5 Ways to Fix Your Stuff And Help Save The Planet

Any aspiring eco-warrior worth their salt knows the mantra of the Three Rs - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.  But truth be told, all too often the emphasis in society is placed on increasing our recycling.  In reality, recycling should be our last option and I'm going to share a few ways you can both reduce your purchase of new items (and the amount of materials and energy used to produce them) and reuse what we already have by FIXING it!

My grandparents were from the Make Do and Mend era - loads of items around their house would have been fixed up with tape or glue or have splints strapped to them. But a lot of those skills have been lost.  Added to that, the current consumer society where we are actively encouraged by manufacturers to keep buying more stuff, whether that's through trends and upgrades or built-in obsolescence, and we're destined to fill up our land-fill in double-quick time.

But there are lots of ways you can try and fix things and reduce the cost both to your pocket, and to the planet.

1. Fix it with Sugru

Have you heard of Sugru?  It's a bit of a revelation in the crafting world and is super-useful for mending all manner of things.  A mouldable glue, it comes in a range of different colours to be used to fix anything from plastic, wood, ceramics, metal, glass, plaster, stone and some fabrics.  Once 'cured' it will form a watertight fixing, and what's more it's flexible too making it ideal for reinforcing all those gadget chargers which often will fray after prolonged use.  It's advanced technology makes it heat and cold resistant, dishwasher-safe (got any broken dishwasher trays anyone?!), UV stable, electrically insulating, shock absorbent, wipe-clean and strong enough to hold up to 2kg. It's skin-safe and family friendly too which means the kids can have a go at fixing their own stuff, or even improving existing toys and creating new ones.

It's perfect for fixing all manner of things around the house and garden and it's mouldable so ideal for fixing broken toys, making lost parts and mending snapped plastic components.  I put it to the test fixing a pair of scissors that had accidentally gone in the dishwasher resulting in the plastic becoming brittle and the handle snapping.  There was nothing wrong with the blades, so a quick shape of some colour-matched Sugru and they were good as new.

Sugru have been kind enough to offer a set of family-friendly mouldable glue to one lucky reader, along with a copy of their rather fab 'Fixer's Manifesto' poster to inspire you.  Read on to the end of the post to find out how to enter.

2. YouTube it!

Let's face it, you can find videos on anything and everything on YouTube.  So if you don't know how to fix it, look it up, watch others do it and learn. Everyone can learn basic skills like replacing a broken zip or re-wiring a plug and if it saves you having to throw something out and buy a new one, you'll be glad you did.

3. Visit a repair cafe

We were lucky enough to have a repair cafe held in our village hall a few weeks ago.  There was a stream of people through the door dragging in knackered vacuums, broken torches, clothes with rips, jammed DVD players and all sorts. A helpful team of volunteer experts were on hand to help show the owners how to safely fix them, and with the added bonus of tea and cake on offer, what could be better?

I took along a suit jacket to be repaired which was beyond my capabilities, and the lady there did a magnificent job, it was well worth the donation to the local green group.

The international Repair Cafe network is 8 years old this year, check them out to find one near you, and if there isn't one - why not start one?

4. Buy spare parts

Sometimes, a broken bit can't be fixed but that doesn't mean you have to chuck the whole item.  Online stores such as e-Spares stock over 1 million spare and replacement parts from many leading brands of manufacturers.  You can get spares for washing machines, dishwashers, TVs, cleaning equipment and cameras to name a few. They also have a library of handy videos showing you how to.  I recently broke my vacuum nozzle and because there was nothing wrong with the mechanics of the cleaner itself, I popped along to e-Spares and ordered a new set of hoses and attachments and now my cleaner is good as new, looking refreshed and smelling much nicer!

5. 3-D Print it!

Now this may seem a bit out-there but trust me, the time will come when you'll be able to pop along to a 3-D printing store and make your own replacement parts.  The technology is still expensive currently but advances mean it's not beyond the realms of possibilities that it will be cost-effective to soon print new bits for your broken items.  If supermarkets are already 3D printing replica models of children for grandparent gifts, then anything's possible!

So there's no excuse to chuck that broken gadget.

As promised, I'm going to give you the chance of winning a multi pack of Sugru mouldable fixing glue and a copy of their awesome Fixer's Manifesto poster to inspire you to fix more. To enter simply complete the Gleam form below. Open to UK entrants only. Closing date is midnight on Sunday 19th November 2017.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is in collaboration with Sugru.