Make Do and Mend

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Make do and mend is a basically philosophy and mindset that I grew up with as a child, as much as I grew up in hand-me-downs whether this were clothes, bicycles, or what-have-you, and it is something that has stayed with me to this day. I still practice this philosophy – which nowadays is often known as practical recycling, reusing and upcycling – in various forms to this very day.

Already as a small boy I developed the habit, which was actively nurtured by our parents and other elders, and it has – unfortunately, some of my friends would say – stayed with me too, of picking up anything from the streets, the woodland paths, the hedgerows, and so on that might just come in handy. Old nails and screws; nuts and bolts; tools that have been lost or thrown away; even “old” knives; and much more are in that category.

Among the knives that I have found there have been knives for the re-working into sheath knives, as well as pocketknives with nothing wrong with them; there have been spanners and wrenches, screwdrivers, and many other tools, including a Leatherman Wave, in its holster, that was almost new and only required deburring the two knife blades. It had been deliberately thrown into the trash in a Park and had not just been lost accidentally. Some people simply seem to have too much money to know what to do with it, it appears, and more money than sense, that's for sure.

The habit of making do and making things also stretches with me to making use of everything that can be, in one way or another, re-worked into something else, whether this be old and worn Jeans into Ditty/Possibles bags or other things; old kitchen and butcher’s knives into “new” sheath knives. The leather of old boots, shoes and bags will be made into the sheath for such knives and/or into other items such as belt pouches for folding-knives, compass, pocket-watch, and so on.

There is only one severe drawback to such a habit and that is the need for a fairly large storage area in your home for all the things ”that might come in handy some day”.

During WWII in England booklets galore were published by the Ministry (and there was a shortage of things but they seemed to have enough paper to produce those official booklets) on the very subject of “Make Do & Mend” telling people, for instance, of how to change adult clothes into underclothes for children; to convert Dad’s old cotton shirts into nightshirts for the boys, and so on.

The philosophy and attitude of making do also applied in those days to digging up one’s flowerbeds and “digging for victory” by growing vegetables there instead of flowers in one’s garden. That could also still be a very valuable philosophy today too – instead of filling the garden up with grass and flowers, which may be esthetically pleasing to the eye and all that don’t feed no-one. Growing at least some of one’s own vegetables and such could give one some more cash in one’s pocket. Vegetables can – in actual fact – grown behind say a flowery border in a garden and look quite nice as well. The trees in one’s garden should not be ornamental this or that but fruit trees such as apples, pears, cherries, walnut and hazelnut, and anything else in that league and the ground beneath such trees should be utilized by vegetables and soft fruit such as strawberries. Also grow your own culinary and medicinal herbs in your garden, including such beneficial plants as Aloe Vera. If the climate isn’t suited for growing the latter out-of-doors than grown those in pots in the house. The same can also be done with many other herbs and spices.

And if you have no garden to speak of to grow your own vegetables and such then you can use various forms of containers such tubs made of various things such including old bathtubs even. Almost everything can be grown in containers, fruit trees even. Hanging baskets of all kinds also can be employed for growing fruit and vegetables. Strawberries do well there, and even beans and peas can be grown in such containers.

But back to the make do and mend philosophy per se.

While make do and mend seems to be coming back into fashion to some degree many people still have the disposable attitude and seem to have to have the latest in fashion, be this with regards to clothes or anything else.

Among children and young people peer pressure may have something to do with it in that clothes from a charity shop don't, in their minds, have much street cred and all that. Years ago it had to be Adidas, then Fila, then Nike, and the wheel keeps turning in that department. But what makes them better then non-brands? The name only, not necessarily the quality, and the price is often astronomical. The same goes for other things. And ordinary cell phone doesn't cut it; it has to be an iPhone, and ideally always the latest.

All need to learn, and the children and young people have to be taught, that it does not have to be the latest and that the latest and most expensive is not always the best, especially not for the Planet and the wallet.

