Ad was telling me the other day about someone he met professionally who threw away his socks after wearing them. Seriously. Wore a pair of socks, then threw them away, did not see the point of washing them when he could buy them so cheaply.

My first thought was, man that is some bad karma. 

But it's kind of all about our cultural standard. 

I mean, our great grandmothers would say to us: you BUY all of your socks? Have you not heard of a knitting needle, child? What in heaven's name are you doing with your time?

I love our cultural standard that cringes at the disposable. That strives for sustainability and repurposing and handmadeness. 

I have a few favourite blogs that are super excellent at this, if they're not already on your blog roll: Little Eco Footprints, Soulemama, Foxslane, Apron Stringz, Green Change. 

And so, to mending. 

It's not really bloggable, it's just hemming stuff, repairing a torn pocket, sewing on missing buttons, shortening this, lengthening that. 

But every time something goes from the mending basket back into a drawer (and not into the bin or the rag bag) I can hear my grandma saying "good girl, don't waste anything."

My grandma had a small wardrobe, and by that I mean the wooden thing, not the 'wardrobe' of clothes, although actually both were small. She had a couple of good dresses for church and for shopping and special occasions, and she had a few house dresses. It all fitted into a small and lovely wooden wardrobe. 

And when something needed mending, she fixed it. 

I'm embarrassed to think about my sprawling built-in wardrobe with too many clothes, extra chests of drawers, and only a handful of things I even like. 

How refreshing to pare it down. 

So once this pile is mended, that's next on the list. A wardrobe like my grandma's. 

And I'd really like to learn how to knit a sock.

xxx