Make Do and Mend: How To Reduce Waste and Save Money

If you have ever studied history, then you may have heard the phrase ‘make do and mend’ that comes from the second World War. Rationing was at its height and there wasn’t a lot to go around. So instead of throwing things away, they got on with it and ‘made do’. And in these current times of fast fashion that can be pretty cheap, it can be easy to just throw something away after a couple of uses if it doesn’t quite fit the bill anymore. But in an effort to be more resourceful and less wasteful, you too can adopt the ‘make do and mend’ mentality. Here are some ways that you can embrace it in these modern times.

Improve Sewing Skills

Being able to improve your basic sewing skills can be the difference between throwing someone away or keeping it for longer. It isn’t necessarily about doing complete alterations to clothing like they may do at Stitch It, for example. But knowing more than you currently do, and being able to sew up a hole discreetly can be really helpful. If you have children it can make their clothes last much longer if you can sew a little.

Recycle Clothing

If a piece of clothing has really got all of the wear out of it, then it can be a good idea to make it into something else, rather than throw it away completely. Old jeans could be made into a denim skirt or a bag, just like old shirts could make a funky patchwork quilt. Old rain boots can work well as planters in your garden, to give the place a quirky look, but still grow plants well. Just get creative and think what your clothing could be made into, before you decide to throw them out.

Exchange Clothing

If you have a few bags of clothing that no longer fit your children or you just don’t like to wear anymore, then it can be a good idea to go to clothing exchange or drop them off at a thrift store. If there isn’t a clothing exchange currently going on in your area, then why not simply organize one yourself? People bring things to donate and then they can take away some ‘new’ things instead of needing to pay for them.

Try Something New

If you want to reduce how much you spend on clothing, as well as how much you waste when you throw clothing away, then you could look at trying something new instead. You could take up crocheting or knitting, for example, so that you can make something new for yourself. A new scarf can be easily made by an avid knitter. So think about what you’d like to do and then learn the skills to do it.

It doesn’t take much to get into this kind of mentality. But with reducing waste being big on people’s minds, it is often forgotten about that we can reduce waste in all aspects of our lives, not just in the food we eat.

Image courtesy of pxhere.com.