Making it do, making it last, mending it : this is something that our parents or grandparents were doing but that we don’t do it nowadays anymore. This is bad for our environment and our societies. Here is a reflection.
What do my wallet, my suitcase and my swimming goggles have in common ? They are all repaired items. Both suitcase and wallet were showing signs of age because of extensive use over the years.
Despite frantic protest from my parents stating quite rightly that I could afford new ones, I had them sewn by one of my dear aunts : Pascale is a real genius with either a needle or a sewing machine.
Furthermore, my swimming goggles are an essential part of my weekly swimming sessions. It’s simple, without them, I just couldn’t swim two kilometers three times a week.
So when they started to show signs of age – the plastic got more and more yellow -I cleaned and repaired them. This allowed me to keep them for at least one year more than I would have had if not for my striving for sustainability.
So next time you are about to throw away something, please think twice and check if you can fix it. Our landfills are already too big as it is…