Make do and mend

Organgrinder

Yes recycling/upcycling are very much in vogue these days. And quite right too, especially given climate change etc.

I've not used vinted myself, probably because I don't think anyone would want my old clothes! But it certainly makes sense to do so.

QrizB

Savvy_Sue said:

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.

I do struggle to see a "use case" that needs four pairs of swimming trunks, and I say this as someone who grew up within (long) walking distance of the beach.
Admittedly I do own three pairs of swim shorts and one pair of budgie smugglers, but two of those are a result of failing to pack the pairs I already had when going on holiday

Savvy_Sue

QrizB said:

Savvy_Sue said:

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.

I do struggle to see a "use case" that needs four pairs of swimming trunks, and I say this as someone who grew up within (long) walking distance of the beach.
Admittedly I do own three pairs of swim shorts and one pair of budgie smugglers, but two of those are a result of failing to pack the pairs I already had when going on holiday

Me too!

QrizB said:

Admittedly I do own three pairs of swim shorts and one pair of budgie smugglers, but two of those are a result of failing to pack the pairs I already had when going on holiday

  DS2 ended up with an extra pair that way, the time we went to the USA. I packed underwear and swimming trunks into their spare shoes, to save space. He just couldn't find his trunks, and I couldn't work out why he kept complaining he was running out of underwear. Nor can I work out (to this day!) why his brothers didn't tell him his shoes were stuffed!

And yes, I should have gone and searched his case myself. Not sure why I didn't ... 

Cherryfudge

I once managed to go away for a week leaving my case at home on the spare room bed! I had jumpers with me in another bag as it was autumn and they didn't fit in my usual case. DH was willing to lend me stuff, but the place where we stayed had no clothes shops: even the supermarket didn't have a clothes section. There were just two charity shops and I did so well from them: a couple of tee shirts which admittedly I didn't keep long, a beautiful poncho-type wrap, a very posh cardigan, jeans, Christmas PJs... I forget if there was anything else. Most of them I still have over a year later. 'Smalls' were washed and dried overnight out of necessity. It was great fun hunting out an entire new wardrobe for not a lot of money.

On the subject of mending, a couple of times I've bought what would originally have been expensive items marked down in charity shops because they had a tiny hole. When I say tiny, I mean really, really tiny. Easy to mend - embroidery thread is a good source for near-perfect colour matches and can be divided into individual strands (full thickness is six strands together) for delicate fabric. There are also lots of online videos showing mending techniques, though I find diagrams, while less pretty, are easier to follow.

Spelunthus

If you plan to bin an item (and I hope that means recycling centre), then ANY repair is worthwhile if you can afford it. It's just the right thing to do.  Recently I had a broken DVD player - goodness knows how it works, but I opened it, saw a big capacitor that had burst and leaked. I read off its spec, ordered a replacement from eBay, and got out my father's soldering iron.  It worked, and continues to work.  So I have a working DVD, and I have increased my knowledge and confidence with repair.

Cherryfudge

That's impressive, @Spelunthus!  My husband is the electrics person round here but I don't think either of us would have worked that one out. My most techy advice is to do with cleaning the lightening charger socket on a phone with a pin (they fill with fluff and don't charge as efficiently). I don't know what Appl@ would say to that, let alone a High Street repairer, but it worked for me on a couple of phones.

We are currently in a long process of getting an 18th century clock working again! Some 'experts' hadn't done too well but the latest one found the wrong weight had been added (not by us, it could have been there two hundred years for all we know). With the correct weight (the weight drives the mechanism) it ticks happily for a while then stops, so not everything is right yet, but it was a sound from my childhood and an echo of a slower age so it's worth persevering.

Savvy_Sue

Cherryfudge said:

I once managed to go away for a week leaving my case at home on the spare room bed! I had jumpers with me in another bag as it was autumn and they didn't fit in my usual case. DH was willing to lend me stuff, but the place where we stayed had no clothes shops: even the supermarket didn't have a clothes section. There were just two charity shops and I did so well from them: a couple of tee shirts which admittedly I didn't keep long, a beautiful poncho-type wrap, a very posh cardigan, jeans, Christmas PJs... I forget if there was anything else. Most of them I still have over a year later. 'Smalls' were washed and dried overnight out of necessity. It was great fun hunting out an entire new wardrobe for not a lot of money.

