As you know, I periodically review my new year's resolutions. That's why I write them down. One of my resolutions was to save a specific percentage of my income. Another was to live more lightly on the earth.

Well, last week put those resolutions into conflict. Getting a new roof (which will improve my insulation and lower my energy use) will certainly slow the pace of my saving.

So that got me thinking about slogans (stick with me — I'm going somewhere here). We all know "Reduce. Reuse. Recycle." Mostly, we focus on reducing packing and junk mail, choosing reusable options like a refillable water bottle instead of bottled water, and recycling empties.

But during the Great Depression, there was a great saying that still applies today: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without." It doesn't mention recycling by name (probably because it wasn't a "thing" yet), but it's certainly in the same spirit. And, I think, it gives us far more helpful advice about how we actually live.

So, for the next few blog posts, I'll be discussing the elements of this slogan and how we can live it in our lives. Hope you'll stick around to read it.