Fix it, don’t throw away

Save a fortune by repairing instead of replacing your household items

Buying a new electrical item for the home is an expensive business. If you’re doing this in order to replace an existing piece of equipment that’s broken down, make sure you consider whether it can be repaired before throwing it away.

Almost a quarter of waste electrical and electronic equipment (known by the rather unfortunate acronym, WEEE) items that get thrown away (such as fridges or washing machines) still have life left in them.

A £50 repair bill is a lot more palatable than the cost of a new machine, never mind the hassle of getting rid of the old one and installing the new one. Search the web or ask a neighbour for a recommendation of a good repair engineer.

If you just want to get rid of an item, consider local charities (some take electrical items, some don’t) and www.freecycle.org, where almost anything can find a new home.