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

Katiehound

^^ very interesting link to Dunelm recycling- that's the only place I know of that will take pillows & duvets. (It's still about 15 miles away) Looks their scheme is free- you download a free post label.

The bra scheme gives a location locally but I am almost certain that it no longer exists. I will check tomorrow & if needed will update the cancer charity accordingly.

Green_hopeful

@Cherryfudge I boiled up the muslin with some water. I only got a very small amount of wax. There must have been more honey left than I realised. Any way two jars of honey and a small ramekin of wax. I was a bit worried about my pan but I used the boiling water from my potatoes to melt the remaining wax. 

I made bottom of the fridge cottage pie for dinner. Potatoes carrots and an onion in the veg tray plus two rashers of bacon left in the fridge. Added 200g of mince and some leftover gravy. Made enough cottage pie for 4 portions. 

Trying to minimise our water usage in anticipation of the price rises. So being super careful with washing up and reusing water. Also our house is quite big and we never run the tap long enough to get hot water from the cylinder. So any hot water from cooking is a double benefit. Quick rinse and it’s done. 

YorksLass

A very small but useful Make Do yesterday.  The cloth that covers the keyboard for my laptop was looking the worse for wear and very grubby so I've replaced it with one from a previous laptop - it was a bit too big but, once cut down to size, does the job.

Green_hopeful

We heat our greenhouse with old fashioned lightbulbs. We have three old lights and about 200 watts of bulbs. It just keeps the chill off. Anyway one of the lamps was obviously past its best and kept blowing bulbs so I took the light from the spare room swapped it for a spare one and put it in the greenhouse. Old one is in the b&q small electricals recycling. I managed to break one of the bulbs so that is in the b&q box as well. 

Katiehound

just be aware that they clearly don't update the info on the bra recycling site, so if you are going to make a special journey do check beforehand.

Their info was only 10 & 5  years out of date respectively!!!

Today minimising dog shampoo!
My hound doesn't like or need a shampoo so 6 bottles being given to various friends. Some were bought and some were won in goodie bags or even freebies at Crufts. (Those were the days!) One old square style ice cream box emptied.
Found (cleaning) citric acid that needs a new container....

One demijohn emptied. No idea what the alcohol was but it didn't taste amazing- so down the sink! Clean demi off to charity shop.

Cherryfudge

That's worth knowing about the bra site - I suspect venues change quite often as the terms require a certain throughput. I'm sorry you had a wasted journey.

Make do: I made a favourite vegan recipe for tea and substituted cheapest baked beans (27p) for the usual chick peas (49p) and DH doesn't seem to have noticed.

Mend: Inked in a paint mark on DH's jeans - would have looked better if my hand hadn't slipped and left an ink line adjacent to the 'mend'!
A nose pad came off my glasses so I got it replaced straight away.

Minimise: I cleared out a small drawer and didn't put all the stuff back so 7 'paper decisions' have gone in the recycling and three well-out-of-date wound dressings have been binned.

mandy47

Tidied out the drawers in the dining room. 
Minimised lots of little bits and pieces. Don't know why we were keeping them.
Put a set of fish knives to go to charity. Fish knives? Why do I even have these we've never used them. 
Make do 
Turkey steaks, runner beans and lemon curd used from freezer. Made a Victoria sponge and filled with curd.
Mend.
Stripped the silicone sealant from around the window in the spare room. It was old, discoloured and rather nasty. Scrubbed the frame and I'll reseal on my next day off work. 

2Scratters

Morning Peeps,

Make do - not sure this qualifies as I am now using a stored item of a few note pads. It really is going to take some time to use them up. Making do and not buying new right?

Mend - not quite this either but by stitching tabs on so my tea towels could be hung up. It's good enough for me not often I get out a needle and thread and felt quite happy with myself.

Minimise - definitely in the right one here as items in no particular order have been leaving the house (and the car too, my boot is empty!) Donated to the tombola, a bag to CS. UU strong SM paper bags too with next load to the CS. 2 shoe boxes out for a sale on t'ebay and packaging. Did a brave thing and was pleased with myself with moving out to recycle the old books and class recipe books from SW going back to 2017. 

Space is appearing and a couple of areas are starting to quieten down. 


Have a lovely kind to yourself weekend


2 Scratters xx

YorksLass

I had a Mend day yesterday, three things:

1. A small piece of porcelain on a Capodimonte ornament - a Xmas present that DH knew I had been lusting after so a sentimental mend.
2. Three stones in a bracelet, moonstones not opals (I wish) - another sentimental mend as it was my DMs.
3. Plastic runners on a set of drawers - no idea why they used cheap plastic when it's a good and well made piece of furniture.  Not sure of how old they are but a good few years I should imagine; they were gifted to us by my in laws.

Best of all, I managed to accomplish all this without getting super glue on my fingers.  

Cherryfudge

How lovely to get all those things back in circulation, @YorksLass.

I can't think of any 'making do' recently but spent quite some time yesterday with a needle in hand: one pair of under wear, one pair of socks and a seam on some gloves. The gloves are the warmest pair I have, not knitted but quilted cloth. The seam split turned out to be a tear on the palm side of the thumb and once sewn up, needed reinforcing, so I've embroidered over it. Not perfect but relatively successful.

Minimise: another five paper decisions gone in the recycling. We've also used up some of the kindling and screwed up sugar bags to light the log burner, and thrown out the broken window blind before putting the replacement up.