"But it still works!"

This is a sister thread to Yppej's "Old Things" thread. Very similar but a different twist. Name something that you use or used, but you have to or had to jury-rig to use it, but you don't throw it out because it still works? Or, in the words of my Scottish MIL, who used to say this often when she was still using broken things--"Acchhh, it's fine. There's nothin' wrang wi' it."

We've had several cars that fit that category: the most memorable was the old Chevy Celebrity that couldn't go in reverse. For months we had to be very careful about where we parked or how close behind another car we were because the rear gear was broken. Talk about stressful driving!

Any others?

Magnets to close cupboard doors from 1950 that no longer latch. Hardened chewing gum held a bathroom exhaust fan together for a few years until I got an electrician in.

Kodak Easy Share digital camera (4.0 Mega Pixels!)

Attachment 2865

I still use a plastic tumbler I got in college that must have contained some flavor of soda pop. University name and mascot printed on it and everything, in the team's color. That was 40+ years ago and it still is in almost-daily use. The printing is long gone and it's a little scratched and dinged up. It's also an object lesson in how plastic Just. Will. Not. Die. But it does what I want it to do so why let it fill a landfill forever?

Yes, you can clean, paint and otherwise keep your old aluminum siding presentable. I have done it.

for the past several years, our shower diverter on the tub spout has not worked. Wrapping the shaft of the diverter with a large rubber band and then shoving a clothes pin between the knob on top of it and the tub spout has kept our shower working great. And no one here would consider taking a bath in the tub, so it's only an issue when I want to fill a bucket and the kitchen sink is in use. Which is rarely. When the kids were small (and I was drying diapers indoors due to rain or snow), I kept the dryer door with a broken latch shut, and thus running, by jamming a broom handle into the door handle and propping it with a large bucket of lard. DH drove a beat-up Chevy Chevette for a year with the back end held together with strap banding. My current rocker-recliner does not recline, so I covered an old ottoman for a foot rest - the chair itself looks like crap so is draped with an old heavy woven bedspread. We're pretty good at work-arounds. Or we're cheap, or lazy, or - take your pick, I don't care, lol.....

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Originally Posted by early morning

for the past several years, our shower diverter on the tub spout has not worked. Wrapping the shaft of the diverter with a large rubber band and then shoving a clothes pin between the knob on top of it and the tub spout has kept our shower working great. And no one here would consider taking a bath in the tub, so it's only an issue when I want to fill a bucket and the kitchen sink is in use. Which is rarely. When the kids were small (and I was drying diapers indoors due to rain or snow), I kept the dryer door with a broken latch shut, and thus running, by jamming a broom handle into the door handle and propping it with a large bucket of lard. DH drove a beat-up Chevy Chevette for a year with the back end held together with strap banding. My current rocker-recliner does not recline, so I covered an old ottoman for a foot rest - the chair itself looks like crap so is draped with an old heavy woven bedspread. We're pretty good at work-arounds. Or we're cheap, or lazy, or - take your pick, I don't care, lol.....

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Our kitchen faucet handles were broken for quite a while and we used vice grips to turn the water off and on until my MIL made a gift of a new faucet.

The previous owner painted the aluminum siding which is a mistake. Painting companies wanted a ridiculous amount of money to repaint. I hired my husband a helper, bought a sprayer and they did it much cheaper.

I have some (35-plus years old) office-style plastic waste cans that were starting to split at the top. Duct tape to the rescue.

As a teenager I learned how to "turn" shirt collars. Spending some time on a farm this job was saved for days too hot to work outside. If your shirt collar is wearing out you use a seam ripper to carefully release the collar from the shirt. Then flip the collar over so the bottom is on the top. Since the bottom is in tip top shape you just sew the collar back on and it's like a new shirt as the worn part is hidden. I still do this and extend the life of a lot of shirts.

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As a teenager I learned how to "turn" shirt collars

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thinkgreen, thanks for the memory! my grandmother taught me how to turn collars early on. And how to shorten a cuff by just a tad, so that the worn/frayed line was hidden inside the cuff. She made all of Granddads work shirts, she said men's shirts were the easiest things to make. I beg to differ - I found them a PIA. Once I discovered yard sales with their frequent stacks of barely worn clothing, I never looked back! :~)

DH reminded me of another make do that's still going strong after 35 years - when we bought this house, the realtor pointed out the old white 1940's style cabinets with one of the under-sink doors hanging by one hinge, and said - well, you'll need to remodel the kitchen.... those cupboards are old, and you can't fix that door! (the hinge had split out the wood and couldn't be re-attached). Well, there wasn't any sense in that logic - we took the door off, flipped it end for end and attached the hinges to the good wood of the latch side. The door latch is well above the split out spot where the hinge had been, and works fine. A coat of paint (well, several, by now!), new pulls (flea market, 50 cent each) and a new laminate counter top from a big box ($85, closeout). The rest of the kitchen is a disaster, but the cabinets look and work fine, lol.

Thanks early morning I forgot about "renewing" the cuffs too. I just turn them inside about a quarter inch and sew them. This creates a new cuff edge that looks brand new.

We also have watering cans that a neighbor had put at the curb. I spoke to her and she said they leaked at the top and showed me the gap the water came through. Well, they are plastic watering cans so I got out the hot glue gun and sealed the cracks with glue. I think that was five or six years ago and the glue is still holding. In fact I just gave one of them away to a friend who had no watering can and they were delighted with it.