# What things do you usually make rather than buy? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 29, 2007, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000 "2007-03-29T17:10:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/1 "2007-03-29T17:10:58Z")
In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=414375) people are discussing where one should purchase a new computer. I’m out of the thread, myself, because I always build my own computers rather than buy them. I can’t fathom needing to choose a “brand” (although I can fathom others needing to). Other than that, I pretty much buy everything. But I’ve seen posters here talk about how they make their own clothing, knit their own blankets, make their own spaghetti sauce, drink their own home-brewed beer etc. What do you make yourself instead of buying, that most people buy pre-made? I’m not talking about “I made a pair of socks once” - more like “I have never bought a pair of socks - I always knit my own.” ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/2 "2007-03-29T17:12:20Z")
I make most of my own jewelry. ---
**Author:** ![Catfood\_Purrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Catfood\_Purrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catfood_Purrito)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/3 "2007-03-29T17:14:33Z")
Candles, pasta sauce, whipped cream, and upholstery cleaner. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/4 "2007-03-29T17:21:43Z")
The only things I can think of, right off hand, are pancakes and pie crust. I used to make more things from scratch exclusively, but having young kids with limited tastes has put that on hold for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/5 "2007-03-29T17:27:12Z")
I’ve made all of our Bird Houses, and Bird Feeders. I love the little critters. SO do the neighborhood cats, that’s why I make the feeders 3 ft off the ground. 🙂 Just kidding. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/6 "2007-03-29T17:28:16Z")
Tacos. And scenes. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/7 "2007-03-29T17:28:38Z")
Sweet, sweet love… ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/8 "2007-03-29T17:30:05Z")
Bread…I make all of our bread from scratch. Nothing in the world like fresh bread. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/9 "2007-03-29T17:32:45Z")
Salad dressing. Even when I’m tired and don’t feel like it, I make it. I just can’t abide store-bought dressing any more. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/10 "2007-03-29T17:37:43Z")
Things I generally make/build for myself: computers soap mead (I don’t like beer.) Things I like to make for myself, but sometimes buy instead: bread butter (especially honey butter and garlic-herb butter) whipped cream pasta sauces barbecue sauce candles ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/11 "2007-03-29T17:41:03Z")
Pies Cookies ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/12 "2007-03-29T17:46:51Z")
Pies, cookies, cakes - any baking, really. Whipped cream. Hollandaise sauce. I was shocked - SHOCKED! - when my mother told me she uses a mix. Actually, most cooking things I guess. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/13 "2007-03-29T18:04:10Z")
Anybody exclusively make their own pasta? That seems like a pain in the neck to do all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/14 "2007-03-29T18:09:37Z")
Alfredo sauce most food, actually – while we do eat out occassionally and I do buy frozen dinners occassionally, I prefer to cook from scratch mostly curtains throw pillows/kitchen chair cushions/decorative stuff flower arrangements (when my flowers are in bloom, I prefer to cut them myself, but when they’re not, I will buy the flowers, just not pre-arranged) some clothing (usually my dressy stuff) what **Hal Briston** said\* ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/15 "2007-03-29T18:43:33Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] Anybody exclusively make their own pasta? That seems like a pain in the neck to do all the time. [/QUOTE] Not exclusively, no, but I’ve tried it and it is a pain in the neck. For what it’s worth, I generally make -My own computers -My kid’s baby food -Most of the food in the house (very few convenience foods) I try to make -All the bread -Curtains (though the owners of our house, which we bought a year ago, left theirs and they look fine, so I didn’t bother yet) I’d like to make -All the sheets -Soap & other bath items (lotion, body wash, shampoo, etc.) -Candles Hmmmm… Maybe one of those would be a good weekend project. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/16 "2007-03-29T18:48:27Z")
Of course lots of different foods, but one that comes to mind is that I make my own granola. I make some of my own software applications. For instance, I’ve been working on some bowling software. . .for tracking scores, trends, pinfall, calculating statistics, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/17 "2007-03-29T18:49:50Z")
Also pizza. 9 times out of 10 we make our own. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/18 "2007-03-29T19:04:21Z")
Quilts, trail mix, fruits and vegetable (summer), compost. And, of course, sweet, sweet love. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/19 "2007-03-29T19:05:27Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] Anybody exclusively make their own pasta? That seems like a pain in the neck to do all the time. [/QUOTE] I do it, though not exclusively. I’ve worked out a technique with a food processor that is reliable and quick. But it takes two people to do an efficient job of rolling it and cutting it. I nearly always make pasta sauce from scratch - it’s both cheaper and better than what you can buy in a jar. You can make a large batch and freeze what you don’t immediately consume. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000/20 "2007-03-29T19:14:57Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] Anybody exclusively make their own pasta? That seems like a pain in the neck to do all the time. [/QUOTE] I used to, but it is a pain, so I haven’t done so in years. And they were really egg noodles, not pasta per se. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-do-you-usually-make-rather-than-buy/398000.md?page=2)