Mending as Mindfulness: Finding Meaning in Small Repairs

Have you seen that quote circulating online? It says:

"If life is a never-ending loop of dirty dishes and laundry, then that means life is a never-ending loop of home-cooked meals and comfy, clean clothes."

I couldn’t find the original source to credit, but it’s a beautiful way to reframe the mundane, don’t you think?

So often, we view small tasks as nuisances—whether it’s doing the dishes or sewing a loose button back onto a shirt. But what if we saw these moments as opportunities rather than chores?

This reminds me of a book I read a while back, A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind by Shoukei Matsumoto. He writes about how cleaning is not just about maintaining a tidy home but also about tending to ourselves. Monks begin each day by sweeping, not only to clear dust from the floors but also to remove gloom from their hearts. When they iron, they imagine smoothing out the wrinkles in their souls.

What if we brought these principles to our mending?

Reconnecting with Our Clothes

Like many people, I used to set aside clothes that needed minor repairs, telling myself I’d “fix them later.” A favourite sweater with a tiny hole, a blouse missing a button—I’d push them to the back of the drawer and forget about them.

Whilst going to art school, I decided to change that. My jeans were getting a hole in them, and as a student, I wasn't prepared to go out and spend money on a new pair. I decided to take the time to patch them, and see where it went.

As I stitched, I thought about the hands that had originally sewn this garment. Someone, somewhere, had made these jeans. Why was I so quick to abandon them over something so small as a frayed hole in the knee?

Through the act of fixing, I learned about how clothes can tell the story of my life through the small actions I make on a daily basis. The thighs needed patching, because I would often rub my hands to dry them off. A hole developed in my back left pocket, because that's where my phone and keys were always kept. Patch by patch, I learned about my own mannerisms through these repairs.

In that moment, I realised that mending wasn’t just about fixing clothes—it was about restoring my connection to them. It was an act of gratitude to the hands that sewed the garments, the hands that wove the fabric, and the hands that grew and picked the cotton.

The Luxury of Abundance

For those of us with overflowing wardrobes, a missing button is an inconvenience, not an emergency. We can simply wear something else, or worse—replace the garment entirely. In fact, research shows that the average American throws away between 81-100 pounds of clothing per year.^[1][2]

In contrast, previous generations saw clothing differently. Clothes were made to last, and repairs were second nature. My grandmother used to keep a small tin of buttons, knowing that missing one didn’t mean discarding a garment—it just meant a few quick stitches.

What if we embraced this mindset again?

Mending as Mindfulness

We could begin each day by checking in with our clothes, just as Matsumoto suggests monks check in with their surroundings. Are the seams holding strong? Are the elbows thinning? Are the soles of our shoes wearing down?

And in the afternoons, we could set aside time for mending—just a few minutes to sew on a button, patch a small hole, or reinforce a loose seam. Instead of seeing these tasks as tedious, we could treat them as tiny rituals of care for both our items and also ourselves.

Matsumoto closes his book with the thought that we strengthen our bonds with one another when we undertake these acts of care together. I believe this applies to mending as well. Imagine a group of friends gathering with their sewing kits, stitching and chatting, not just fixing clothes but weaving stronger connections with one another.

Practical Steps to Get Started

If you’d like to bring more mindfulness to your mending, here are a few small steps:

• Keep a mending kit in an accessible place—needle, thread, extra buttons.
• Set aside "mending moments" once a week, even just for 10 minutes.
• Watch a simple tutorial on sewing a button or patching a hole (I have a helpful tutorial on the whip stitch here).
• Gather friends or family for a "mending circle"—because chores feel lighter when shared.

By shifting our perspective, we transform mending from a chore into an act of connection—connection to our garments, to the people who made them, and to the values of care and sustainability.

So, the next time you find a loose button, maybe instead of putting that blouse in the “fix later” pile, you’ll take a moment, a breath, and a stitch.

And in doing so, you’ll mend more than just fabric.

1. https://earth.org/statistics-about-fast-fashion-waste/

2. https://www.bu.edu/sph/news/articles/2022/the-aftermath-of-fast-fashion-how-discarded-clothes-impact-public-health-and-the-environment/