It was perfect timing, I told myself. 

On a Wednesday afternoon in mid-May, my mini food processor conked out. At the moment it happened, it was very annoying. Who wants their everyday appliance to suddenly stop working in the middle of grinding up chicken thighs? But a few cleansing breaths later, I figured this was the perfect opportunity for me to check out Repair Cafe Willowdale’s second event for the year.

It seems like it’s always raining these days. May 23 was no different; another rainy Saturday when my family showed up at the North York Civic Centre with a few knickknacks in need of some TLC. There was my food processor, whose blades were whirring just fine but maddeningly not chopping anything. The foam cushion of one of the ear units of my son’s headphones had slightly dislodged. And my mother wanted to fix a small clock.

Repair Cafe Willowdale has been in operation for almost a year now. They describe themselves as an organization where neighbours help neighbours fix broken items, share skills and reduce waste together. The events offer free, volunteer-led repair of everyday household items such as clothes, small appliances, bicycles and more.

When we arrived, we were quickly seen by the team of volunteers who assessed the nature of the fix required in order to match us with a fixer. Waiting in line, I spoke to fellow residents similarly waiting their turn.

One resident, who preferred to remain anonymous, had brought a purse with a broken clasp. She didn’t want to spend more money on another bag when the one she had was perfectly usable. And she didn't want to add to the growing landfill problem; the Green Lane Landfill — the primary landfill for the City of Toronto — is likely to reach capacity within the next decade.

Another resident, Linda, had come with her daughter and two items in need of repair. The lights on a Christmas sweatshirt that she had bought for her husband a few years ago had malfunctioned and a small flap on a collectible toy car had snapped apart. As we waited, more people kept streaming in.

Soon enough, my name was called out. I had been assigned to Dave, who diagnosed the problem quickly. A plastic part had likely snapped in a compartment that couldn’t be pried open, which meant that the whirring blades didn’t have the power to pulverize food items. Despite his attempts to MacGyver a solution, Dave was unable to fix my mini food processor. He was more disappointed than I was.

My son, on the other hand, had better luck. His fixer had managed to finagle his way into the ear unit, working with the many minute parts, in order to finetune the listening device. Since it was a successful fix, my son got to ring the cowbell that celebrated a repair.

Through the afternoon, the cowbell rang persistently, often drowned out by the volunteers’ cheers. As people got their items fixed, they shared stories about the items and why they wanted to get it repaired. The reasons could vary from sentimental to economical. And the event held by Repair Cafe Willowdale had made the process practical.