Staying with what we have, making things ourselves even from things considered “waste” in the common perception, and generally making do and mending, buy secondhand, and so on, must be the way to go. The latter also and especially keeps money in the local economy, though only if we are using local secondhand shops, thrift stores and charity shops. And, if things can be repaired and you cannot do it yourself then use local repair shops to do it. Keeps the money local and also work.

© 2017

The latest model is not the greenest

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Please note that I have not even inserted the word “always” in the headline as it is a fact that the latest model is not the greenest, period.

The latest model is not the greenest even if it is being promoted and touted as having greener credentials than the one you already have got. Stick with what you have got (as long as it still works, obviously) for that is the greenest, and you know what, that even applies to your car.

I know that we have visited this issue before but let us, nevertheless, do so again.

Every new product that you buy to replace another one that is still fully functional, even though the new one may have, according to claims, “greener” credentials than the “old” one, comes at a much higher environmental cost than the one that you are already using.

Sticking with what you have got, for as long as at all possible, is far better for the Planet and much “greener” than any new product however “green” its credentials are made out to be.

First of all credentials are all but claims made by the makers which we, the ordinary consumers, can absolutely not verify in any way, as can be seen from the supposed cheating on emission standards by various car manufacturers.

How can we verify the claims that are being made without testing equipment and the technical know-how to carry out such tests? We cannot, and that is a fact. And it is also a fact that most of the accreditation industry awards itself by way of a voluntary code of practice and such jazz.

There is so much on greenwash about that all such claims must be taken with an extreme large dose of salt; the proverbial pinch does not suffice. Therefore sticking with the things that you have already got rather than believing and being taken in by the claims is by far a better and “greener” choice. It is also kinder on the wallet.

© 2017

Crisis Preparedness

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

When we look at the world today we can see that preparedness, being prepared and equipped to deal with any kind of crisis, is very important. The world in which we live today, being overly dependent on technology, especially the electronic kind, can easily be brought out of its equilibrium.

The next financial crash is only around the corner especially considering the way that many banks are back playing the same ponzy schemes that they played last time round and there are many economists and others who predict that the next crash is already on its way – probably just a year or a couple away – and that it will be worse than the last and probably worse than the Great Depression even.

But, unlike when the Great Depression hit, the majority of the people today live a life that is so far removed from reality that they do not have the skills and also not the mental frame to do things for themselves. They have to learn this from scratch and while today we have all the knowledge we – the majority at least – do not have the practical skills. Some cannot even cook from scratch let alone be capable of growing their own food, know where to get wild food, or now to make this or that they need or want for themselves.

Many people who are more or less self-appointed and self-acclaimed experts in the field of preparedness always suggest that people should have gold and silver coins as means of cash/currency. That is utter baloney as nowadays gold and silver, unlike in the days of the Great Depression and even still after WW2 are not recognized (as currency) and thus are absolutely useless. They offer no means of and for barter whatsoever. Gold and silver in whatever kind of coins are just a way for you to waste your money. In addition to that if those coins are not old currency coins how can you be sure, if they come from some “wild” mints, that they actually have the gold or silver content that is being claimed?

Your best bet is not gold and silver coins but skills and tools to perform jobs or produce goods that other want and need. Knowledge and skills are the key here. And knowledge must be more than just theory.

In times gone by people always prepared for the unexpected and for lean times and that not just by having some cash under the mattress or such place. They canned, the preserved food in other ways, and they knew how to make things from almost nothing. Today most do neither and do not have the skills either.

Cash under the mattress is not going to be an option anymore today where the coins and notes are changed in design every five minutes – well, almost – and the old version being no longer legal tender within a short space of time. All done in order to make us dependent on the state and its agencies. Therefore it will have to be other supplies – and especially skills – that you have to make it possible for your to live well enough after such an event and which also provide a means of barter with other, perhaps.

Theoretically, properly prepared there is no reason to fear a crisis nor is there any need to get into a panic and tiswas, when it happens. I did say theoretically, for the world today is not the world of the 1920s and 30s when people still had proper community and also knew how to do things.

Books on the various subjects of preparedness, homesteading, gardening, survival, and the many crafts and whatever, are good to have as a reference library but they are not something that you would want to go to when the proverbial already has hit the air moving device but you want to learn from them, and ideally also from live teachers, and acquire the knowledge and especially the practical skills well before well before any such event.

