The Simple Joy of Fixing Things

Defeating planned obsolescence to save your stuff from the trash and stick it to The Man.

Ever had a wheel break on your suitcase, right before an Important Trip? Or maybe your phone just won’t charge any more? Or your washing machine keeps flooding the floor?

Photo of a red suitcase that has a load of hacker adjacent stickers attached to it, along with a bag and a coat. The suitcase is next to a Eurostar train at a platform. This particular Important Trip was a romantic weekend break with over 8,000 hackers at FOSDEM in Brussels.

When I needed some new wheels for my suitcase, I was delighted to discover that I could buy a full set of wheels for just a few pounds. There was just one small problem… the suitcase manufacturer had riveted the axles, so there were no screws to undo to take the old wheels off. Bah, humbug!

Sometimes there’s genuinely no alternative to replacing a broken item, but often (perhaps more often than we realise) there are things that you can do to repair it and keep it going for a lot longer. However, in some territories the laws are actually being rewritten to make “unauthorised repairs” a criminal offence. We don’t talk nearly enough about this Felony Contempt of Business Model as Cory Doctorow calls it.

Maybe your washing machine is misbehaving because a tiny plastic clip has broken. Maybe your phone’s USB-C socket has worn out and needs to be replaced. And sometimes you just need a new wheel for your suitcase. You should be able to fix it. And if you’re in Europe, you’re in luck - in June 2024 European Union countries voted to enact an EU Right To Repair Directive which will come into force from July 2026.

Luckily I had a hacksaw and was able to hack (literally) my way through the old axles, at which point the old wheels and what was left of the axles could be removed…

Photo of a red suitcase with some hacker stickers attached to it, like a World’O’Techno warning sign. the suitcase is lying on a wooden floor on its side and a hacksaw has been inserted to cut through one of the riveted wheel axles. Also, there is an anti-littering sticker showing a stick person throwing a stick tank into a rubbish bin, much like this suitcase might end up if not repaired.

I know that by using rivets the manufacturer can be confident that the wheels are unlikely to fall off, and they won’t require checking and tightening like wheels held on with nuts and bolts and screw threads. But ultimately it’s a customer hostile act.

Photo of the red suitcase again. This time it is standing upright, with spiffy new wheels that are held on with hex nut bolts. In front of the suitcase is a little pile of old wheels, mangled axles, fluff and shredded filings from the hacking episode.

Should we try and repair everything that breaks? Maybe not - some things really aren’t repairable, or can’t be repaired cost effectiely, or can’t be repaired safely except by an expert. But there’s a heck of a lot of stuff out there that can be repaired and reused.

If this is something you feel strongly about, then you might want to check out your local Repair Café.

Find your local Repair Café

Residents of the Hermit Kingdom can also contact their MP about the UK Repair & Reuse Declaration, and ask organisations they are involved with to sign the declaration.

Read the UK Repair & Reuse Declaration

Can we fix it? Yes, we can!