Yahoo Finance How to embrace The Repair Shop spirit to fix your belongings – while saving money
It can be a real pain when a beloved belonging breaks or gets damaged, whether it is a watch, a phone, or a pair of Jimmy Choos; not only do these items often have sentimental value, their financial value can mean getting a replacement is rather pricey.
Much like the guests on popular BBC show The Repair Shop – which have even included King Charles – increasing numbers of people are opting to repair their items, rather than replace them.
Around 25pc of people are choosing to repair their broken items rather than buying new, according to figures from Aviva, an insurance firm. Four out of five Apple Macbooks, and two in five smartphones are now repaired rather than replaced, as consumers look to make do and mend.
Repair can also be offered on a quarter of jewellery and watch claims, the insurer said, meaning highly sentimental pieces can be returned to their owners.
Sometimes items cannot be brought back from the brink, but before you chuck it away, here are some options to save your belongings from the landfill.
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Try fixing it yourself
The first thing to do is figure out what’s wrong with your item. If it’s a chair with a leg that’s snapped, or a shoe with a hole in the sole, it might be obvious – but for other items, like phones, laptops and iPads it can be difficult to work out what’s damaged.
An internet search for the most common problems with the device is the best way to start puzzling out what’s wrong – although great care should be taken with faulty electrical goods. If in doubt, turn off and unplug the appliance until it can be checked by an expert.
Online video tutorials can offer useful advice for those who want to fix their items themselves – however, if you’re really not sure what you’re doing, bear in mind that figures from Aviva suggest that up to half of those who have a go at fixing things themselves have ended up making the problem worse.
Ask handy friends or family
If you are lucky enough to have friends and family who are good with repairs, it could be worth asking for their help.
While this is often a convenient way to get broken things repaired, there are a number of potential minefields that you should be wary of before you make the request.
Firstly, are they going to be paid for their services – or at least the materials they might need in order to make the repair? And, if you’re going to pay them, will they commit to fixing your item within a certain timeframe? What happens if they are unable to fix the item, or make it worse? These are the kinds of questions you’ll want to figure out before allowing them to take on the task.
Head to a cobbler – or a dry cleaner
Given the scrutiny placed on landfill fashion over the past couple of years, making the effort to get clothes and shoes repaired, rather than replaced, is the more environmentally-friendly option.
Sir John Timpson, chairman of high street retailer Timpson, said the interest in shoe repair had increased, and the company were seeing nearly 5 million pairs a year brought in for some TLC.
Shoe heel repairs tend to be the most common job, Sir John explained.
“Generally, the main job that is done is to put a new heel on – because the heels wear out first, as that’s where all the pressure is. It simply entails taking the end of the old heel off and putting a new heel on,” he said.
“The other main job is a new sole, which involves stripping off what’s left of the old one and putting on a new one. On most women’s shoes it’s stuck on, but on quality men’s shoes it is sewn on – but we’ve got a whole range of equipment and machinery that we use to do all of this stuff.”
Sir John warned that the type of shoe involved would impact whether it could be easily fixed – with trainers the worst culprit for just falling to pieces.
“We do all sorts of other stitching jobs for people,” Sir John added, “such as when their zips break and need to be replaced.”
If you have damaged clothing items you want to fix, try a dry cleaner. They often offer a stitching service to fix small tears and reattach buttons. For bigger repair jobs, tailors are in high demand.
If a piece of clothing cannot be fixed, it might be possible to upcycle it, by using the fabric to turn it into something else.
Visit a Repair Cafe
First launched in Amsterdam in October 2009 by Martine Postma, there may well be a Repair Cafe near you, where it’s possible to take your broken things to be fixed.
The initiative, which now boasts more than 42,100 volunteers across 2,811 locations worldwide, offers a free space for people to fix broken things together – providing the tools and materials you might need to make the repair, with specialists on hand should you need them.
Repair Cafes fix an estimated 50,000 items monthly, and each location will host events regularly in public locations where consumers can take their things to be fixed.
There are 208 Repair Cafes across the UK and Ireland, with many taking place in libraries and community centres or coffee shops. Visitors can bring electrical appliances, clothing, furniture, crockery, housewares, bicycles, toys and other household items. Whether the item will be fixed depends a little on which volunteers are available on the day.
You don’t need to register or book an appointment to go to a Repair Cafe, although you might need to wait for the right volunteer to be available to help you.
While the advice and help is free, tip jars and donation piggy banks will be available for those happy to show their appreciation.
Ask your insurer
While it’s not always economically sensible to fix items rather than to replace them, insurers will support claims for repair costs if the item is covered by your policy.
This is only really feasible if the item’s value exceeds the policy’s excess, and normal wear and tear won’t usually be covered.
Many insurance providers will have approved tradespeople for repairs that you will need to use, but may also offer guarantees on those fixes.
