One family's make do and mend year

So, is it any easier to keep a resolution if you know it’s actually going to make a difference to not just your life, but possibly the world, too? I spoke to mum-of-two and part-time vet Jen Gale about how her family’s ‘make do and mend’ year has changed their lives.
Jen and her husband Ben, who live in Warminster, embarked upon a challenge not to buy anything new after their son William, now aged five, was starting to demonstrate that he was already succumbing to the consumer-focused mindset of western culture, and they hoped that the experience would also benefit their younger son Samuel, aged two.
Together, they vowed that they would not buy anything brand new for a year, and from September 2012 to August 2013 they shopped second-hand, bought pre-owned, and up-cycled and re-conditioned old gear.
“It all started when I became more and more aware of how William, at the age of three as he was then, was already quite consumer-focused,” says Jen.
“He wanted new stuff all the time, and it made me start to think about all the stuff we had and how we really didn't need any more.”
Determined to show others that it could be done, Jen launched her blog – My Make Do and Mend Year, at www.mymakedoandmendyear.wordpress.com – and posted daily,
tallying up the savings from any secondhand purchases and
homemade items, based on what they would have cost new, including times when she knew her former self would have splurged out on a new jumper but kept her purse firmly shut.
Jen estimated a saving of £2,000 for the year.
“I became increasingly aware of the unsustainable levels of consumption in the western world,” she continued. “We are currently consuming between three and five planet’s worth of resources, [in a year] but we have only one planet.
“I wanted the year and the blog to show people that it really is quite easy to make small changes in your life which can actually make a big difference, without moving into a yurt and making your own yoghurt – although I do quite fancy having a go at making my own yoghurt.”
Their new philosophy applied to almost every part of their lives and their home soon featured a number of homemade items, such as a table lamp fashioned from an old wine bottle, notebooks from scrap paper and even a Christmas tree made entirely from egg boxes.
The couple also got creative with their gifts, from snail racing kits and fancy hairpins to pirate costumes for the kids, and homebaked treats and second-hand delights for the adults.
So what are the rules?
Jen explains: “We could buy food, toiletries, underwear and shoes for the kids. We also said that if we needed to buy new parts to fix something that had broken, then we would do that, rather than ditch something fixable. And we bought things such as glue.
“I found the whole thing far easier than I had expected. Once you open your eyes to the sources of secondhand things out there – charity shops, car boots, flea markets, sites such as ebay, Preloved, Freecycle and Freegle – you realise that you really can, pretty much, find everything you might need secondhand. You just sometimes have to be patient or think about things a bit differently.
“We spent the year making, making do and mending, learned new skills, met lots of lovely people, and generally became much more mindful about what we were consuming.
“And we had a lot of fun, too.”
Jen admits that William still has a fondness for all things new and shiny, but that his attitude has changed as a result of the challenge.
“William is still, as I think most kids are, quite ‘stuff’ orientated, and still says things like ‘I want more toys’.
“He is very aware of recycling and even knows about the fact the we are running out of landfill, but he has yet to make the connection between his desires for plastic tat, and the landfill waste. But I know a lot of grown-ups who haven't made that connection, so he is forgiven.
“The whole experience has genuinely changed our lives forever.
“We are less strict now – I have even bought the odd magazine or two – but the principle still applies, and we now always try to source things secondhand before looking for anything new. I don't think I will ever buy new clothes from the high street again.”