Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2018

CurlyTop

I was brought up on VIM...not literally of course, but it was always in the house. I do remember it leaving slight scratches on certain surfaces. Not sure whether that's the same now, because formulas change over the years - if not, happy days, what a price.:j

Wraithlady

Glad to report that the chive plant has survived and seems very happy, it's been joined by a lemon verbena plant on our patio. The peas are growing like mad (and starting to flower), the lemon balm has gone berserk and filled its container and the perpetual spinach I sowed last week seems to be sprouting. Just waiting for the seed potatoes I ordered to arrive, I can feel really self-sufficient!

Lunch was reduced-price ham (from £3.79 to 99p), leftover tomatoes, a lonely avocado, herbs from the garden and toasted pecans with vinaigrette dressing. Dinner is venison fillet steaks with new potatoes and the last of the tomatoes - I could get used to this 'making do' lark

MmmBopper_Hanson

Update

A lot has happened in the six months since my first post in the forum. Mrs M (MM) and I have adopted a two year old boy. (Mjr)

Minimising: Lots of tip runs, donations to friends, family and charities prior to Mjr’s arrival. Not all of it necessary, but seemed a good time to do it. Drastically reduced my collection of books and films - some went to the high street others to friends who made donations to charity (if they were so minded).

Mending: toddler proofing. Bought a cordless power drill. Fixed gate, hung a door and so on. Not DIY savvy but will do for now.

Making Do: Most of Mjr’s clothes and toys are secondhand. We’re fortunate to have good friends whose children are 5 - 10 in age so there might be more of this yet.

What we didn’t expect was the kindness of neighbours as he now has a playhouse, trike, ride on car, rocking horse, slide and bouncy castle because children and grandchildren have outgrown them.

Mindfulness: It’s tricky being a parent at the best of times, more so if you’re trying to play catch up as adoptive parents but we’re thankful and grateful of the support we have. Mjr is testing, tiring, troublesome and two. We’re loving it.

Sayschezza

Congratulations.

[Deleted User]

Minimiseing and making do and mending is what as a war baby I was brought up to do almost as second nature. On the odd occasion when I have to do a tip run I am both amazed and appalled at the stuff folk throw away today .Its definitely a throw away society for a lot of people.

With times getting leaner and less cash around, perhaps the old ways of MM&M will return I do hope so.

What I wold like to see is less of the 'plastic trash' that seems to proliferate at the moment I'm not just talking about bags and straws, but I notice that an awful lot of childrens plastic toys.

OK so its the brightly coloured stuff that seems to attract them but I wonder how many millions of lego bricks are chucked out, or the cheap rubbish thats sold in the pound shops

I have seven grandchildren and a small great grandchild now and have managd to pass on quite a lot of bits to younger children at times, but then my DD wouldn't buy plastic stuff for the boys they needed sturdier stuff

Her two dogs would chew the life out of any frisbees they could get hold of. We have over the years managed to do without quite a lot of the rubbish thats churned out and the boys seemed to have been none the worse for it..

As a little girl growing up with few 'toy shops ' around (anyone remember the dolls hospitals ?') what toys there were were often second, third or even forth hand .I bought my eldest grandson (now 28) a set of wooden bricks when he was small and all seven of my grandchildren have played with them My eldest DD now has them in a box in the loft (hoping for a grandchild to play with them )

I make do with what I have and mend as much as I can and do my best to minimise as much as I can, so less waste hopefully.

YorksLass I too recycle wool if I can, have you seen the price of a ball of wool nowadays !!!! I love to see and hear how everyone is doing their best to make resourses last a bit more ,whether its food or items of furniture or goodsOften a small repair can save you a fortune I have just spent the last ten minutes sewing up my grandsons school trouser where the seam came apart. Nothing seems to be made to last today

Floss

Jackie I have wooden bricks and a wooden train set in my attic - bought for DS2 who is now 32! Some of the bricks in the box were given to DB3 when he was born in 1971, and my mum had kept them for my boys to play with at her home, so when that was cleared the bricks came to me.

silvasava

I still have my Jacko Skates in the loft! Used by both my boys and my DGD who's now 23! They are at least 60 years old and still usable
Feeling very proud of myself at the mo. Got back from my girlie holiday and DH sheepishly admitted he'd broken the cooker! Its got an automatic safety cutout and always does that if you are grilling and a sausage spurts into the grill - it cuts off the gas for about 2 mins and then you just reprogramme - I'm used to it. Would it re-programme,would it heck so I thought maybe a fuse had gone but needed an engineer as we dont have installation/service manual. Been trying to get an engineer for 2 days- no one calls back so I set to myself, cancelled all the programmes and started from scratch - now working perfectly and Ive saved the cost too so thats my big mend
Made do with food from freezer and fridge
Minimised - all the washing washed, dried and put away - small amount of ironing for DH to do

Floss

Silva are they the ones that have the wing nuts underneath to stretch them out? I had some of those in the mid-70s

YorksLass

MmmBopper_Hanson wrote: »

Mrs M (MM) and I have adopted a two year old boy. (Mjr)

What we didn’t expect was the kindness of neighbours as he now has a playhouse, trike, ride on car, rocking horse, slide and bouncy castle because children and grandchildren have outgrown them.

Congratulations, and what lovely neighbours you have. Your son is a lucky boy.

JackieO wrote: »

With times getting leaner and less cash around, perhaps the old ways of MM&M will return I do hope so.

As a little girl growing up with few 'toy shops ' around (anyone remember the dolls hospitals ?')

Have you seen the price of a ball of wool nowadays !!!!

Maybe Brexit will be the catalyst to more people adopting the MMM principles.

Yes, I do remember the dolls hospitals. We still have a doll shop in Leeds that operates a doll & teddy hospital - but I wonder how many little girls nowadays like dollies? My own DD (now 38) never did and was much more interested in her brother's toys. :rotfl: And she didn't like wearing dresses either! A real tomboy.

In the early 1950s I had a wooden desk with a lift-up lid, ink well and groove for pens and pencils that my uncle made for me from orange boxes. It had transfers of the alphabet across the top of the lid and numbers down each side. I loved that desk.

Price of wool - oh yes, it's not cheap is it? I'm currently working my way through my stash to make winter jumpers for my 3 DGSs who are still "littlies" so don't mind Granny's hand-knits. DDiL tells me the things I make for them are much admired by her friends. I also made each of them a blankey when they were born.

silvasava

Floss wrote: »

Silva are they the ones that have the wing nuts underneath to stretch them out? I had some of those in the mid-70s

Yes they have - but they have clamps that hold on to the sole of your shoe not the leather lace up toe caps. - happy days and simpler toys