Part of being frugal for us is the ethos of repairing things. The whole mend and make do philosophy that was prevalent in earlier generations.
Sometimes this is really hard, not because I don't want to mend things, but due to the fact that I lack the skills, tools and experience to mend things.
Usually we will find a trades person that can help us, or someone that knows to help or pay (we have paid to have our dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer to be repaired in the past and need to get the tumble drier fixed again when finances allow).
Take this globe that the boys have. They love it, not only does it have the countries on, but also animals and it is bright colourful and perfect for them. However, in the past it has been dropped and the base damaged.
We have tried to repair it, but something about the type of plastic always meant that it was weaker and prone to breaking in the same spot, which it did again this weekend. Queue tears from Mini as he was busy trying to locate Honduras! We had tried a number of glues, which are expensive and none of them lasted any length of time.
But I had seen something about Sugru on My Mend and Make Do Year and had decided to buy some for those "just in case moments" and mixed up some blue and yellow to make green to give repairing the globe a go.
I am amazed. It has dried really well and is really strong and the base has already been dropped and is still in once piece.
What do you do when you do not know how to mend things?
Sometimes this is really hard, not because I don't want to mend things, but due to the fact that I lack the skills, tools and experience to mend things.
Usually we will find a trades person that can help us, or someone that knows to help or pay (we have paid to have our dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer to be repaired in the past and need to get the tumble drier fixed again when finances allow).
Take this globe that the boys have. They love it, not only does it have the countries on, but also animals and it is bright colourful and perfect for them. However, in the past it has been dropped and the base damaged.
We have tried to repair it, but something about the type of plastic always meant that it was weaker and prone to breaking in the same spot, which it did again this weekend. Queue tears from Mini as he was busy trying to locate Honduras! We had tried a number of glues, which are expensive and none of them lasted any length of time.
But I had seen something about Sugru on My Mend and Make Do Year and had decided to buy some for those "just in case moments" and mixed up some blue and yellow to make green to give repairing the globe a go.
I am amazed. It has dried really well and is really strong and the base has already been dropped and is still in once piece.
What do you do when you do not know how to mend things?
Sugru is just brilliant. My partner repaired his glasses with Sugru and they lasted for months. It's fantastic stuff :)
ReplyDeleteFab! So glad you tried it :) AMAZING STUFF isn't it. And great idea to mix the colours. Top job
ReplyDeleteWow, fab when you can restore things and what a wonderful globe!
ReplyDeleteNice repair work, if it had only removed the marks.
ReplyDeleteThat's great, Jen.
ReplyDeleteHmm, when I don't know how to mend things I can usually find someone who does. It's easier with older items, isn't it? Newer things seem designed to not last very long to keep us spending money.