Make do and mend

Organgrinder

Nice to hear so many positive views on recycling or repairing. Thank you for these.

I wasn't aware there was another thread but I can't say I look at all fora. In any event, you could probably find nearly every topic has at some point been discussed somewhere previously even from those who've upcycled their name ;-)

BrilliantButScary

tacpot12 said:

I try to repair as far as possible. I've repaired all sorts of appliances; replacing elements in ovens, drums in washing machines, and motors in tumble dryers. I do the maintenance on my car myself and do simple repairs. Not long after buying the car (second-hand), the Ford dealer wanted £300 to replace the reversing switch on the gearbox - I got the part from Ford for £25 and replaced it myself - there is a lot of money to be saved by repairing!

I'm currently fixing the door to my brick outhouse, the frame has gone rotten. The timber to build the frame is £25, the cheapest doorframe kit I can find is close to £60.

My oven cost £69 from eBay. It came from a Charity and I bought it because it was identical to the old oven that failed. The benefit of doing so was not only did it fit exactly in the space left by the old oven, but the programmable timer worked the same way, so no one in the family needed to learn how to use a new timer.

Two weeks ago, I repaired a slipped slate on our roof. Cost of the copper 'tingle' to do so was £1 from the local reclamation yard where they also sell second-hand slates. The aluminium ladders to do so were expensive, but they were bought in in the 1970s,  so they were worth the money as they have lasted at least 50 years.
 
I've also just bought new door springs for the dishwasher for £15 (delivered). These are a doddle to fit. The dishwasher also came off eBay from a couple who had decided to redo their kitchen and they wanted their dishwasher to be hidden, so they were selling their nearly new Bosch one for £65!

I've fitted a new SSD into my laptop so I can upgrade it to Windows 11. So I've got a Windows 11 laptop for £60.

Most things can be repaired, but we have got out of the habit of doing so because of the convenience and relatively low cost that we can buy the (poor quality) replacement items for. The skills needs are readily learned via YouTube. The tools needed rarely extend beyond a good drill/driver with a comprehensive set of screwdriver bits, a pair of grips, an adjustable spanner and a hammer.

The cost of parts can be an issue, but with some persistence, I can usually find what I need at a price that makes it sensible to repair the item, especially as new things have gone up in price a lot recently

I think I'm married to tacpot12 !
I suspect our attitudes to 'make do and mend' are often down to our personalities, and also the background you come from. Money for me has never been about buying 'things', but has been about security and being able to make choices. 'Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man'. The lack of money in both mine and my husband's formative years and early married life, has made us both very resourceful. Our financial situation is much different now, but it is very hard to change. Sometimes we need to 'walk in someone else's shoes' to appreciate other people's points of view.

Sarahspangles

uralmaid said:

I am guilty. If something breaks then I just order a new one in most cases. Although recently the flex on my Shark vacuum cleaner got a break in it. I messaged them and they sent me a replacement free of charge even though it only had about a week till the warranty ran out. Last week our Shark handheld vac broke but I ordered a part which cost about £10 instead of just ordering a whole new vac so two good moneysaving outcomes.  

OH is downstairs mending a Shark vac now. He actually enjoys fixing things, before he retired it was planes. He does have all the tools and skill.

Sarahspangles

tacpot12 said:

I've fitted a new SSD into my laptop so I can upgrade it to Windows 11. So I've got a Windows 11 laptop for £60.

Most things can be repaired, but we have got out of the habit of doing so because of the convenience and relatively low cost that we can buy the (poor quality) replacement items for. The skills needs are readily learned via YouTube. The tools needed rarely extend beyond a good drill/driver with a comprehensive set of screwdriver bits, a pair of grips, an adjustable spanner and a hammer.

I had a long period where my 'home' computer was a succession of second hand laptops and I constantly swapped components to keep them going, more out of necessity. The lighter plastic ones failed faster than the metal ones, with the latter when the hinges went it was time to retire them. My young son used to watch, and eventually we built a PC from scratch together. His career now involves developing hardware.