In the event of a crisis, which, more than likely will be a global one, you cannot rely of the state or other body for help. You have to know how to help yourself and you can only rely on yourself.

You may have the skills, the knowledge, and the provisions. Others that don't, however, are the danger; a danger to you, your loved ones and your survival. In a crisis you also cannot rely on the state and its agencies to protect you from any marauders; in fact the state and its agencies themselves will become a threat to you and your freedom.

So, thus, when it comes to protection from marauders it would appear that you will be, in the event, more or less on your own. The agencies of the state, as I have just said, will not (be able to) protect you and therefore you will have to do that yourself and you may also need to protect yourself and your loved ones from the very agencies of the state.

© 2017

Buy less and make do with what you've got

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

The average person – guess I am not one of them – is bombarded with about 5000 ads per day telling them to buy more and how much happier they would be if they just would buy this, and that and the other.

Far too many, unfortunately, fall for that trick and actually believe that if they have more and buy more they are happier, be this possessions or money to buy those possessions.

And they try to do just that. They have the iPhone that only came out say six months ago but as soon as a new version comes out they have to queue up to get the newest one, and to make sure that they are one of the first to have the latest one, they stand in line for hours and hours. Does it make them happy? For five minutes maybe but that is about it.

What is wrong with using and continuing to use the things that you already have got and which work perfectly well? Well, nothing! But those adverts keep suggesting to the minds of those not as strong as some of us that they have to have those new things because of the additional bells and whistles and in order to be happy and “cool”. If you want to be cool go and sit in a refrigerator.

The first thing to do is in order to avoid all those suggestive adverts, those commercials, is to divorce yourself from your television. You won't regret it, especially not in places where you have to pay some US$200 per year for the permit to be able to watch all that garbage that masquerades as entertainment on the goggle box.

Use the Internet for real good films and material and with the right little websites and add-ons (more often than not free) you can even download many of the movies and such. Furthermore revert back to the radio and to reading – ideally real – books. You know those things printed on paper. The good part of the latter “entertainment” is that it does not need power to run and you can even read during a power outage, at the beech, on the mountain top and wherever else you might fancy. The danger is with reading that it broadens your mind and horizon, especially if you read the appropriate materials.

And you don't even have to buy the books. There are places – I am sure you may have heard of them – where you can borrow books. They are called public libraries. Though, if the powers-that-be had their way those would end up being closed depriving those with little resources of the possibility of reading.

On the other hand many public libraries, as they are run and funded, through tax monies, by the powers-that-be is that you won't necessarily get your hands on every book you might want to read. Some may be banned as too dangerous for public consumption.

On another level there is no need to buy a new cellphone, a new TV (best get rid off the old one to someone who wants it and forget about the TV altogether), PC, or what-have-you when the old one is still performing its service well and covers all our real needs. What good are all those bells and whistles that we will – more than likely – never ever use? They are but a waste of our money – in buying the new product while the old one still works – and a waste of resources. And, despite the claims of the adverts, those new products will make us no happier than the old ones. In addition to that when buying a new one you – more often than not – have to learn an entire new way of using it.

Before you heed the messages in those commercials first consider a few things.

1. Does my old one still work?

2. If the answer is yes then don't buy new.

3. Does my old one still do what I need and want it to do?

4. If the answer to this is also yes then, again, don't buy new.

5. If it does not work ask yourself (or someone else) if can be repaired.

6. If the answer here is yes then repair it, get it repaired or go to a Repair Cafe and get help in repairing it and do it yourself.

When it comes to repairing good old things that are more than worth retaining and (re)using then there are a number of resources you can access for free or almost free.

First there is Instructables (Internet), and also other sites that guide you through repairs and hacks, and then there are the Repair Cafes. Fair enough the latter are still few and far between in some places and they are not held frequently in some places as in others. Nevertheless they are something to look into before tossing a buying new.

