In the shade

Today’s savings: $40

My mother was brought up in the Depression and she taught me to cut and re-sew the bottom of a window shade if only the bottom part is worn — where you pull on the shade and the sun weakens the crease. This task was taught to my mother by her mother, so I am the third generation doing this simple repair job.

Take out the wooden or plastic stick that lines the bottom of the shade. Cut the shade across the bottom as close as possible to the damage, using a yard stick to draw a straight line with a pencil or chalk mark to make sure you get an even cut; fold up the shade from the bottom to create a new pocket for the stick you’ve just taken out. Re-stitch the shade with a long running stitch, or with dots of hot glue if you’re not handy with a sewing needle, and re-insert the stick in the new pocket.

Re-hang the shade, and it’s as good as new.

Fixing instead of throwing out the most basic shade can save as much as $20. Do this a couple of times in six months, and you’ve saved $40.

— Beverly Coolidge, East Dixfield

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