Organgrinder

My bike trainer is connected to a pc I paid £90 for. The monitor is a recycled TV I paid £15 for.

More than adequate. And indeed "very reasonable". 

trevjl

Nebulous2 said:

I'm putting in a bathroom at the moment. I bought some bits from someone who bought it then changed his plans - unused. 

The waste is a vortex one which screws in with two screws and they were missing. I contacted the company asking to buy two screws or for the spec so I could source them elsewhere. They sent me a new waste, about £50 worth and said the screws weren't available as a separate item.

I simply don't understand it. 

probably all comes in together imported from china in a bag they wont open. Had the same yesterday with Wayfair      (or more accurately, whoever they were sourcing from). Had been supplied a smallish 60 quid unit where i had all the pieces nicely numbered but two were identical where they should be handed.
"Can you send me a number 12 please, I appear to have 2 number 13's"
Nope, we don't have spares, but we can send you a replacement unit" 
"Can't you just take number 12 out of the replacement you are going to send me"
"Nope, cant open the box, we will tell Wayfair to send a replacement, they will inform you about return of the original"
Good luck with that, it's been assembled apart from the last bit"

I despair

Organgrinder

trevjl said:

Nebulous2 said:

I'm putting in a bathroom at the moment. I bought some bits from someone who bought it then changed his plans - unused. 

The waste is a vortex one which screws in with two screws and they were missing. I contacted the company asking to buy two screws or for the spec so I could source them elsewhere. They sent me a new waste, about £50 worth and said the screws weren't available as a separate item.

I simply don't understand it. 

probably all comes in together imported from china in a bag they wont open. Had the same yesterday with Wayfair      (or more accurately, whoever they were sourcing from). Had been supplied a smallish 60 quid unit where i had all the pieces nicely numbered but two were identical where they should be handed.
"Can you send me a number 12 please, I appear to have 2 number 13's"
Nope, we don't have spares, but we can send you a replacement unit" 
"Can't you just take number 12 out of the replacement you are going to send me"
"Nope, cant open the box, we will tell Wayfair to send a replacement, they will inform you about return of the original"
Good luck with that, it's been assembled apart from the last bit"

I despair

Same.....My patio heater took a storm beating....needs a new plastic collar. Can't get it on it's own. Part of a unit. Replacement price.....£60.

Or I can buy a whole new heater for......... £55!

Bonkers.

But on a positive, my ski jacket (my favourite one) is in with the seamstress.....£30 for a new zip. On a jacket that's £250 new it's worth it. (And yes I know Aldi sell brand new ones for less!)

Nebulous2

Cherryfudge said:

@Nebulous2, that's crazy! I hope they didn't charge you.

They didn't, and I feel very slightly guilty as I didn't buy directly from them. I'm sure the original buyer gave them a few bob though. 

louby40

I've had my iPhone screens repaired in the past. 

I wear 100 denier black tights for work and they cost about £17 a pair. Instead of buying a new pair when I got a hole in them I decided to sew the hole. Result! 

If I can repair I will do.

Lots of my friends and I are using Vinted now too. You can sell and buy pre loved or even brand new clothes. I've earned about £300 by selling clothes, bags and jewellery I don't need. Last night I went out for a meal and my dress, jacket and bag were all from Vinted. It's definitely on trend to use Vinted.

Savvy_Sue

Savvy_Sue said:

OTOH, DH has a pair of swimming trunks which I would ditch as they are very old and the entire back seam has failed. My concern is that if that's repaired, the front seam may fail next!

I am pleased to report that DH's modesty has been restored, although I'm going to suggest he keeps these as a 'use only if necessary' pair. He already has one pair in that category, and two purchased-within-living-memory respectable pairs, so I'm really not sure it was worth it. £4 for cake and coffee at the Repair Cafe (well worth it) and a £5 donation. 

He does wear trunks regularly (albeit reluctantly) at the sauna, and he does have an attachment to 'old friends' in his wardrobe. Sigh.