Sunday, October 26, 2008

Oh Darn it!

Does anyone have any sock darning advice? I used to darn my socks when I was a kid, but haven't for many years. I can't quite remember how to do it and what type of wool to use.

I'm about to get out my winter socks as today is the first day that it feels like winter is on its way. From memory, a number of them have holes, and in Japan, the land of no shoes inside, you can't really get away with holey socks.

That reminds me of a Dad story. Dad was on an international flight and had taken off his shoes. He was walking down the aisle when one of the attendants noticed a hole in his sock. She laughed and suggested to dad "You should ask your wife to darn your socks". Dad returned the laugh, this time at the thought of asking mum to darn his socks and replied "Can YOU ask her, PLEASE!?!" Mmm... In my mum's defence, she does a lot of mending and darning...
Photo by Pitel

With the way the Aussie dollar is against the yen at the moment, we are trying to be more frugal. It's the perfect time to send back as much cash (yen) as we can, every bit will help us to set up a new home next year while I'm hopefully with child, and my husband is looking for work. It's mostly the little things, like darning socks instead of buying new ones, which is better for the environment anyway. Last night, we went out for dinner but ate in the food court of the shopping center instead of splurging at an Italian restaurant whose salmon cream pasta I love. I've decided that my pathetic attendance at the gym is a good reason to stop going and save quite a packet on their fees each month.

What about you? What are the little things you do to save some pennies?

11 comments:

Hila said...

I can empathise - money is very short for me at the moment. I don't have any advice for sock-darning unfortunately :)

CurlyPops said...

That's a great idea to send back yen while our dollar is so low. I need all the saving advice I can get now that I'm going to be trying to support myself!

Anonymous said...

Re: sock darning - have a look at this video on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nY1jTVyBE0 There are quite a few other tutorials on there. I am also getting back to darning socks and recycling clothes in an effort to 'economise' along with many of my friends.

BumbleVee said...

I darn and mend;(I like to use a light bulb inside the sock to place my needle against as I go in and out from side to side); We always eat at home; I buy 20 pound bags of flour on sale and bake breads so I get them how I like them at a mere fraction of the store prices... make several loaves at a time to save on electricity as well and freeze them; I shop at thrift stores..or buy on sale ... still try to barter if I think prices are too high... the other day I got another $50 off a huge floor mirror that was already on sale... it had a tiny mark on the frame which I pointed out to the salesperson...(I can easily touch it up with some gold paint) I have always liked to recycle, re-use and re-purpose lots of different "things"... sometimes people offer free fruit if I will pick it from their trees..I'm there... we bag it and freeze it to use in the winter. My list is endless and varied.... What can I say? I've learned how to be very frugal......probably comes from having nothing at all when we were kids....

Rachael Hutchings said...

One of my new resolutions to help save us some money is to do this: http://mollyirwin.typepad.com/mollyirwin/2008/10/one-good-loaf.html

I've also been reading up on ways of making your own household cleaners. Not only are they WAY cheaper, but they're better for the environment!

Melanie's Dad said...

Thanks very much for sharing my story with the world.

Liesl said...

I love your Dad's sock story. Sadly no darning advice ... so I might follow the links other people have left. There are plenty of Mr HB's socks to be stitched up.

Guzzisue said...

there was a comment in the paper today to say that sock darning classes are available in Totness (UK) suspect it mnay be a little too far for you to commute :-)

Anonymous said...

i find packed lunches save ridiculous amounts of money! but they depress me... except for really nice packed lunches, but they are a lot of work

and 'not buying stuff'... which is so hard! even harder if you're actively trying not to buy, it's quite easy if you just don't have the time... i suppose it's also a way of simplifying life... in that spirit, you could also sell things on ebay, things you might not want to bring to australia with you? CDs and DVDs and books? small furniture items? clothes? destash fabrics?

not sure how expensive energy is in japan, but here it pays to turn the thermostat down, keep doors closed, switch off lights, walk instead of drive, that kind of thing?

Jenny said...

I know when mum used to do it she used an orange to keep it spread out and did kind of hatched stitches but I have never been much of a sock darner myself!

Bec said...

I'd been wondering the exact same thing. I've been doing lots of clothing repairs and recycling (eg. turning the kids' pants into shorts when they get too tall...my kids seem to get taller but not wider, so the shorts thing works well!). But I don't know how to darn either... I'm going to check out the suggested youtube video! We have also stopped buying new crockery once ours get chipped, and instead I've been buying lovely retro crockery from op shops whenever I see them :)

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