Fix-It Austin builds community and educates residents about the value of repair and reuse. Repair keeps items out of landfills and decreases the need for new, raw materials to make products. You can help Austin reach our zero waste goal by 2040 by learning how to repair clothes, appliances or electronics. You can also find a local repair business to support our local economy by visiting the Austin Reuse Directory.  

How would you like to repair your item?

Fix-It at Home!

Fix-It At Home! is a series of online repair workshops that teach household repair skills, like how to sew (by hand or machine), fix a bike or a pair of shoes. 
Classes are interactive and taught by local instructors. Learn from the comfort of your home by watching clips of our previous Fix-It At Home! classes.
 

If you're interested in teaching a future class, let us know you'd like to be an instructor.

You Fix-It Station

Austin Resource Recovery piloted the You Fix-It Station, a free onsite tool lending program, in Fall 2023. The program allowed community members to bring broken items or projects to a You Fix-It Station that offered tools to fix the item. The two participating stations were located at East Austin Neighborhood Center and Cepeda Branch Library. Staff are currently analyzing the results of the pilot and planning next steps. 

Tools available

Examples of tools available in each kit include:

  • Bike toolkit: tire pump, hex key set, wrenches, cutters
  • Bike replacement parts: tubes, brake pads, chain lube, cables, housing
  • Electrical kit: screwdrivers, multimeter, electrical tape
  • Mending tools: sewing machine and accessories (iron, tape measure, embroidery scissors)
  • Electric drill kit
  • General kit: Exacto knife, hammer, mallet, gorilla glue, WD40, wrench
  • Hot glue gun kit
  • Jewelry tools: needle-nose and round-nose pliers, tweezers, jewelry hammer
  • Jewelry replacement parts*: clasps, links, elastic string, earring backs
  • Mending replacement parts*: thread, buttons, zippers, patches
  • Stanley toolkit: utility knife, adjustable wrench, pliers, drive bits, sockets

*Replacement materials are available while supplies last. We encourage you to bring your own.

Fix-It Clinics

Did your blender stop working? Is your child's toy a little worse for the wear? Is there a fallen hem in your favorite shirt? Learn how to repair these items at a Fix-It Clinic. You'll work on your item with skilled volunteer coaches with repair know-how. Fix-It Clinics inspire do-it-together hands-on disassembly, troubleshooting and repair knowledge.


Attend a Fix-It Clinic

Fix-It Clinics are free events, open to the public. Check the event listing to see what items you can bring to the next event. We request you do not bring large appliances like refrigerators or washing machines. We cannot guarantee that the volunteer coaches will fix your broken items, but coaches do their best to give you next steps for the repair of your item. If you have any specialty parts (such as fabric or buttons), please bring those with you.  

We welcome all ages at Fix-It Clinics. In fact, there’s no age too young to start learning how a machine works. We ask that a parent or guardian stay with children under the age of 13 during the event. 


Volunteer at a Fix-It Clinic

Are you handy with a hammer? Skilled with a sewing machine? Educated about electronics? We are always looking for individuals with repair skills to become Fix-It coaches. Sign up as a repair coach for an upcoming clinic.

We need volunteer coaches for:

  • electronics and technology
  • appliances
  • clothing and accessories
  • jewelry 

If you can repair other items not listed here, we'd still like to hear from you. We would love to expand our range of item repair capabilities.  

Coaches work with clinic attendees to guide them in fixing their broken items. Fix-It Clinics are educational events, so teaching repair skills is your primary role as a volunteer.  


Host your own Fix-It Clinic

We are looking for community partners to expand repair education in Austin. Consider becoming a Fix-It partner to host your own Fix-It Clinic. We'll help guide you and provide resources to plan your own event. Learn more and get started hosting your own Fix-It Clinics.


Additional repair resources

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