Years ago, I had an old Nikon that I loved. One day, the cover of the battery compartment came loose and the batteries stopped holding their charge. The camera was unusable.
It never occurred to me to have the camera repaired. Or to replace it. Instead, I stuck a band aid across the battery compartment and carried on.
I’m not sure I’d have come up with the same solution today. Somewhere along the way, I acquired the notion that problems are complex and require professional solutions. I developed a habit of over-analysis, which led, predictably, to paralysis and procrastination.
Little things became big. Simple things became complicated.
And so I’ve been taking stock, wondering if fixing the small things might be a good theme for the year: the cracked glass in the photo frame, the dryer door that gets stuck. It sounds simple, a kind of broken window policy for the home. But it might encourage a return to resourcefulness, a renewed sense of competence. Who knows? It might even seep into other areas of life.
I still have that old Nikon and all of its (expensive) lenses. The lenses don’t fit the camera I use now, but I’ve ordered an adapter that should fix the problem. It cost me the price of a paperback.
Happy New Year everyone.
Aileen Hunt 
Lovely thought Aileen.
You might enjoy the thought of Repair Cafes https://brightonrepaircafe.wordpress.com/
All best wishes
Elaine
Happy New Year, Aileen! Little things can be a big pain to fix at times (broken glass can be one of those things, if the glass wasn’t a standard size, as I recently learned). But, as you say, sometimes the solution is as simple as ordering an adapter.
Yes Aileen it’s much easier these days to just dump the old thing -whatever it is – and replace it. People used to keep possessions all their lives. My mother had an old transistor radio and the outer casing was damaged by standing too close to a gas ring. An insurance claim was made (£20 or something) and was paid. Meantime the radio was found still to be working and, to my knowledge, still does so many years later.
Of course, things were made to last then, too.:)