Show You it Do lt Cynthia Dizikes Los Angeles Times Use it up wear it out out make it do dol dolIt's Its It's the credo that your parents or grandparents lived by Posters from the World War II era screamed it at careless consumers and those without money to spend Now as more Americans have been swept into what some have dubbed the nations nation's Great Recession and many more worry that it is only a matter of time this mantra of frugality is again becoming a way of life a call to thrift echoing beyond foreclosed homes and growing unemployment lines F For or tasks such as home maintenance sewing and gardening people across the nation increasingly are taking savings cost-savings measures into their own hands We are getting the real it do now said Debbie Hernandez who has headed Home Depots Depot's yourself it clinics in Glendale Ariz for 13 years Everything is tight said Brian Arnett whose timed ill purchase of a condo in Reston Va le left ft him strapped for cash Im m doing stuff to save money mone y that I never thought o of f before I feel like Im I'm such a dork now Arnett said I I know that if I cut out 5 5 worth of coupons every Sunday Ive I've more than paid for the newspaper Arnett is far from alone in his efforts to save a little dough Continuing and adult education programs across are enrolling more students in their home auto and bike repair courses In St. St Paul Minn at least one continuing education program had to add another bicycle repair section after fter fuel prices surged last summer And the Baldwin Park adult and community education program in Los Angeles has seen a 24 percent increase in enrollment in its sewing classed classe this year prompting it to tack on about four more afternoon sessions That class was actually started because our students wanted to make clothes for their family senior director John Kerr said It was really an economics thing Of course in the world of yourself it projects and repairs cost savings arent aren't guaranteed Dick Waters a laboratory quality improvement specialist in Springfield Ill has spent 20 years s patching up his year old house Something seemingly y simple like hanging u up upa p a picture can turn rum int into o replacing a wall as in fact it has Waters said During one infamous us repair job Waters set o ut to fix a dripping faucet but after shattering the porcelain sink ended up replacing the he faucet sink and much of the bathroom plumbing The hope is that it willbe will willbe willbe be cheaper if you do it if yourself Waters said But I dont don't t think it has ever panned out that way Patrick Colmer a plumber in the Washington DC D.C. area recently had hada a customer who tried to repair the gasket between his toilet and the floor and ended up splitting the toilet bowl in half My main advice would be that if you are not absolutely certain about what you are doing call a professional he said At a time of plummeting car sales motor vehicle repairs are on the rise according to recent figures from the US U.S. Commerce Department Bad times are always good for us said Robert Green shop manager for Fairfax Auto Parts in Virginia who added that he has been working longer hours to keep up with the increased business People start fixing their cars instead ad adof of replacing them In the last three months Green has seen a roughly 15 percent increase in ins s sales les has not gone unnoticed by major retailers which have watched their sales t plummet for months I |