The power of being resourceful in your life

What does it mean to be resourceful, exactly? It is not the same to be stingy or “cheap”. When I hear a word like “be resourceful,” I understand it to mean to make good use of resources, to be creative, perhaps in an inexpensive way, and to keep in the habit of doing it. If you are like me, you are resourceful if you believe that “time is money”, you don’t like to buy unnecessary things and you figure out clever ways to get what you want or need, maybe by making something out of ordinary materials. .

What influences a more resourceful attitude than others? Many rags to rich celebrities, who may have grown up knowing abject poverty, may have a remnant of being frugal in life even when they found fame and fortune. They knew what it was like to live in want or scarcity in the past, and it might have been a character-building trait for them later on. Even with the richest of wealth, they learned not to take their material luxuries for granted. My grandparents were children of the Great Depression, and I remember how they were always (rightfully so!) disgusted with the more casual and wasteful ways of my peers. So you see, I learned from the best example. Now that we are not in the best of economic times, we can learn a thing or two from them.

So how can you become more resourceful in your life, without making too many sacrifices in enjoyment or fun? Creativity is key! For example, when I find cardboard boxes lying around, I look at them and decide if they would be useful for storage. I found some that were just the right size to store games and movies, so I used colored duct tape to cover the boxes to make them attractive to use as storage bins. I have also done it with shoe boxes, since they can contain many things. Plus, they look good when I’m done with them, even better than some of the more mundane looking storage bins I’ve come across in big box retailers. But it doesn’t have to end with boxes… I discovered that many other things can be reused, like wide mouth jars, coffee cans, and empty soda bottles… you’d be surprised at the many uses that could be found for all of them. .

We live in a more eco-conscious era, with many more households sorting trash and creating recycling bins for extra items like soda bottles, cartons, milk jugs, and cans. While I strongly support (and participate in) the practice, I strongly suggest that you take a look at what ends up in your recycle bin and see what you might be “recycling” instead. Could that empty tissue box double as a storage container for trinkets, simply by modifying the exterior? How about decorating an empty coffee can or soup can to use as a pen holder? Or several cans of soup pushed together to form a clever desk organizer for all your office trinkets? Things that go together can actually look GOOD when all is said and done… a little exploring and you’re bound to find plenty of reusing and recycling resources online.

Once you master this skill, you’ll find the saying “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” very true, and many win-wins in the form of conservation and creativity. You will enjoy your life more when you realize that an empty can, box or egg carton deserves a second chance at life than just ending up sitting in a recycling bin or landfill. And that, my friends, is by no means “lowering it” in life.