Earth Day (April 22, 2020) brings awareness and incites change towards environmental issues. Waste is just one of these problems and we thought we’d do our bit by sharing our tips on how to repair things in your home for use again.
1. Make broken crockery into something beautiful
There’s no need to throw away a plate or bowl if it has been accidentally dropped and broken. You can breathe new life into it by sticking the pieces back together. The ancient Japanese art of Kintsugi makes broken items into something more beautiful by repairing it with gold resin. Watch this video on how to master the craft of Kintsugi.
1. Silence squeaky hinges
You don’t necessarily need to buy a special product to stop your door making that loud creak. Vaseline (petroleum jelly) works just as well to lubricate hinges. Take the hinge pin out, cover it with a layer of Vaseline and pop it back in. Job done!
2. Unclog the sink
Before you call the plumber, follow Ideal Home’s steps to unblock a sink yourself. Often it’s a simple blockage in the pipes that is causing the problem. Also, you can use things like baking soda and vinegar lying around your home to help loosen the blockage, rather than a buy an expensive bottle of chemicals.
3. Fix a wobbly wooden chair
A wobbly chair is not comfortable to sit on and is not complicated to fix. Instead of throwing away your chair, watch this very useful and clear guide from Fixing Furniture’s YouTube channel on how to fix the problem with just some glue and a few tools.
4. Sew up holes in your clothes
Fashion is one of the most wasteful industries with 350,000 tonnes of wearable clothes going to landfill every year according to Clothesaid, which collects textiles for British charities. If one of items of clothing has a hole in it, don’t throw it away as you can patch it up easily. Your clothes will be good as new after a few stitches. Professor Pincushion has a video that demonstrates two ways to repair holes in a T-shirt.
5. Repair a bike tyre puncture
A bike can be a very expensive thing to replace, so you want to be able to take good care of it yourself. Tyre punctures are an annoyance but can easily be fixed at home. Here’s a handy video from Made Good Bikes with a step-by-step guide on how to fix a puncture.
6. Avoid the clutter of repairing items
Once lockdown restrictions have been lifted, you can place items in storage to reduce clutter and damage in your home. Make sure you protect your property by insuring it while it is in storage. So how much is self-storage insurance? The cost varies depending on the items you are storing and the length of time you want to store them for. The best way to find out is to get a few quotes from providers and compare them. At Store and Insure we offer competitive prices so make sure to get a quote from us!
Repair our planet
Think before your throw something away, as you might be able to save money and the planet by repairing it. You can find out more about Earth Day and the events planned on the Earth Day website.
