Wish i had make do and mend attitude - Page 2

LoveCakes · Jan 4th, 2017, 04:23 AM

I sew but it generally ends up costing more but the time you buy some fabric and notions. Though that's probably as I generally make occasion things. The same with baking

I try to be a fixer, I hate waste in any form to me it feels like throwing cash in the bin.

That said our parents generation would have bought things built to last. My mum and dad had a tumble dryer for 20 years, there's no chance a modern one would last as long. Plus for things like TVs it can be cheaper to replace than repair.

Midnight_Fairy · Jan 4th, 2017, 05:23 AM

My issue is not money but environment too. Teaching my kids to reuse, repair and recycle is priceless. Sure we can still enjoy this digital age but we do not NEED to buy new if can be repaired. Its a hard attitude to change. I started with food waste and meal planning then moved onto food packaging and not using it etc. Then move onto clothes...What do I need..can they be repaired or altered. I tend to keep cutlery for years anyway so no issue there...toys id just stopped buying plastic tat and stuff that needs batteries lol.

I saw a good article on our generation have access to everything now...and it is true...vut not sustainable x

.Mrs.B. · Jan 4th, 2017, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midnight_Fairy

My issue is not money but environment too. Teaching my kids to reuse, repair and recycle is priceless. Sure we can still enjoy this digital age but we do not NEED to buy new if can be repaired. Its a hard attitude to change. I started with food waste and meal planning then moved onto food packaging and not using it etc. Then move onto clothes...What do I need..can they be repaired or altered. I tend to keep cutlery for years anyway so no issue there...toys id just stopped buying plastic tat and stuff that needs batteries lol.

I saw a good article on our generation have access to everything now...and it is true...vut not sustainable x

These are my reasons for trying to limit waste as well.
The sheer amount that I send to landfill already is unthinkable. With Christmas as well the amount of packaging and waste was awful. I try really hard not to replace things just because I can and I also recycle everything possible. All the waste ends up somewhere, it cant last forever.

Midnight_Fairy · Jan 4th, 2017, 09:35 AM

The nappies I used alone for my 3 makes me cringe lol so trying now so they get out of the buy everything new and diposable ideologies. X

catty · Jan 4th, 2017, 09:59 AM

Not so much meaning keep things and let it clutter up and hoard things but more just dont buy it in the first place.

For example i have cushions in my living room that are totally fine but bored of the colour so fancy going out and getting new ones. There really is no reason other than im bored of them i do this with heaps of things. Bedding sets, photo frames even tea towels haha. Why cant i just keep the ones that i have there isnt a thing wrong with them im just bored of it.

as for electrical i wouldnt even try and fix them but i annoy myself that i am not careful and break things so easily that they would need replaced.
I agree things were made better beforehand and they were also alot more expensive i remember my first Pc was £1000 and that was a normal price now i could easily got one for £300.

Midnight_Fairy · Jan 4th, 2017, 10:02 AM

I write down what I buy. Once you get out of habit its so much easier.

Zephram · Jan 6th, 2017, 15:50 PM

I have been thinking about this too, lately. I made a comment a few months ago about how I and DS1 were going through socks so fast and how they all ended up with holes in them so quickly so I had to throw them out, and my mum asked why I wasn't just fixing them! I was like, errrrrr.....

Back in the day they used to darn socks of course and I just hiff them and buy more.

Still, although I do know how to sew up a hole, I don't t think I'll be doing so even with good intentions!

Pearls18 · Jan 7th, 2017, 04:09 AM

I agree with Lora that things aren't built to last in the same way now, I think it can be a false economy sometimes to hold on to things for too long repairing than replacing, socks as mentioned for example- it wouldn't be worth my time fixing them when they're so cheap to replace, and working full time means my free time is more valuable to me than the few pounds fixing socks. That said, I do appreciate MF's view of being wasteful and just how much rubbish we all create, this is so very true and wouldn't be so bad in our house if the kids didn't get so much from everyone at Xmas/birthdays!

.Mrs.B. · Jan 7th, 2017, 05:10 AM

Things did last longer and were much more expensive. The time our grandparents/parents spent mending socks would've probably saved them hours in wages. My nanna also told me that after the war they couldn't get hold of things and people used to have to patch up clothes because there were none to buy. I guess that kind of attitude stuck with a lot of the older generation.

Pearls18 · Jan 7th, 2017, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by .Mrs.B.

