Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2021

Laura_Elsewhere

Make Do: we're knackered after all the freezer work so I'm having a tin of baked beans and my husband's having a tin of soup

Mend: the freezer drawers are oddly flimsy so I added more of the high-quality tape to reinforce where they started cracking (the previous fridge-freezer's drawers were so sturdy that we still use them for storage; two big drawers on my bedroom high shelves, easy to lift down and I can see what's in them, and the salad drawers are in the bathroom being useful containers for bottles that otherwise tip over, and toilet rolls!)

Minimise: we defrosted the freezer today - a few things had to be chucked, but most stayed (not the excess ice, that went!), and now I have a list of everything in there, with weights, so I can work out what to cook with it...

Fizz2015

Popping by to say hi I have spent the evening working through the mending pile.

Mend : 9 items repaired, 1 pair of pj's bottoms, 1 cardigan, 2 pairs of tights, 1 x shorts and 3 leggings. Most DD's so all back in circulation again until her next growth spurt. 

Still have 5 items left but these are more tricky and time consuming.
1 pair of pants too the rag bag to recycle. DD has cut with scissors.

Minimise: Fridge contents for lunch and tea. A few out of date items used up (I did the sniff test and used common sense, plus cooked thoroughly.)

Working_Mum

I moved into a new house in July 2020 and the garden was barren - gravel pathways and two huge artificial grass lawns.

I had a patio laid and have tried to breathe life into the garden with lots of pots - I decided to take up one of the patches of fake grass and turf it. I Freecycled the roll of fake grass and it went to a lady who runs a charity for disabled children. She sanitised it and used it to cover a really nasty metal fence in their outdoor space - see pic!!

I then cut out  a smaller piece of the fake grass from the other side and lugged it onto the roof of my metal shed - I have started a sedum roof as I thought they thrive in poor soil conditions and don't need a deep pile of earth to grow in. I have tidied it up a bit since this pic was taken and the sedum are thriving so feel happy my little project is doing the job! Excuse the pic of my washing

I bought some sedum plants last year and planted them in the garden gravel - I simply picked up and split the plant and popped one half on the roof leaving the rest in the gravel.

MrsCD

Good idea! Houseleeks used to be used to plug leaks in the roof, so your shed roof should be good for a while. 

Siebrie

I'm really glad the lady with the charity managed to hide the nasty fence! That looks like a prison fence!

Elisheba

Hello all, Does anyone have any idea how I could mend the plastic bit at the bottom of a zip?  Its on a decent raincoat - the part that fits into the other side of the zip, but its all broken and won't fit in any more.  Without it the jacket is almost useless so I'd really like to fix it!

mandy47

Photo would be helpful please.

Thrifty_Taylor

@Elisheba I usually advise my customers to replace the zip. Could offer my assistance if you lived closer!

Elisheba

I'll post a photo tomorrow  It's quite a fancy raincoat. I'm honestly not sure if the zip could be replaced without pulling the front of the coat to shreds.
It's the plastic stopper at the bottom that's come away, but as I say I'll post a pic when I get up again tomorrow. 

Elisheba

Hello all, 
Sorry for the delay. Here is a picture of the broken part of my zip I'm hoping to fix. Any suggestions welcome!