IKEA – Live LAGOM Blog 2 – May 2016
The whole process of thinking about the impact you have on the environment had not been in the forefront of my mind but through the Live LAGOM project that IKEA are driving it has become an area of living that is key to how we manage our lives now and in the future, so that others can see that people are making the effort to reduce their impact on the environment.
Have replaced most of the lights bulbs with LED bulbs I have also focused on how we utilise water, electricity and gas in the house. We are seeing a huge reduction in time for heating, lights and other electrical goods are left on. Being able to turn everything off from the switch on the extension cables IKEA sell is fantastic also the fact that there are two USB sockets allows us both to charge phones etc. We have use two of these extension cables in our bedroom. Better for control and convenience. We also have the mirror with space for hanging clothes on. My partner was not sure at first but it is now in daily use for keeping clothing tidy, drying hair etc.
On the water front we time our showers in order to keep the use of water to a minimum. We also time the amount of water used elsewhere i.e. watering, recycling water where we can by two large water butts that collect water – which has been a lot with the rainfall we have been having. This is all used on our vegetable, herb and general garden.
Reducing waste is a by-product of having sufficient storage and other activities. We have so far reduced the amount on non-recyclable materials by 40% so that our bi-weekly waste collect the bin is a quarter full. Our food waste is either recycled via the waste collection or added to a compost heap. This effort has come about due to the Live LAGOM project making us think about our waste.
Recently, I worked with other Live LAGOM bloggers and our new local IKEA representative as I am now attached to the new Reading IKEA! Exciting for IKEA to have a new facility open in this area. We worked on some different products with a focus on growing both in the garden and in the home. This was an interesting activity which resulted in a small success for me. I am not green fingered and generally plants do not survive long with me around but I enjoyed working with Sibel, Hannah and Henry to create a glass pot display with a couple of succulents. Hannah showed her allotment off and it certainly looks fantastic – her commitment to it is amazing!
It is great to see so many from IKEA and outside doing so much to make a difference and I am sure many will take ideas from the project to incorporate in their own lives.
I think that we have changed our thinking and are starting to see the impact of working on changes to the way we live in order help improve not only our environment but also the local and wider environment through the difference in thinking and actions taken with the environment in mind.