Often the reason that something no longer works, specially when it comes to electrical and electronic goods, is a blown internal fuse, a faulty switch or a loose solder joint. While those faults are easy to locate and repair, in theory, the fact that manufacturers today don't want us to be able to repair anything or get anything repaired means that the screws often are of such a type that the ordinary person does not have the tools to remove them.

In other instances the cases are actually glues shut rather than the parts held together by screws and this makes access even more tricky. But with the help of someone who knows how to do it without damaging case and product a repair can, quite often, be successfully achieved and the products saved from becoming another item in the waste stream and a burden to the Planet.

© 2014

Up until the 1920s, most Americans were almost self-sufficient

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Up until around the 1920s, most Americans were almost self-sufficient, and if not self-sufficient then at least self-reliant.

They made their own clothes, grew their own food and bought very little. They were producers and rather than consumers. And this is true also in other countries, such as Britain, Germany, Australia.

This, however, changed in the 1920s, when the growth of capitalism had created large corporations that could no longer prosper simply from World War I production, as the war was now over. They needed Americans, and all those others, to become consumers. And the rest, as they so often say, is history.

Advertising and marketing brainwashed the majority over time that they needed all those goods made by those corporations to be happy and contend and to live a real fulfilled life.

Before that there was also a totally different mindset, one of make do and mend and of making as much as possible for yourself.

It was also just after that time that big government began to enter the scene and people were brainwashed into demanding that government did this and that for them and, again, the corporations had their hands in the game here by lobbying and – more than likely – buying representative left right and center in the same way as they still do today.

People were thrifty back then and relied on themselves, and probably their neighbors, rather than on any government agency and life was still good back then, even though money was thin on the ground for many. In some places this life continued until about the advent of Second World War. After that nothing was the same again, not in the USA and neither in Europe.

And, talking about World War Two; that one started also, basically, because the corporations were looking for ever greater profit and knew that a war, especially a nice big global one, could guarantee them that for the stuff they could sell the people just did not generate enough profits for them.

And it was during and after the Second World War that the chemical industry went wild with all the fertilizers that were so good for us in that we could be producing so much more food and the mechanization of agriculture for the same reason.

No one, however, was looking at the fact that the use and the overuse of such chemicals destroys the soil structure and thus the fertility of the soil. While such fertilizers may be food for the plants they leach nutrients from the soil and more and more fertilizer is required to keep the results coming. More profits for the chemical corporations, obviously. And that is the very reason that they kept people in the dark and continued with the marketing ploys in the same way as genetically engineered foods are now being promoted. And that by the self-same companies, with Monsanto in the forefront.

They did the same with almost forcing us all to eat margarine, a chemical product, basically, that was originally, amongst other things, invented as (axle) grease for wagons and vehicles in World War One. The medical profession was convinced by the research that was, supposedly, backing up the claims of margarine (and its derivatives) being better for us than butter. Now we have come full circle back to the real stuff that is butter. And we now know how dangerous Saccharine and Aspartame are. But I digressed.

Before the 1920s and even the very early 1930s when most people in America and in other countries still were almost, if not entirely, self-sufficient the run on the resources did not exist and it would have never come to the state that we are in today had common sense prevailed and we continued to live in moderation, and that despite the fact that the world's population has risen.

People made their own clothes, as said, and other things and reused and repurposed everything until it not longer could be used and reused. No glass jar was thrown away and they were used for many different purposes and every scrap of paper was used. Food waste was almost unheard off and even that which was not fir for human consumption went to feed the animals and or the plants, later, when rotted down, by way of compost.

Everything was repairable and was fixed, often at home by means of DIY, because it could be done. In general things were only thrown into the trash when they no longer could be fixed or when there was absolutely no reuse possible for them. Today things get tossed after a very short time simply because a new version or whatever is about and the money is there also to buy new. And, if you are thrifty and don't throw away and mend and make do with what you have and reuse and upcycle, and don't spend money all the time you are, by the governments especially considered a domestic terrorist even as you are not helping the economy to grow.

Economic growth is not possible on a Planet whose non-renewable resources are finite and almost exhausted and we need to look at a new form of economy, one not based on constant growth.

