I love the feeling of getting every last bit out of a jar, or a toothpaste tube, or of wearing a piece of clothing out. In that moment, I honor the life of the thing that is expiring, appreciating the gift of utility it has granted me. I feel that I, too, have been useful, for having endeavored to keep it working on its intended task as long as possible, for wearing it through. Why does it matter? one might ask. Why not, for convenience sake, just use that pair of socks only until the urge strikes you to move on to another? It is a matter of valuing, this darning, patching, or scraping, the extra effort taken toward not wasting. Valuing of materials, of the work and energy that went in to creating a thing, valuing of process, and valuing of the future, of the replacement item that might hopefully be to come. Appreciating everything in its due time means nothing is used up prematurely. It is an extra attention given to the work of the present, a life-affirming appreciation of what we have been given.