On the subject of mending, a couple of times I've bought what would originally have been expensive items marked down in charity shops because they had a tiny hole. When I say tiny, I mean really, really tiny. Easy to mend - embroidery thread is a good source for near-perfect colour matches and can be divided into individual strands (full thickness is six strands together) for delicate fabric. There are also lots of online videos showing mending techniques, though I find diagrams, while less pretty, are easier to follow.

Oh yes, I'd forgotten the weekend of the classic "where's the other suitcase then?"

I went to work: DH was to pick me up. There were two small suitcases, one open for him to finish packing his stuff into, one already closed. He failed to bring the closed one. 

Fortunately the toiletries were in the open one, but the drugs were in the closed one, and one of his is a prescription. We discovered, by dint of an emergency appointment at the destination GP, that you can get it off prescription under a different name. Unlikely we'd be able to get even an emergency appointment these days, but then I'd start at the pharmacy these days anyway. 

Now, he sends a photo of everything he's packed if he's picking me up! 

Cherryfudge

Savvy_Sue said:

the drugs were in the closed one, and one of his is a prescription. We discovered, by dint of an emergency appointment at the destination GP, that you can get it off prescription under a different name. Unlikely we'd be able to get even an emergency appointment these days, but then I'd start at the pharmacy these days anyway. 

Now, he sends a photo of everything he's packed if he's picking me up! 

So I'm not the only one to leave their prescription medication behind?  . Mine were in the case on the spare room bed. We were holidaying in Scotland where I don't think you pay for prescriptions, and I'm exempt in England but because I was English on Scotland, the exemption didn't apply. However, the pharmacy were marvellous about checking with my GP and getting the emergency prescription through. I chose only to get the most essential rather than pay for four items, though I could get another over the counter. For a week, with a bit more care of my diet, I managed on just the one (paid for prescription) and one (over the counter), but it was still an expensive lesson.

Does your husband's photo include the case safely shut in the car? That's where my system collapsed!

Savvy_Sue

Cherryfudge said:

Savvy_Sue said:

the drugs were in the closed one, and one of his is a prescription. We discovered, by dint of an emergency appointment at the destination GP, that you can get it off prescription under a different name. Unlikely we'd be able to get even an emergency appointment these days, but then I'd start at the pharmacy these days anyway. 

Now, he sends a photo of everything he's packed if he's picking me up! 

So I'm not the only one to leave their prescription medication behind?  . Mine were in the case on the spare room bed. We were holidaying in Scotland where I don't think you pay for prescriptions, and I'm exempt in England but because I was English on Scotland, the exemption didn't apply. However, the pharmacy were marvellous about checking with my GP and getting the emergency prescription through. I chose only to get the most essential rather than pay for four items, though I could get another over the counter. For a week, with a bit more care of my diet, I managed on just the one (paid for prescription) and one (over the counter), but it was still an expensive lesson.

Does your husband's photo include the case safely shut in the car? That's where my system collapsed!

No. I've usually left all the bags in one place, so he shows me the empty space. 

The other time we found ourselves without his drugs was in Spain. There, you can buy what he needs OTC. 

RipleyG

Absolutely we repair/reuse/share where possible! In the last two weeks alone we've darned (expensive wool) socks, sewn up a split seam on work trousers, embroidered over a small hole in chinos, lent friends our garden shredder so they don't have to buy one, glued down some peeling laminate on our kitchen cupboards, stripped copper from wires of old Christmas lights & electric blanket for a local charity to sell for scrap value, recycled a second hand oak coffee table into some wall shelves, and upcycled some baubles and ribbon into a festive 'outfit' so I didn't have to buy a naff Christmas jumper for a work event. 

It's not just about the money saving for me - it's the environmental impact, pride in skills, and mental health benefits of having something to do other than scroll phones/slob in front of the TV.