The most important thing, for us and the Planet, is that we all learn (again) to live within our means and the means of Mother Earth and that means to go back to the ways of the old ones, before 1920, and live a life that is more self-reliant than today, by making things ourselves, growing our own food, and by living and working in a different way.

The good thing is that it can be done and that we all can be part of this and we can do things for ourselves. Each and everyone can do his or her little bit and the changes would be tremendous, regardless of whether we live in the city or the countryside.

First of all get rid of the brainwashing device called a television. Don't just unplug it and use it less; get rid off it. Turn on the good old radio, or wireless, as they call it in Britain, read a book, a real book.

If you really must keep up to date with TV then on the Internet you can watch television on demand and chose the channels and programs that you want to watch for their quality, as long as you have a fast enough connection. You also get less in the way of commercials that way and thus less brainwashing.

As nowadays in most cases there is no longer any analog television but only satellite and cable, which costs a good deal too, you will also save a great deal of money if you cut this umbilical cord. And you can use that saved money to either get a better Internet connection or use it for other things.

Use and reuse, upcycle, make things yourself as much as possible, live more locally, and that includes buying things from local sources.

Every little step helps to make our world better and will help us to preserve the Planet and also make our lives better by way of quality. Grown your own food and eat this and food from (other) local growers and let us slowly get back to the good life.

© 2013

Some recession survival tips

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

#1 Stop buying useless stuff: This is one of the easiest things to do. Simply refuse to consume for consumption and consumerism's sake. It is true we all have to buy things to live, such as food, and other necessities but you do not need a new cellphone if your old one works fine and neither do you need a new PC, new fridge, etc., while those are still working fine.

But time and again you hear people say that they “need” a new PC simply because the new one has a faster processor, or the latest Windows operating system, or that they “need” the latest model of this is that smartphone – an ordinary cellphone no longer suffices either. Why do they think they “need” this latest one? Because it has, so they have been told by the advertisers, more bells and whistles than the one they have which may only be six months old.

It is not need but desire for the latest new stuff that drives those wants, which masquerade as “needs” in their brains because the adverting in the media suggests that they need the latest gadget.

Fact is that they, unless their older one is broken, do not need a new one. And that brings us nicely to point two.

#2 Stick with what you have: Stick with what you have means that, namely to be content with the stuff that you have – as long as it works and does the job you require it to do.

So, you have got an older PC that Microsoft tells you will not work with the new version(s) of Windows. Then you need a new one, yes? No, you do not for Microsoft is not the only computer operating system about and neither is it the best.

First of all it is not necessarily true that an older computer is not going to work with a newer Windows operating system. Often all that is required is a cheap upgrade in that a larger memory is required.

On the other hand if you do have an older computer which has less than a gigabyte of memory chances are that many of the new versions of Windows do not work. That still does not mean that you have to toss out the old computer. Quite the opposite. Just load a new operating system on the machine, such as one of the many Linux versions. Ubuntu Linux is a great choice and with a footprint of the entire operating system with almost everything you could wish for on the CD (yes, CD, not DVD) being just around 700MB you will have a faster and better PC than any new one.

#3 Make your stuff last: This is something that in today's modern world of (cheap) consumer goods we seem to have entirely forgotten.

Kids and adults alike do not seem to take care of their possessions anymore and this can be seen rather frequently how they never come back for anything that they, for instance, lose in a park or such.

Bicycles and scooters are left behind because they have a flat tire or because a nut or bolt has come off. Items of clothing and even cellphones are lost and never inquired about. And the list could go on and on.

#4 Reuse, repurpose, upcycle, repair: Reuse of whatever came to hand was the norm in days gone by when people did not have the mentality of spend, spend, spend, and this attitude of reusing and repurposing was good for their wallets and the environment.

Now with the Great Recession in full swing and, regardless of the promises by our dear leaders, no end of the same in sight, the mindset of thrift has to come back into its own and reuse must become the norm again. But, as we have seen when the Great Recession came into full action those that refuse to be part of the spend, spend, spend, society are branded terrorists even by the governments for, as it was stated, undermining economic growth.

