greatest mixer I had ever owned!!  I felt like I lost an old friend.  Ah, such is life!!  At any rate, being a good steward had kept that mixer in the family for over 60 years.  Imagine that!!

I have found brand new microwave ovens thrown out with the trash only to find they either needed a little tightening of a wire or a fuse in it.  Not long ago an electric mitre saw was in the garbage, not a thing wrong with it except it needed a new blade!!  I have seen window air conditioners throw out and all they needed was a good cleaning to get the dirt and dust out that had built up over the years and slowed the motor down.  The latest thing I saw along the curb lately is the older, boxy style TVs.  People want the flat screens and will throw out a perfectly good TV because they want the latest style!!  Such a waste!!

Spring cleaning is now under-way at my house.  That is also part of "taking care of things" and "being a good steward".  If we don't thoroughly clean things they begin to not work as well or look as nice.  I don't know exactly when spring cleaning actually became a tradition but I do remember a story when I was young that spring cleaning was actually a time to take apart your wood burners, which was your main source of heating, and clean them and make any repairs so they would be in good shape when cooler weather returned.  You also washed the soot from the walls, ceilings, floors, furniture and everything else in the home.  This thorough cleaning insure that everything was in good working order.

I think this is a good tradition that many people have gotten away from, at least in part.  Oh, we give it a lick and a prayer as some say.  People might take curtains down and washed them, shampoo the carpets, polish the furniture, etc. But do you take the time to check and clean each appliance in the house, repair any loose wires and plugs?  What about cleaning and flushing all the drains in the house?  Clean the gutters?  How many things do you throw away each year that with a little extra time spent on maintaining them they would last a little longer?

Learn how to sharpen your kitchen knives rather than buying new.  I cannot tell you how many people I personally know who have no clue how to sharpen a knife!!

With the economy as uncertain as it is, I think it would be good to really get back to the old way of doing things.  You can really save a lot of money by doing a little maintenance rather than throwing away and buying new!!

Until next time,,,,,,,Blessings!!