I stood in my small, cluttered kitchen, reading an email from IKEA – something about living with ‘just enough’ instead of living in excess, and taking what we need from the Earth.  It also mentioned winning £100 to spend in IKEA which was of course, appealing!  I thought about my recent decisions not to return to work, to reduce the amount of ‘stuff’ we have, and my desire to live more ethically. I decided it was worth a quick entry! So I hurriedly filled in the online form and got on with the dishes, no doubt leaving the tap running.

Fast-forward a few weeks, and I had an email saying I’d been chosen to participate in the nationwide IKEA LAGOM project!  I had completely forgotten what I had written in my entry and didn’t know what to expect but I was excited (who doesn’t love to win a competition?)

I attended the induction evening with some trepidation, but also having read the LAGOM brochure, I knew it was a great opportunity.  On the evening we learnt a bit about the LAGOM philosophy – how we can consider our impact on the world and how we can make small changes to habits and mindsets in order to live without taking more than we need to be comfortable.  I was shocked to realise my habit of leaving the tap running when I brush my teeth (I know – naughty!) was wasting up to 12 litres of water a minute!  All that water has to be moved and cleaned before it can be fed back to our homes.  I also realised how unhappy I was living in such a mess, and how little effort I was making to recycle.

We were all tasked to pick a resolution to help us make changes within a certain area, mine being: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Upcycle.  Suitably challenged I went off to consider what my New Year's resolution would be!

Typically for me, I jumped in with both feet, ordering a water-saving pack from our local water board (full of free gadgets!), creating a reusable advent calendar from a pallet (with help from my husband, Martin), recycling more, and donating a sofa to Martin's work to create more space!  Thankfully, when I arrived at my personal shopping appointment, the super-patient Malin was able to help me come up with a clearer plan, and my resolutions are:

1) Reduce clutter at home to create a happier living environment.

2) Recycle more. 

I am married with two young children in a small maisonette, so it seemed like these ideas could help me to make changes that impact me, my family, and the environment.  

 

The personal shopping session was great fun and I ended up with lots of items to help me organise my home, as well as ideas about how to recycle more!  I am excited to see how the next few months affect me and my family.  I already turn the tap off when I brush my teeth so that’s around 900 litres of water I’ve not wasted!