With a finite planet with finite resources, bar those that are renewable if but properly managed, the idea of a constantly growing economy is total fallacy and the sooner we come to realize this the better.

Our grandparents and their parents, and for many of us even our parents, used and reused as much as possible. No glass jar went into the trash if it would be used for something else, and the same applied for almost anything else too that people today would consider trash.

Paper was reused. Wrapping paper and paper bags too. The latter two were carefully flattened and put away for future use and pencils were used until there was almost nothing left, by using a pencil extender which could be bought in any stationers.

Today, as far as container reuse is concerned, this can be extended to many other kinds, and even plastic milk jugs can be upcycled into storage container and other kinds of useful things for the home and office.

In the days of our grandparents, and so some extent even those of our parents, everything could be repaired, either by DIY, and many a book was written on those subjects and skills, or by the repairman. Today everything is being made so that it cannot be repaired – at least not easily – and repair is made more costly than buying new. And thus things end up in the trash and ultimately, regardless of recyclability, in holes in the ground. All so that the economy keeps growing. But it is an artificial growth based on finite resources and thus the growth is but an illusion.

It is bad for our wallets and it is bad to the environment, for the Planet.

With the right mindset there is very little that one has to buy if one does not have the money or the inclination to be part of the spend, spend, spend stupidity.

Don't go out to spend $7 on a pencil bin, even if it is “green” and made from recycled steel. A clean tin can will do the same job at zero cost. The same is true for glass storage containers where large glass jars from produce of one kind or another will do the job equally well, and that for almost nothing.

We have moved so far away from sanity, it would appear, that people have to be told, on sweet tins, for instance, that those containers can be reused for a variety of things. To our grandparents this thinking would have come more or less natural and they also passed it on to their children and grandchildren.

#5 Grow your own food: Growing your own food, or some of it, and here especially those vegetables and herbs that you use commonly, reduced your bills and also gives you a greater food security.

Besides growing your food also learn to preserve your harvest by canning, drying and freezing, so that nothing goes to waste.

Learn how to cook properly from scratch and be aware of what can be done with leftovers.

Don't forget either that many weeds in your garden are, in fact, edible and that they could, and should, become part of your diet. One of the easiest and simplest to identify are dandelion and stinging nettles. Both are very good eating and also very good for you. Furthermore there is chickweed, sorrel, lambs quarter aka fat hen, and many more. Learn to identify them and, if you are thus inclined, as I am, even “cultivate” them for use. Why battle with them when you can eat them and they grow without any input.

#6 Foraging: Foraging for wild edibles is possible even in city parks though the legality could be a question. But learn what grows where and be sure that you can identify the plants safely. Some have poisonous lookalikes.

#7 Learn DIY skills: Being able to do things yourself, from wiring a plug to building your own furniture, and everything in between, are skills that can prove very important in order to live well in this Great Recession of the early part of the 21st century and we do not know how long this is going to last.

Regardless of how long it is going to continue, and my guess would be that it is going to go on for a lot longer than what our dear leaders are trying to make us believe, being able to do things for yourself, and here especially being able to repair things, will be very useful skills to have. The problem of the lack of repairability of today's products does come in here, however. Too many are made in such a way, as said before, that they cannot be repaired easily or not at all, at least not with ease of access, and thus we must demand that goods are made again in such a way that they can be repaired.

Being able to make things, however, is not just something to use in order to overcome times of recession when money is not as freely flowing. It is something that will be useful to simply make you more self-reliant and, in addition to that, it is fun to make things that you can then say “I made this (and I did not have to go out to buy it)”. To do that give me the greatest satisfaction, especially if the “raw materials” were items of waste.

There are many books available and the best of those books are the older ones that we published in the first half of the 20th century and even before. But you can also find many instructions of how to do this or that, and how to repair this or that, on the Internet and often entirely for free.

Make use of all those resources and learn as many DIY skills and then perfect them as you possibly can. The Great Recession may just be the beginning and a sign of things to come.

This is just a small list of tips as to how to live well in a recession and the aftermath of one. I have probably missed a lot of other things but I am sure that you can put your own mind into gear and adjust things to your own needs and environment.

© 2013