Things did last longer and were much more expensive. The time our grandparents/parents spent mending socks would've probably saved them hours in wages. My nanna also told me that after the war they couldn't get hold of things and people used to have to patch up clothes because there were none to buy. I guess that kind of attitude stuck with a lot of the older generation.

Absolutely.

Jan 4th, 2017, 04:23 AM	11
LoveCakes Trying to conceive (TTC) BnB Addict Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: UK Posts: 3,550	I sew but it generally ends up costing more but the time you buy some fabric and notions. Though that's probably as I generally make occasion things. The same with baking I try to be a fixer, I hate waste in any form to me it feels like throwing cash in the bin. That said our parents generation would have bought things built to last. My mum and dad had a tumble dryer for 20 years, there's no chance a modern one would last as long. Plus for things like TVs it can be cheaper to replace than repair.

Status: Offline

Jan 4th, 2017, 05:23 AM	12
Midnight_Fairy Other BnB Spammer Elite Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 45,272	My issue is not money but environment too. Teaching my kids to reuse, repair and recycle is priceless. Sure we can still enjoy this digital age but we do not NEED to buy new if can be repaired. Its a hard attitude to change. I started with food waste and meal planning then moved onto food packaging and not using it etc. Then move onto clothes...What do I need..can they be repaired or altered. I tend to keep cutlery for years anyway so no issue there...toys id just stopped buying plastic tat and stuff that needs batteries lol. I saw a good article on our generation have access to everything now...and it is true...vut not sustainable x

Status: Online

Jan 4th, 2017, 09:35 AM	14
Midnight_Fairy Other BnB Spammer Elite Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 45,272	The nappies I used alone for my 3 makes me cringe lol so trying now so they get out of the buy everything new and diposable ideologies. X

Status: Online

Jan 4th, 2017, 10:02 AM	16
Midnight_Fairy Other BnB Spammer Elite Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 45,272	I write down what I buy. Once you get out of habit its so much easier.

Status: Online

Jan 7th, 2017, 05:10 AM	19
.Mrs.B. Mum (Mom) Active BnB Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Hertfordshire Posts: 997	Things did last longer and were much more expensive. The time our grandparents/parents spent mending socks would've probably saved them hours in wages. My nanna also told me that after the war they couldn't get hold of things and people used to have to patch up clothes because there were none to buy. I guess that kind of attitude stuck with a lot of the older generation.

Status: Online

Jan 4th, 2017, 09:59 AM	15
catty Mum (Mom) BnB Addict Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 5,687	Not so much meaning keep things and let it clutter up and hoard things but more just dont buy it in the first place. For example i have cushions in my living room that are totally fine but bored of the colour so fancy going out and getting new ones. There really is no reason other than im bored of them i do this with heaps of things. Bedding sets, photo frames even tea towels haha. Why cant i just keep the ones that i have there isnt a thing wrong with them im just bored of it. as for electrical i wouldnt even try and fix them but i annoy myself that i am not careful and break things so easily that they would need replaced. I agree things were made better beforehand and they were also alot more expensive i remember my first Pc was £1000 and that was a normal price now i could easily got one for £300.

Status: Offline

Jan 6th, 2017, 15:50 PM	17
Zephram Mum (Mom) BnB Addict Join Date: May 2012 Location: NZ Posts: 3,016	I have been thinking about this too, lately. I made a comment a few months ago about how I and DS1 were going through socks so fast and how they all ended up with holes in them so quickly so I had to throw them out, and my mum asked why I wasn't just fixing them! I was like, errrrrr..... Back in the day they used to darn socks of course and I just hiff them and buy more. Still, although I do know how to sew up a hole, I don't t think I'll be doing so even with good intentions!

Status: Offline

Jan 7th, 2017, 04:09 AM	18
Pearls18 Mum (Mom) BnB Elite Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: UK Posts: 11,639	I agree with Lora that things aren't built to last in the same way now, I think it can be a false economy sometimes to hold on to things for too long repairing than replacing, socks as mentioned for example- it wouldn't be worth my time fixing them when they're so cheap to replace, and working full time means my free time is more valuable to me than the few pounds fixing socks. That said, I do appreciate MF's view of being wasteful and just how much rubbish we all create, this is so very true and wouldn't be so bad in our house if the kids didn't get so much from everyone at Xmas/birthdays!

Status: Online

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