Fixit Manifesto

I saw this poster yesterday on this site and thought it was really great.  Not only the idea of it, but they're compiling online DIY repair manuals for lots of things like computers, phones, cars, cameras- you name it!  And if you're handy with repairing things, you can add to the online guide too.

In a disposable age where planned obsolescence reigns supreme, repairing and reusing just aren't that fashionable, but they should be.  We can only keep making new things for so long before we run out resources.  I've been thinking about this a lot lately and making a concerted effort to learn to do more things for myself- like repairing our 'stuff'.

Recently I tore apart this old camera that I just bought- something I've never done before- to clean the lenses and mirror.  It was so much easier than I thought it would be!  And now I have a much better understanding of how these twin-lens reflex cameras work too.

This trunk is one of hubdude's latest repair/upcycle projects.  We found this old trunk a few years ago and brought it home but it hasn't been that useful because it's so heavy and hard to move.  We've been using it as an end table and we don't have room for a coffee table so we bought some big rubber wheels and attached them to the trunk so that we could roll it in front of the couch when we want an insta-coffee table.  Voila!  Coffee table problem solved, heavy/hardtomove problem solved!  I don't know why we don't do more things like this.

My next repair adventure is to try to repair and tune a 60 yr old sewing machine that I recently bought.  I found a copy of the repair manual on eBay (a great place to find repair manuals for older items!) and thought I would give it a whirl....  What's the worst that can happen?  (Perhaps you shouldn't answer that....)  What have you repaired lately?