Bent Nails
My father rarely threw anything away, attitude from the farm upbringing and the Great Depression. Nails were an interesting illustration. A nail, no matter how bent and rusty, is useful. Dad had cans and cans of bent nails that he used building things around the house, indeed for building various out-buildings from lean-roof chicken houses to dog houses. Fifty years later they still stand. When he needed a nail he took one from the can and either straightened it in a vise or hammered into shape for reuse. I cannot be certain, but I do not think that my father ever bought a new nail. I have other examples of one man's trash is another man's treasure. Maybe I will talk about some of those at another time.