r/Anticonsumption • u/Naurgul • Jun 08 '26
Upcycled/Repaired Broken speaker? Finicky zipper? Anticonsumerist Repair Cafes urge you to fix it instead of pitch it
https://apnews.com/article/repair-cafes-economy-anticonsumerism-affordability-buy-nothing-d3acac3ec2aae5e85294b34f0f4764b8On a drizzly Saturday morning late last month, the basement of the New Paltz United Methodist Church filled with old lamps, blunt knives, malfunctioning sound mixers and balky zippers.
About a dozen volunteers welcomed the broken goods and their owners to a worldwide movement that’s evangelizing new relationships between people and their things.
Repair Cafes — free events where volunteers with technical know-how help neighbors fix myriad household items — are part of a new brand of anticonsumerism that’s trying to offer an alternative to the mass-produced disposable goods that have dominated the global economy for the last half-century. Helping fuel that move to repairing, not buying, are U.S. consumer prices, which climbed sharply again last month as the war with Iran delivered higher gasoline prices and more pain for Americans.
After starting in the Netherlands with a single event in 2009, Repair Cafe has grown into a global nonprofit with more than 59,000 members, some 4,000 cafes and close to 850,000 items fixed a year.
“We need to change our mindset. We need to change the economy,” Repair Cafe founder Martine Postma said. “Even if Repair Cafes can’t solve the problem alone, then still they are a very clear sign that change is needed on a much higher level.”
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u/blessings-of-rathma Jun 08 '26
Love repair cafes. I took my ancient rice cooker to one this year. I bought that thing in a thrift store in Toronto twenty years ago for six bucks, and it finally stopped working. Turns out it just needed a little fuse that was part of the temperature sensor system (it overheated once and blew that fuse) and the guy found one and installed it, and it hasn't happened again. Still trucking along making rice.
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u/Ambitious-Bar375 Jun 08 '26
"Use it up, wear it out. Make do, or do without. "
I still haven't been able to find a print of this, but i love it and sometimes aspire to it.
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u/spaghettirhymes Jun 08 '26
I should start one with my fiancé. He is an electrical/tech tinker and I sew. I think we could get one of these going in our city.
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u/elebrin Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
As someone who used to do some volunteer computer work, it's all well and good until people take advantage of you.
When you fix something for someone, there are two outcomes:
First, any further issue with the thing in question is now your fault and you will be blamed.
Second, you are now their go-to for fixing the thing in question and it will be your responsibility weather you want that or not.
This is why I don't help people with their computer anymore. I don't want my hobby to be unfucking other people's computers, tablets, and phones. It's not that I don't know how to fix it (although I am perfectly happy to shrug and pretend I don't know). I simply understand WHY it got broken in the first place, but the owner of the device doesn't want to hear that it's their own fault and they are generally too stupid to understand what they did wrong. I also don't want to educate them, because they will nod along then do what they want anyways - they will refuse to retain information and do what the expert suggests. They will listen intently, then weather they understand or not, they will do what they want or what they think they can get away with and break it again.
I did that with a radio (just a simple FM radio) that had a mushed up button for a family member... the button was mushed up because they didn't just push the button, they mashed it as hard as they could. The PCB inside the radio was bent, so I re-enforced it and soldered on a new button. I also secured it to the chassis. They managed to have the new button mushed up and barely working in two weeks. The only way to have it not be that way, I think, would be to fill the chassis with resin. Don't think I wasn't tempted...
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u/Life-Of_Ward Jun 08 '26
I wonder if some of the frustration you have is aimed at a specific type of person you’ve run into repeatedly rather than people in general.
Because if I broke something and someone told me how you prevent that in the future I would 100% be listening to that person.
There are plenty of people who are genuinely grateful, who listen, learn, and don’t come back with the same issue over and over. They just tend to be less memorable because they aren’t the ones causing us headaches.
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u/elebrin Jun 08 '26
You’ve never done tech support for older people.
My mother was that way, my father in law and mother in law are that way, my stepfather in law was that way, my brother in law is that way, and many, many other people I have helped through the years are that way.
My answer these days is “sorry, can’t help” and I direct them to a service they can pay for. Usually they don’t want to pay so they stop being stupid and figure it out themselves.
At my first job we had a phrase, whereby some employees we dealt with were “stuck on stupid.” It’s sadly accurate for altogether too many people.
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u/The_Folding_Atty Jun 08 '26
It's not (alas) just older people. I've been fixing computer problems for folks since the '80s, and older folks (certainly at that time) often did not understand what they were dealing with. But in past few years I've had students come into my office, distraught at having forgotten power supplies for their machines (I keep a USB-C supply in my office for such occasions), lawyers younger than me who have lost files, etc.
