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

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

Mend: a small carry case - only taken me 5 months & now added to CS bag.

Floss

annieb64 said:

There is a make up bin in our local branch of Superdrug. I spotted it when I was looking for a bin for recycling bluster packs.

Superdrug pharmacy counters take blister packs.

Green_hopeful

Floss said:

annieb64 said:

There is a make up bin in our local branch of Superdrug. I spotted it when I was looking for a bin for recycling bluster packs.

Superdrug pharmacy counters take blister packs.

Yes but you have to check it’s a pharmacy store. We would have to travel to Cambridge to find one with a pharmacy. You can search on the website for your nearest pharmacy one. 

annieb64

Canterbury take them so I just put them in a bag and try to remember to take them in. It doesn't take long to fill the bag these days as DH seems to be on a vast amount of medication!

YorksLass

Minimise: Another jumper knitted and sewn up so that's 400g more of 4-ply yarn gone from my stash.  I've worked really hard over the last 12 months to get this down to a more reasonable level and am pleased with the result.  Not to mention the benefit of having lots of warm winter clothing!       I have one more to sew up, another to knit and will then be left with just oddments.

This year I want to concentrate on what's left of the fabric stash - I've already sorted out three black bags of what I don't want or won't use; they will go to the CS when DS can give me a lift there with them.

@annieb64 - Mmm, I know what you mean.  After DH passed last year I had a lot of medications to take back to the pharmacy, including nutrition drinks.  My medicine cabinet now looks positively bare.  

Green_hopeful

Not sure what this fits into but we were given some honey still in the comb a few years ago. We have had it in the cupboard in a Tupperware box but didn’t really know what to do with it. I needed some honey for a recipe. So I looked it up. We crushed it up and drained it through some muslin over a colander over a Bain Marie because our house is a bit cold. We got a jar and a half of honey. It tastes nice and we have freed up some space. Boys will have honey on toast for breakfast. 

Now looking up getting beeswax out of the mush. 

2Scratters

@Green_hopeful that is definitely a double make do and a minimise


2 Scratters xx

YorksLass

Yesterday I sorted through a bag of cables and matched them up with their appliances with a view to Minimising some that aren't used but are still functional.  Result - another load for the CS: a Freeview set top box, a video recorder, a DVD player and a DVD/CD player.  They'll have to go to a CS that does PAT testing though.  

Also in the CS box are a MW glass turntable and the round thingy it sits on.  I have a new MW and was going to save these as spares but they're too big, maybe someone else will be able to use them if they're looking for replacements.

Cherryfudge

Green_hopeful said:

Not sure what this fits into but we were given some honey still in the comb a few years ago. We have had it in the cupboard in a Tupperware box but didn’t really know what to do with it. I needed some honey for a recipe. So I looked it up. We crushed it up and drained it through some muslin over a colander over a Bain Marie because our house is a bit cold. We got a jar and a half of honey. It tastes nice and we have freed up some space. Boys will have honey on toast for breakfast. 

Now looking up getting beeswax out of the mush. 

I imagine you can extract the beeswax by dunking it in boiling water, though you'd then have to extract the muslin and colander and let the water cool till the wax solidified. It can be used to make candles, or if you sew, run threads through it to strengthen them if needed for tough jobs. I have a block of beeswax which has been passed down for maybe 100 years! It has deep scores in it from generations waxing thread to sew coat buttons in place (over a matchstick to give a long enough shank).

Cherryfudge

Sorry to have been absent for a while, life has been busy. However I found 23 pieces of paper for recycling yesterday and today I've been through every one of my (too many) bras and found nine that either are a poor fit or are worn out. All are clean and bagged up to post off: Bra Recycling - Against Breast Cancer

I also have loads of textile bits that I've been reluctant to put in clothes recycling as I've heard stories of some going half way round the world and being dumped on other countries, spoiling not only the environment but also local industries. This morning I found this which sounds as constructive as anything else I've seen, so I'm starting to gather the holey socks etc. to send off. Yes, it will cost a few pounds but it will buy me space and not go against my conscience so I'm okay with that. Even if I just reduce what I have, it will help.

Of course I can't count the bras or the general textile recycling until they actually go but I thought I'd flag these schemes up in case anyone else is interested.