In Spokane, Washington, two repair cafes are combating our disposable culture by fixing broken items for free. The Repair Cafe handles various items, while the Mend-It Cafe specializes in clothes and textiles. Volunteers with repair skills, often passed down from parents or jobs, use library spaces and markets to fix things like a vintage brass lamp or worn-out kids boots, saving people money and reducing waste.Both cafes launched around the same time, with Mend-It Cafe starting in May 2023 through Spokane Zero Waste. They teach beginners how to sew or mend, passing on skills that fewer families have these days. People love it, with a mom of five boys bringing boots for repair and a teen fixing his robot toy. These events draw lines at farmers markets and colleges, helping families stretch their budgets.Since starting, Mend-It Cafe has repaired over 930 items for more than 530 people, diverting 2300 pounds of textiles from trash. The Repair Cafe aims to make people buy better and learn to maintain what they have. Both groups need more volunteers and items to fix. Check out Mend-It Cafe at Scale House Market on January 7th at 4 PM or their sewing class on January 10th at 1 PM. Repair Cafe returns to Perry Street Market in May. Email menditcafe@spokanezerowaste.org or repaircafespokane@gmail.com to join in. Checkout Solipillow.com

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