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Living on Less
How do we live on less whilst treading lightly in this world?
There was a phrase coined out of necessity during WW2 when everyone was learning how best to live on frugal means: Make Do And Mend. It was the title of a pamphlet produced by the government when clothes rationing was introduced – something people have experienced on a smaller scale during the COVID-19 crisis. The pamphlet was re-produced in 2007 during the economic crisis.
‘Make do and mend‘ is not something that has to be born with a grimace but more seen as a challenge which we can triumph over with, as per the Beatle’s song, a little help from our friends (Sgt Pepper, 1967). The friends upon which we can call are not confined to your immediate neighbourhood by any stretch of the imagination. Friends are now, and will always be, a global phenomenon. What’s more, even an introvert like me can enjoy the friendship of those all over the world from the comfort of an armchair at a time of one’s own convenience. Thank you, world wide web!
What does Make Do mean for me?
Make Do means to appreciate what you have and not be constantly thinking you need more. It means being resourceful. It means looking around you and counting your blessings. It means understanding that something doesn’t have to be new, doesn’t have to be what everyone else has, doesn’t have to be on trend.
Make Do means appreciating what goes into making an item – the blood, sweat and tears, the physical energy, and the cost to the world physically as well as financially. This includes all technology, toys and games, clothes and anything which contains man-made elements.
What does ‘mend’ mean for me?
Mending means looking at something that you deem to be broken or in some way unusable, and learning to love it again. View with hope situations which you heretofore viewed with a great deal of despondency! Give the things in your life which once brought you joy the chance to do that again, don’t give up on them at the first sign of weakness! Ok pep talk over. How do you do it?
Firstly, realise that you don’t have to be a domestic goddess to be able to do some mending in your life! There are lots of organisations out there that will help fix whatever it is that is broken – we have one such organisation called Transition Stirling that often operate ‘repair cafes’ which you can bring your broken item to if you want to learn to fix it yourself, or they will fix it for you for a fee.
Secondly, mending can be super simple. We bought our daughter a Harry Potter robe (Ravenclaw, in case you’re wondering) for Christmas, which came with a wand. Unfortunately, this plastic wand is the most breakable wand you can imagine! However, with a little dab of superglue, the wand is fixed time..and time..and time again! Our daughter doesn’t mind having a broken but fixed wand, we save money by not having to buy a new wand, and we save the world by not throwing the wand out. Win win. With just a dab of super glue! (I should add, she also now has a wooden wand that we found in the wood and sanded down, both are played with!)
Where did I start with ‘make do and mend’?
I started at the very beginning of Our Green Journey with Martin Lewis’ money mantra (he’s now helpfully made it into a card to fit in your purse), which goes like this:
Skint?
Ask yourself… 1) Do I need it? 2) Can I afford it?
Not skint?
Ask yourself…1) Will I use it? 2) Is it worth it?
If you start with these well thought through questions, you won’t go far wrong in trying to live a more eco friendly life.
But how does this relate to make do and mend? It relates because the main pull factor in making do with what you have is your financial situation. If you are skint, it isn’t a great time to be buying more stuff to fill your house with, no matter how much you think it’ll fill a hole in your life. If you’re not skint, you need to realise that the only hole buying more stuff will fill is a space in your living room. More stuff = less eco friendly is a great general rule of thumb.
By following the mantra make do and mend, you’ll start to become more thankful for what you do have and realise that no matter how skint we are in the West, we’re a great deal richer than most.
If you live in a household with two adults and two children on an income of £30,000 you are richer than 87% of the world. You are in the richest 13% of the global population. That’s food for thought.
Grow your own
It’s true. Growing stuff is cheaper than buying stuff. It’s also true that growing your own veg can be daunting for many. Don’t let it be. Even if all you can manage is a window box with some salad leaves in, you’ve saved a plastic bag or two from finding it’s way into the sea. Go you! If you do need some tips, check out RHS for some great advice for growing month by month in containers.
Use your own homemade cleaners
Yup, making your own cleaning sprays and products does save you money. And it’s not time consuming. Check out this post here for how we make our cleaning spray.
I hope that by following the principles above, you’ll be able to live on less too, and enjoy every penny you can spend on things you love!
