How to Repair Everything (a green guide to fixing stuff)
How to Repair Everything is a good book that has an extensive table of contents – just look up what you need to repair – from sticky doors to broken straps, leaky washing machines and broken shoe heels.
Obviously get professionals in for safety issues (gas registered engineers, electrics, plumbing etc). But for everyday fixes and repairs, it’s good to either learn to fix things. Or if you’re a natural fixer, you could volunteer at a repair café.
This book is UK-written, so some safety info may differ (voltage etc). Use these repairs with a basic tool kit and zero-waste vegan glue (if needed – keep away from children and pets).
Things you can repair with this book include:
- A hole in your shoe
- A broken heel
- Shrunken clothes
- Torn clothes
- Ladders in hosiery
- Holes in jeans
- Broken zips
- Broken umbrellas
- Broken watch straps
- Scratched watch face
- Scratched sunglasses
- Faulty vinyl records
- Broken computer keys
- Leaking washing machines
- Noisy washing machines
- Doors that won’t open
- Leaking refrigerator
- Broken plates & cup handles
- Battered chopping boards
- Rusty baking dishes
- Creaky floorboards
- Loose door hinges & doorknobs
- Damaged wall plaster
- Non-flushing toilets
- Dripping & stuck taps
- Trickling or leaking showers
- Cracked bathroom tiles
- Broken plant pots
Safe & Sound is a unique book, to help you make 50 simple repairs like fixing loose/broken doorknobs, fixing clogged sinks, safely hanging things on walls, patching holes in walls and repairing sliding doors.
Beginner DIY courses in London
The Goodlife Centre (near Waterloo) offers ‘DIY courses for the terrified’, popular (and often taught by) women. Their popular ‘DIY in a Day’ short courses offer help on learning more on drills, plumbing, electrics, painting and tool sharpening.
The one-day Tiling Course (under £100, also available online) will have you sizing up, choosing and applying tiles. Not only will this mean you can tile your own kitchens and bathrooms for life, but you could earn money, doing the same family, friends or people in your local community.
