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My mom had a beautiful set of copper pots. She loved cooking with them. She hated to take care of them. They are super tarnished, and almost black in some places because she rarely polished them.  At this point, to replace the set now would be almost $2000.  I don’t want to, nor can I, spend that kind of money. So, instead I am spending a lot of time cleaning them (for those who are curious, I am using lemon & salt and also letting them sit in dill pickle juice and it is actually working).  I can’t help but think that if she had just taken 10 minutes a week to polish them (heck, she could have just spread ketchup on them and let them sit, thats another trick I learned) they would be in beautiful condition and I wouldn’t have to worry about fixing or replacing them.

This thought has helped to encourage me to make sure I am taking care of my stuff, in other area’s of my life, because I’ve realized that the better care I take of everything (even small things) the less frequently I’ll have to buy them.  So, I’m line drying most of my expensive clothes so they will last longer, I am making sure I check the air on my tires, and I’m shutting my computer down every night instead of just putting it to sleep (and these are just a few examples).

It’s a good reminder to me that if you take care of your things, they will stay beautiful and you won’t have to buy new things, or feel pressure to do so.  If you loved something enough to buy it, then you should love something enough to take the time to care for it properly so it can last a long time.  Otherwise… well don’t buy it at all.