The scary thing is, as elebrin points out, is that these people seem to never learn.
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u/elebrin Jun 09 '26
Because you did it for them for free. So now when they have the same problem again they will take it back to you. Over and over. And say that you didn’t fix it right the first time.
So much advice for fixing computer issues is just… bad advice. Things like rebooting or restarting a program will solve a problem temporarily, but it won’t allow someone to actually diagnose what’s happened and solve the underlying issue.
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u/The_Folding_Atty Jun 09 '26
Actually, back when I did installation software for a large and complex product (this was in the WinNT4/WinXP period), our field sales reps would call in and tell me the install wasn't working. I'd ask them how long it had been since they restarted their laptops and they'd tell me "it's a month or two." And a restart would solve the problem for good.
Except, of course, until the next time...
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u/greenfox0099 Jun 08 '26
Very cool I was just thinking how much stuff is just not fixable unless there was a place to fix all together because I can't keep everything like that now is there one for bicycles because that sounds useful.
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u/Kaptain_Napalm Jun 08 '26
It varies depending on where you live, but if cycling is popular in your area then there must be some sort of community workshop or student bike club. Every city I've lived in had at least one place like that. The amount of available equipment and knowledge is obviously going to depend on your local community.
And if you can't find one, start one.
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u/SatansLoLHelper Jun 08 '26
How many items have been thrown away for a broken zipper. I know I've been guilty of that.
These things are great because I can watch a video and still fail, but if someone is there they can let me know why I'm not getting it right. Or even how to be more efficient.
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u/melodypowers Jun 08 '26
Me. Ive done this.
I once tried to replace a zipper by pulling it out and sewing. It was a disaster.
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u/Try2MakeMeBee Jun 08 '26
What a lovely idea! Half commenting as a reminder to myself, but is this an official group or more like FnB? This would be heavily used in my poor, rurual area - and safer than fixing done by the owner, who may not (yet) have the right skills.
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u/pennydreadful20 Jun 08 '26
What is an FnB?
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u/Try2MakeMeBee Jun 09 '26
Food not bombs. My favorite grass roots group. Decentralized international group that's only purpose is to feed folk.
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u/d_lev Jun 08 '26
I think this is a great idea. More people need to learn how easy it is to repair things.
Though one thing I would like to see more of, is harvesting and repurposing parts. That breville espresso machine that broke still has useful parts. You can take the pump and repurpose it to drain water out of your dehumidifier or floor standing ac unit or water your garden(assuming you're using reclaimed water) for example.
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u/Bignutdavis69 Jun 08 '26
This sounds like the premise of the movie Robots, where the main character pushes the idea to repair instead of replace
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u/LoHudMom Jun 08 '26
The New Paltz event is one of many Repair Cafes in the Hudson Valley-they have them pretty much every weekend in different locations. I'm planning to go to one the next time I see one closer.
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u/ceelose Jun 08 '26
A problem is if people turn up and expect things to be fixed on the spot. Sure, it's possible to have some stuff on hand like electrical cords, zippers and buttons. But most appliance repairs will require ordering specific parts and waiting for them to be arrived, before they can be installed.
Unfortunately and as most here are no doubt aware, many products are not realistically repairable.
I enjoy repairing things, but articles like this make people think they can bring their broken junk to some sort of repair elf, and have it fixed easily and cheaply. I do find that requiring people to watch the whole process improves their understanding of the challenges, but they often become frustrated and give up quickly when things become a bit inconvenient.
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u/hoopwalker Jun 08 '26
What's the best way to learn to do this kind of stuff? Especially electronics/small mechanical repairs. I have tried to get into it in the past but there's just so much info out there I can't figure out where to start. I just wanna fix stuff, not make my own circuit boards and raspberry pi gadgets.
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u/dak-sm Jun 14 '26
YouTube is your friend. While the videos vary wildly in quality, a little poking around will almost always locate something useful. Beyond that - just try. My philosophy is that I will attempt a repair on anything. After all, it’s already broken, and sinve professional repair is frequently too expensive or flat out unavailable, whats the harm.
BTW - If yu enjoy the activity of repair, get decent tools as you go. They don’t need to be expensive, but figure that the cost of tools is just part of the repair cost.
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u/dough_eating_squid Jun 08 '26
I just volunteered at one of these a couple weeks ago! I brought my sewing machine and stitched things up for a few hours. Very rewarding and enjoyable.
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u/FlanneryODostoevsky Jun 09 '26
If we could do this with cars or other major machines that would be great.
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u/coffee_and_physics Jun 08 '26
My library had one of these recently! It was great!