Make Do, Mend & Minimise in 2025 (and 2024)

Cherryfudge

That owl bag is tremendous fun, @wishus! I'm glad you managed to give it (him? Her?) another lease of life.

Re: the rescued sweatshirt, I was reading online that a survey of clothing by a University (Leeds?) to do with clothing sustainability found little difference in cheaper and more expensive brands in terms of how well clothing lasted, with the exception of men's sweatshirts, which out performed comparable clothing. So you might get to enjoy that sweatshirt even longer!

Cherryfudge

Make do/minimise: we had salmon in the freezer and bought chip shop chips to go with it but for the veg I finished up some bits of bell peppers and end-of-usability cherry tomatoes, sauteed with the fish and a shake or so of balsamic vinegar added after the fish was plated up. We also had half the remaining green beans for the freezer. It worked really well and reduced waste.

I'm also determinedly using up plant food that's absorbed atmospheric moisture till it has a small puddle on top. Note to self: next time you buy something like that, get an airtight container!

Mend: I've sewn the fabric back onto the spoke of an umbrella.

gemmajenkins0208

Make do - stuff from stocks as always. Have bought the odd thing to go with things e.g. garlic bread for bolognese, naan bread for curry etc.


No mending


Minimise - where I've been using up things(making do) I'm starting to see gaps. There's a little extra space where I have extra toiletries stored. There's space in the food cupboard - in fact, I was able to bring everything forward to the front of the upper shelf and that is everything on that shelf. There is space behind which is good as I'm so short I can't reach the back of that shelf without assistance, so everything I can see there now is everything on that shelf. The lower shelf is still a cramped mess of stuff, but I know where everything is so am able to take things out to get to what I need and put everything back without making a mess. The stuff for the tip I mentioned in a previous post has now gone! An old laundry basket, a broken toastie maker, a broken mop, a bag of textiles(old clothes etc) and some tree trimmings that have been outside our front door for nearly 6 months!

nannygladys

Make do - mainly been eating from stores for the last week as it's the end of my month and I haven't much left in my grocery budget.

Mend -  sewn the bottom of a t-shirt up that I was going to make into cloths and reattached some elastic in my knickers🤣🤣 also made some makeup pads out of a new face flannel!

Minimise - went through my summer clothes and had a sort out, so some being altered and some going to the cs. 

Nannyg

otb666

i darned the worn bits on my sofa and will most probably last a bit longer now.  I turned a surplus of out of date peanut butter into fudge, i also using up nesquick choclate milkshake in my morning porridge.

Cherryfudge

nannygladys said:

 made some makeup pads out of a new face flannel!

That's such a good idea! And I need to get my summer clothes out and have a trying on session too. I 'need' a new outfit to attend a celebration and haven't seen anything I like in the shops, so perhaps it's time to 'shop at home'.

@otb666, I've not come across peanut butter fudge: off to google a recipe now!

otb666

@Cherryfudge The fudge was 2 cups of sugar half a cup of water boiled together for one minute then add a cup of peanut butter Stirred until lost glossy look then poured into buttered pyrex dish. leave for 2 hours. Got a sugar rush when eatting it though and remember to clean your teeth well afterwards to avoid dentist visit haha

Cherryfudge

Thanks @otb666! That sounds very straightforward, and would be a nice treat. I won't mention it to the dentist  

Moorviews

Yum to peanut butter fudge and I haven’t even had breakfast yet!

Make do - postponing buying some new furniture while we think carefully. We would like a couple of replacement items as the existing ones aren’t suitable for the space and our requirements. Nevertheless, we have managed for many years so despite the weekend sales ending we are continuing to think and consider. I have been frustrated that I don’t have a big table for cutting out when I am sewing and have been eyeing up tables with envy. I then worked out that my new sitting room arrangement allows for me to spread my whole cardboard cutting out board on the floor. There is good light from the windows in the morning so I shall manage fine that way. 

Mend - a child’s toy fixed that had fallen apart and a make of pyjama trousers. A pair of jeans patched up for gardening use. 

Minimise- barely anything coming in. I am just buying what bits of fruit and vegetables that I require and very specific things for planned meals. The cupboards and freezer are gradually clearing down. I have been using OOD sunflower seeds in my porridge. They have been stored in the fridge so still taste fresh. I binned some polyester scrap fabric that I couldn’t think of a use for. I didn’t realise it was polyester when I ordered it. Most was used up making a wearable toile which I wear around the house only. 

Green_hopeful

Moorviews said:

Yum to peanut butter fudge and I haven’t even had breakfast yet!

Make do - postponing buying some new furniture while we think carefully. We would like a couple of replacement items as the existing ones aren’t suitable for the space and our requirements. Nevertheless, we have managed for many years so despite the weekend sales ending we are continuing to think and consider. I have been frustrated that I don’t have a big table for cutting out when I am sewing and have been eyeing up tables with envy. I then worked out that my new sitting room arrangement allows for me to spread my whole cardboard cutting out board on the floor. There is good light from the windows in the morning so I shall manage fine that way. 

Mend - a child’s toy fixed that had fallen apart and a make of pyjama trousers. A pair of jeans patched up for gardening use. 

Minimise- barely anything coming in. I am just buying what bits of fruit and vegetables that I require and very specific things for planned meals. The cupboards and freezer are gradually clearing down. I have been using OOD sunflower seeds in my porridge. They have been stored in the fridge so still taste fresh. I binned some polyester scrap fabric that I couldn’t think of a use for. I didn’t realise it was polyester when I ordered it. Most was used up making a wearable toile which I wear around the house only. 

There are some fantastic dining tables on Facebook marketplace and often they are reasonably priced because few people want them. I use our dining table for sewing. It’s great to have space and not have to do stuff on the floor.