This week I’m refurbishing a 15+ yr old computer which was stalling on windows 10 and got abandoned. Currently making a huge backup to an Icy box (the self built variant of a wd passport or similar).
On wednesday, a friend comes over and we’re repasting the old i5. I might add some ram and a better but used cpu later which should give this thing another 10 yrs as a server. The mainboard is full of features and would accept a 4 core with 8 threads and 16 GBs of DDR3. Nothing to play recent games on but maaaaany docker containers will run on this baby! :)
Let me know what you’re doing to spit on consumerism and built-for-the-landfill-economy.
Reminder: I made a petition on change.org to make consumer electronics manufacturers open their devices after they stop supporting them. Please sign it, your support is needed.
Learn to repair a variety of things - sewing, soldering, basic woodworking and construction. Discover how things work so you can troubleshoot and assess if something is repairable. There are tonnes of books out there and plenty of YouTube videos.
Buy used. Broken, if you think you can fix it. Dumpster dive. Thrift everything, especially clothing. Hit estate sales for tools and other things people don’t get rid of when they are alive. Keep a list of things so you don’t forget what you need to buy.
Use your skills to help friends and neighbors to fix or find things they need. Often they have a different skillset and will help you with things you might need in the future. It doesn’t hurt to have a network.
Don’t be afraid to ask about pricing and haggle a bit, but always be polite and know when to compromise or back down. If you see something has sold for a low price online, odds are it will sell again for that if you are patient and keep watch. Bide your time.
Don’t get sucked into trends. Used books read the same, decades old video games play the same even if you get them free on their 10-year anniversary promotion.
All that said, if you must buy, go for quality. Something you use every day is worth paying extra for higher quality, and sometimes quality means excellent customer support or a robust warranty. Quality tools make your job easier, but even cheap hand tools can be worth it if you only need them occasionally.
That’s it, I can’t think of a cool way to close this. This is just how I manage to do okay without spending a bunch of my hard earned money.
That is very awesome! Thank you so much for sharing this. I bet this will help people with ideas what to tackle next.
Do you know of any books about this topic. I bet there are some. If not, you could consider writing one. Since the greedflation, people seem to be DIYing a lot.
Thank you but I dont have the patience to write a book! You can usually find DIY books used. Flip through the chapters to see if it explains things in a way that works for you.
Black & Decker released a book on DIY home repair with easy to follow steps & photos, broken down by the type of repair (structure, plumbing, electric). There’s also a bunch of websites like thisoldhouse.com with DIY tips and walkthroughs.
You used to be able to find Haynes repair manuals for most cars & trucks, but vehicles are so computerised these days I’m not sure if they still do. Your car’s owner’s manual should have all the basic information in it for regular maintenance, and YouTube is a good source for car repair videos. If you have the money, most technical colleges hold classes on car repair that cost less than a couple trips to a mechanic.
Power tools and sewing machines are cheap on the used market if you’re patient. A lot of people these days just dont bother with them, so if a family member dies their adult children just get rid of that stuff. Learning to sew a basic straight stitch is easy on YouTube and there are online Singer sewing machine groups that are very helpful for machine repair and maintenance. Find an all-metal vintage Singer, like a Model 15 or 99. These things were built like tanks and are easy to keep running with regular oiling & use. You van make and repair clothing, bags & accessories, and anything you want. With the right needle you can sew leather as well. Hand-sewing is a great skill for minor repairs and popped buttons.
Basic soldering is also very straightforward, and you can get a decent kit for around US$20 or so. YouTube has lots of videos that walk you through the process, and there is no end to broken electronics to practise on.
If these’s a maker group in your area, find them and see what’s up. They can dial you in to all sorts of good info.