Two weeks ago, we encouraged you to repair, build, or make something at home and to share your #FixAtHome stories on Twitter and Instagram. We ran this campaign to raise awareness of repair as a solution—not just during COVID-19, but always. Repair is essential, and crucial for building a liveable future within a circular economy.
With #FixAtHome, we’re celebrating repair culture being an important part of our everyday lives, our society, and business philosophy. We worked with passionate fixers and more partners and friends to spread this message—Fairphone, Sugru, Vaude, the Repair Café Foundation, Ting Mobile, Patagonia Worn Wear, Digi Key and others. #FixAtHome showed us that repair connects us, even when we’re social distancing.
The things we fix
For many people, repair is an emotional act, allowing them to reclaim a beloved item, help someone else, or rebel against the throwaway economy. So what do people fix when they’re staying home and have lots of time on their hands? Well, the possibilities are endless! Some things are necessary for working from home (or staying sane during quarantine), and some are worth repairing because of their sentimental value. Here are some of the things you fixed at home—you can see even more by searching #FixAtHome on Twitter and Instagram:
Most of us are still staying home, and it’s hard to tell when the situation will change. All we know is that repair’s a good idea—now and after quarantine. So grab your tools and fix something at home today—and keep tagging us on Twitter and Instagram so we can celebrate with you!
Note: iFixit has business relationships with Sugru, Vaude and Fairphone (selling products), but this partnership is simply all of us encouraging people to fix things and share it.
crwdns2944067:05crwdne2944067:0
Hey, my name is Doug and I am the proud owner and user of a 6 year old Samsung S5, a 10 year old Dell XPS, a 19 year old manual transmission car that runs almost like new, and many other useful things that are not in a landfill because I find/replace/fix worn and broken parts myself.
Since the dawn of the Internet in particular, large corporations have tried to discourage (even eliminate) self-sufficiency. This is not new.
By indoctrinating consumers worldwide into a use-discard-buy-new mindset, we have a considerable amount of waste that might not otherwise have happened.
Amazon, FB, Google, Apple, and all the others- you can’t fault them for their innovative visions/marketing savvy. But really, enough is enough. Time to take the Red Pill people. Time to pay people who can repair, fix & renew as much as marketing people are paid.
Doug Davis - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
I completely agree with you. Also doing these things provides relaxation and pleasure when we are successful. It is worth trying to do these things and work with our hands whether it works well or not.
josesanboix -
Looking forward to joining this culture! I took apart my toaster oven to figure out why the door mechanism/spring no longer works and discovered a snapped rod. Once I can source the correct gauge rod, bend it to match the existing, but broken, rod, I am hoping I can restore a perfectly good toaster oven and pass it on to the next person, possibly a college student!
Donna Hannan - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
I'm glad to see this coming back. I was raised to try to fix things by my father and grandfather. They used to fix their own TVs and such. I still remember going to the hardware store and watching them plug tubes into a machine to tell if they were burned out.
greggb57 - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
Any hope for an iPhone 6SPlus phone screen that suddenly went black. It rings, I hear click or vibration on desk when things come in, but can’t open to answer, or shut off, or anything. I have tried touching completley black screen everywhere but I have no idea what was on screen or what setting it was in when screen went away. I’ve tried online help, but at 76, I can’t even ‘understand’ the words they use. I live on an island, not Apple or AT&T stores here. Any suggestions?
Judith Kane - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0