All posts tagged: environment

Living LAGOM with Ikea – 6 months later

Published by Karen Knox

It’s been six months since we signed up for the #liveLAGOM project with Ikea. As a family we’ve been focusing on how to live sustainably, more efficiently, trying to save energy, water and money. It’s not a project you start and finish, it’s something you keep at, it snowballs, evolves and slowly becomes a way of life. Our aims at the beginning of 2016: Raise our awareness of how much we’re wasting. Use up food in the fridge before it needs chucking. Stop running the tap for 3-4 seconds before using the water for drinks. Curb the addiction of needing ALL my lamps on all over the house (must be a designer thing?) So, did we manage it? Firstly. Raise our awareness of how much we’re wasting. Use up food in the fridge before it needs chucking. Our awareness has certainly been raised. But we’ve not managed to solve the problem just yet. I think it will take some time for us to master the art of “not wasting food”. I blame being a full time …

LiveLAGOM – 3 months later

Published by Karen Knox

It’s been three months since we received our goodies from Ikea. Our specially selected items arrived in January to help our family live more sustainably, aka #liveLAGOM. And now it’s time to reflect and see if they’ve helped make any positive changes.   The good bits…. Everything has slotted nicely into our home, with nearly every item serving a very specific purpose, so i’m certain we made the right decisions with product choices. Our water saving RINGSKAR tap has made life so much better in the kitchen. Now we have a tap that not only looks pretty sexy, it also works. Isn’t it weird how long you put up with something that doesn’t work and what a difference it makes when it’s finally put right? The NJUTA bathrobes have been on every day, first thing in the morning and last thing at night, meaning we could have the heating switched off slightly earlier in the evening and coming on slightly later the next day. One of the biggest successes has been the WERNA blackout curtains. I …

#liveLAGOM in da house

Published by Karen Knox

So at the end of last year, I introduced to you a project i’m doing with Ikea, along with about 300 other people across the UK. We’re looking at how we can live more sustainably, efficiently and have a healthier and better lifestyle. It’s called the #liveLAGOM project. The project will run over the next six months during which time everyone will document their experiences online. Ikea are giving us some big help with this obviously by agreeing to give us £500 worth of items to help us improve our sustainability. Some people are focusing on reducing food waste, some on “growing your own”, for others it’s saving money on bills or sorting out a proper recycling area. There are so many ways we can all #liveLAGOM and this is just a start of a very long process for everyone involved. I’d already written my #liveLAGOM Wishlist, which you can have a read of here. There have been some small changes made since then due to stock availability, dimensions etc.. But now i’ve finally got our £500 haul of …

Making Spaces Sustainable #LiveLagomProject

Published by Karen Knox

I am now an Ambassador and demand Ferrero Rocher with my brew these days. Eh?   Well, I do love a Ferrero Rocher, but I mean i’m an Ambassador on an exciting new project working with Ikea and Hubbub. It’s called the #LiveLAGOMProject and we’ll be exploring and developing the concept of how to live more sustainably. I attended a workshop at Ikea Leeds on a very wet and windy Sunday morning. Let me tell you all about it…. All 19 Ikea stores and nearly 250 households across the UK will be involved in this year’s project, the first of three over the next three years. We are hoping to find out what it means to live better, what is do-able and what the barriers are to living “Lagom.” “Lagom comes from the Swedish phrase “Lagom är bäst” (the right amount is best), which we believe is the secret to sustainable living. Not denying yourself what you love, while not taking from the planet more than you need. It’s an idea with the power to change the way …