If we want to be better to the environment, we need to change our attitude towards our possessions and stop seeing them as disposable. When something breaks, most people get rid of it and buy a new one right away. But this wasteful attitude is awful for the planet and it’s not great for your bank balance either. In some cases, things cannot be repaired and they need to be replaced but, more often than not, you can fix things. Here are 3 things you should always repair instead of replacing if you can.Â
Anything With A Zipper
When a zipper breaks on a bag or a suitcase, people decide that it’s rendered useless so they need to throw it in the bin and get a new one. But the rest of the item is fine, it’s just one small zipper that is broken, which means there are thousands of perfectly good bags, suitcases, and items of clothing sitting in landfills everywhere. The thing is, fixing a zip really isn’t that hard. Most dry cleaners will do it for a very small charge (much less than replacing the item) and you could even try fixing your own zipper on clothing items. It’s crazy to throw these things away when they can be repaired so easily.Â
Kitchen AppliancesÂ
Replacing a kitchen appliance is incredibly expensive and very damaging to the environment. Big kitchen appliances will stick around for thousands of years without degrading and many of them contain chemicals that are potentially harmful to the environment. The good news is, kitchen appliances are relatively simple pieces of equipment to repair and malfunctions are usually caused by a single part failing. So, if your washing machine breaks down, don’t chuck it out and buy a new one. Instead, get the right replacement parts for your washer and call out a technician to fix it for you. In most cases, they will be able to get it up and running again and you’ll get a few more years out of it at least, saving you money and reducing waste.Â
FurnitureÂ
Wooden furniture starts to look a bit worn after a while so you might decide to replace it. But the furniture itself is probably in fine condition, it’s just the outer layer of varnish or paint that is starting to flake off. So, if you replace it, you’re throwing out a perfectly good piece of furniture and wasting money on new stuff. Even if you’re not that good at DIY, you will be able to manage sanding down and restoring your furniture. If it’s broken in some way, you might need to take it somewhere to get repaired but it won’t be expensive if it’s an easy fix. Solid wood furniture is expensive so if you already have some in the house, don’t get rid of it when it could be easily repaired.Â
Before throwing anything out, you should always look to repair it first. If you have items that you don’t want, regardless of whether they are in good condition or not, use sites like Partage to pass them on to somebody that does need them. If we all get into the mindset of repairing instead of replacing, we can drastically reduce waste.Â
*This is a collaborative post