Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter

Healthy Relationships

I’ve just begun Fixation, by my neighbor and hero Sandra Goldmark, founder of Fixup, an organization dedicated to helping us fix our stuff, rather than just buy more.

In the very first chapter she says, “When an object breaks, we begin to see that we are in a relationship with our things.”

Yes. Exactly. To be human is to form attachments—to people, to places and to things. I often have clients who don’t want to let go of something broken, stained or currently not in use—even though they’ve already replaced it. They bought a new alarm clock or an unstained white blouse ages ago; they’re listening to Spotify these days, so they really don’t need a CD player. And yet, they aren’t quite willing to let go. There is something in them that is attached to the old stuff: That alarm clock had such a simple design; the old white blouse fit just right; what about all the CDs?

I used to think my job was to get my clients to rip off the Band-Aid and just get rid of the old stuff, and sometimes that’s the simplest way to go. Lately though, as I contemplate our environmental crisis, I think we need to consider Goldmark’s proposition, that we need to learn to fix the stuff we already have. The instinct to keep things isn’t wrong, it’s the reflex toward the quick-fix-by-purchase that’s the problem.

I’ve always said, “Buy less but better.” Goldmark says the same thing. In her years of fixing things at her pop-up fix-it shops, she’s realized that the cheaper the item, the harder it is to fix. Once your cheap, made-in-China, bought-at-Target toaster oven goes, it’s toast. On the other hand, I was able to buy a part for my Miele vacuum cleaner for $4.00 (and do I get bonus points for buying it directly from Miele, not Amazon? Yes, yes, I do). I love my vacuum, which I’ve had for almost ten years, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it makes it to twenty, which is a long time in this day and age. And I will do what I can to keep it running smoothly. It takes care of my floors, and I take care of it. It’s a relationship.

It’s natural to be attached to your stuff, so why not try to repair it? You’re never going to love the replacement quite like you loved the original. To resole a good pair of shoes is to say, “You are worth it, I believe that you will last another five years if I take good care of you.” Don’t give up on love—or your stuff. Nurture it, and remember the four Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Repair.