The Art of Making Do

A few months ago, one of my daughters was home for a visit when she caught me red-handed, fishing a sock out of the kitchen trash bin. Cue the accusation: I was being “tight.” Some context first. Earlier that day, she’d been pairing up socks fresh out of the dryer when she found a hole in one of my sports socks and binned the pair without a second thought.

I should stress: I really don’t make a habit of rummaging through the rubbish. I just happened to spot it in there and had to investigate. When she caught me mid-rescue, I explained my system, patiently, as any sensible guy would. I always buy the same type of sports sock.

So when one develops a hole, I don’t throw out its perfectly good partner. I hold onto it, because sooner or later another sock will wear through and I’ll have a matching pair again. She was not impressed. That’s when the word “tight” came out along with a roll of the eyes.

My daughter simply doesn’t grasp the concept. I wasn’t being tight, I was making do! And I’ll admit, it’s something of a habit with me.

Take my electric toothbrush. I’ve had it so long the battery barely holds a charge anymore. Three uses and it’s straight back on the charger. But to my mind, that’s not a problem: it still does its job perfectly well, so why waste money on a new one just because the old one’s become a semi-permanent resident on the charging stand?

I think there’s a thread running through all this: I really don’t like wasting money. During COVID, I bought a combined mains/battery-powered hair trimmer to keep the locks under control until the barbers reopened. Then I discovered my wife Suzie did just as good a job, and I never went back. That’s $25 saved on every trim.

Unfortunately, the trimmer has now developed the same affliction as the toothbrush. These days, when I need a trim, I have to faff about digging out the extension cable and running it straight off the mains. It’s not much of a hassle, and it saves me buying a new one. Once again, making do.

So here’s my question: surely I can’t be the only one with these little quirks? It would be a lonely existence to think I’m the sole Humble Dollar reader squeezing extra value out of tired old gadgets and orphan socks. Does anyone else have examples to share? Give me some ideas in pursuit of perfecting the art of making do.