Ok, so we know what we've got (FF#3), we're using what we've got (FF#4), and now we need to make sure we take care of what we've got.
Cars: keep them maintained. Know how to check the air pressure in the tires, as well as the wear on the treads. Having proper air pressure can keep you from driving on a too-low tire and ruining the sidewalls. It also can have an affect on your gas mileage ($$$). Noting the wear pattern on your tires can indicate needing to rotate them, so they wear evenly and last longer, or it can alert you to the need for an alignment or time to start looking for a good deal on a new set of tires! Also, know how to check oil and coolant levels, and do this regularly. Much easier to check and top off when needed than to replace an engine. Much cheaper, too. Don't forget the inside of your car--dirt and grit on the seats and floor of your car can wear out the upholstery and carpeting faster, creating holes in either one. Not good for resale value! If you've got a shop vac at home, make a monthly date with yourself to vacuum out the inside of your car on a Saturday morning. While you're at it, wipe off the dash, the console, the windshield, the back and side windows. Check those fluid levels, and how are your tires looking? Even if you don't have a shop vac at home, you can still make a monthly date, drive to the nearest do-it-yourself car wash and use their vacuum. Wash that car while you're at it. In warm weather months, you can wash it at home with a hose and a bucket of sudsy water (dish soap is great for this--gentle on the paint, yet capable of cutting grease).
Tools: These need maintaining too. Don't let the ones with moving parts get gummed up with grease and dust or sawdust. Get a nice stiff whisk broom and clean them off after each use. If they need lubing before putting away, do it. A few minutes of care extends the life of a tool immeasurably. Don't just leave them setting wherever you were using them. Put them away! What's better for a hammer or a pair of pliers--to leave it on the back porch overnight (and then it rains!) because the big game was starting in a minute, or to take that minute to put them inside the garage? Yard work tools, like shovels and rakes, deserve the same good treatment. Garden tillers, lawnmowers and tractors need oil changes just like cars do. Spring, before first use, is a good time to do this.
Your house: This one is really, really expensive to replace. So take good care of it. Get plumbing leaks fixed when they start, not months or years later when that little drip has rotted out the bathroom floor or allowed a colony of nasty mold to grow inside the wall. Even if it's just a leaky faucet, it's still money dripping down the drain if you have to pay a water bill. Or if your well pump has to run more often. Speaking of floors, a daily sweep (for wood, tile or vinyl) or vacuum (for carpets) keeps grit and grime from wearing down your floor coverings, extending their lives.It doesn't take long to blast through a room and clean the floor. Broken window? Get it fixed asap. It doesn't just let in cold air in the winter, running up your heat bill, it can also let moisture in during warmer times. You don't even want to ignore a leaky roof or missing shingles. Get it taken care of while it's still a small (and cheap) task. Little problems have a way of compounding, making them more expensive to fix in the long run.
Sports equipment: Not only costly to replace, it can be down right dangerous if they break while in use. Make sure to check them before using, and to put them away clean afterward. This goes for your leather goods too, you horse riders out there! My saddle and bridle get a quick clean with Murphy's Oil Soap and warm water after each ride. Keeping your leather in good shape (and moisturized) keeps it supple, making it less prone to cracking and breaking while you're on your horse's back. Not only that, the few minutes you spend cleaning it after each use allows you to inspect it, so that if it does look like it's about to give, you can get it fixed before that happens. It also makes saddles and bridles usable for generations, like they should be (my 30 year old dressage saddle is still nice and buttery soft, compared to one half it's age that has been eaten up by dust and salty horse sweat).
Clothes: Washing them is not enough. Washing them properly is everything. Read those care labels. Sort your laundry, and wash it on the proper temperature and cycle. Know whether or not it can handle the heat of a dryer. If it can't, make sure you air dry either on a clothesline, or somewhere indoors like over a shower curtain rod or on a drying rack. Iron on the correct heat setting also. Know how to do simple repairs, like sewing on a button, or mending a seam that is coming unstitched. Why have to go buy a whole new shirt when all you need is a new button? Buttons are cheap. Buy a new one of those instead. Or, better yet, when you have worn out clothes with buttons that are going to the rag bag or the trash can (hopefully the rag bag first!), snip those buttons off and save them for future replacements.
Food: Take care of your food may sound like a strange thing to say. But it needs proper care too. When you bring it home from the grocery store, or in from the garden, the orchard, or the butcher, it needs to be stored in the right temperature and humidity. Flour and sugar aren't any good if they get damp. Neither is pasta. Milk doesn't want to sit out on the counter for hours. Potatoes don't like being left in the freezing cold garage. This doesn't just apply to "new" food; it also goes for leftovers. Clean up from that meal as soon as you are done eating it. Get the milk jug put back into the fridge, don't forget it on the counter. Take that leftover roast and decide how you are next going to use it, then package it that way and get it into the refrigerator (ie, slice it for sandwiches, or shred while still warm to be used for BBQ beef for lunch the next day, and put in serving size containers you can grab and put into lunchboxes in the morning.) Make sure the cracker container gets sealed completely and back into the cupboard, so that the next time you have soup your crackers aren't stale. If it's 80 degrees inside the house, don't leave the butter out to melt into a puddle, put it in the fridge too.
A few minutes here and there that are spent in caring for what you have makes what you have last longer. Lasting longer saves you money. So take care of what you've got.
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