Ikea Live Lagom: Living Sustainably Bedroom Case Study

Today is my final post as part of my Ikea project with Live Lagom; however I can already reassure you that this is not the final blog post I will be writing about Living Lagom and this is not the end of my sustainable living journey. In fact, it’s only just beginning – so thank you to Ikea for starting me on my way.

Before we get started, let’s have a reminder about what ‘Living Lagom’ really means…

Live Lagom is comes from the Swedish phrase ‘Lagom är bäst’ (the right amount is best), which means having enough of what you love, without taking more than you need. Not too much. Not too little. Just right.

I’ve also got some handly links for you incase you need a little recap on what I’ve been up to so far:

• My first thoughts on Live Lagom and my initial goals after our first workshop
• What I hauled from Ikea after my visit to store and what I had in mind for the items
• My midway visit back to Ikea after our second workshop and what we got up to

…And now, where I am at this moment and what I’ve learnt.

What I did to meet my goals

My three main goals from the Live Lagom project were to reduce my heating bill (and in turn live more eco efficiently!), improve storage space to allow myself to be more conscious of recycling and cutting down on needless consumerism (I am so guilty of this) and to be more aware of where the items I buy originate from and whether I am contributing to other people’s sustainable living or not.

Although I have made a conscious change to roll this out into all areas of my life, for the sake of the Live Lagom project I have concentrated my efforts into a bedroom makeover. Using my room as a case study, I have been able to monitor my changes closely and give myself a decent experience of living with them for the past three months.

So, here’s a little low down on what I did…

Results and Savings

Over all, I am absolutely delighted with the final results of my Live Lagom bedroom case study. Without a doubt I have absolutely cut down on my energy bills and 100% become less wasteful.

In terms of energy, there has been a notable difference. By buying one-off purchases from Ikea – that I believe will last me for many years – to add warmth to my room, I am now saving 30% on my heating bill. Throws, rugs and cushions might seem like small items that wouldn’t impact everyday living; but trust me – they do! By making my room less of a showroom and more of a lived-in, warm and cosy environment, I have been able to make simple changes like curling up in bed, covering up more and reaching for the radiator less and less. Not only is this good for the environment, it’s good for my heating bill – which I am delighted to say is down by 30%!

By improving storage, I have completely changed my purchasing habbits. As a blogger, trying new clothes and makeup comes as part of the job description. Yeah, it’s fun, but after a while I started to feel guilty about my piles of products that never got used. Without being able to see exactly what I had, I would buy and accept samples of the exact same products over and over, half by mistake and half by laziness to check. It was feeding a bad habit and I wouldn’t go as far to say it was fueling greed, but it was certainly fueling wastefulness. Now, my lifestyle has been completely turned over. By being able to see exactly what I have at any one time, I am now not duplicating anything, I am recycling and I have seen this part of my life become more charitable. During my clear out, I took eight binbags of clothes and products to the British Heart Foundation and to date, my membership card tells me my donations have early £250 worth of sales for the charity.

Slippers by Pretty Me London – don’t they go perfectly?

My third and final large goal of being more ethically minded in my fabrics and cottons is related to both the above goals, but also ties into my personal morals. Again, as a fashion blogger it is so easy to get swept up into the latest trends, but fast fashion can be damaging. Although something not widely discussed on the project, I chatted extensively to my Live Lagom leader, Jordan, about fair trading. As a result, I learnt that Ikea source all of their fabrics sustainably and fairly, and are one of the first homewear stores to be able to say that. By purchasing items such as my new bedset, I feel reassured that I am contributing to the sustainable lifestyle of not only myself, but to those workers that made the bedset in the first place. We all deserve that.

Reflections and Learnings

Over all, I can say that by taking part in the Live Lagom project I have become a lot more conscious of my lifestyle and what I can do to be more eco friendly.

Mainly, that being sustainable and eco friendly doesn’t have to be all green and goodness. Yeah, being eco friendly definitely includes things such as growing your own veg – which is so admirable – but let’s be honest, that’s not me, and I’m not sure it’s ever gonna be me. Instead, I have learnt to live within my means and take the smaller steps in changing my habits which do contribute to living a sustainable life. Switch off the lightswitch when you leave a room. Change your bulbs to LED. Put a jumper on before you turn up the heating. They’re all small changes but you know what? That’s okay and if I can do it, you can too.

Favourite Part of the Project

Although as I have learnt, Living Lagom is a very personal quest on many levels, my favourite part of the project has to be meeting the other Manchester Live Lagomer’s at our local Ikea in Ashton. Over the past few months I’ve felt like I’ve really got to know the rest of the people on the project, both through group discussions at the workshops and keeping in touch on the Live Lagom Facebook group where we ask questions and share ideas. Each household taking part in the project in Manchester is completely different; you’ve got me, your single gal in her 20’s saving for her own home and wanting to make changes to my independence now. Then you’ve got your married family with two kids, your older couple with grown up, moved out children and your young couple living in Manchester city centre. We are all different and our different ideas and suggestions have been invaluable to each other.

Products that worked well (and didn’t!)

It’s hard to select just a few products to pick out as heros and disappointments (strong word!) but for the sake of this case study I’m going to choose two; one that worked better than expected, and one which didn’t quite cut the custard.

One item that I picked up at the last minute and didn’t hold high hopes for was this cart. I saw these on the Ikea website and thought they were a cool idea, but more of a quirk than a anything with substance. Boy, was I wrong! After looking up Pinterest ideas on how to use this and what other people do with this (seriously, look at Ikea Hacks on Pinterest and you’ll get allll the homewear tips!) I went for it. This little trolley has become part of my everyday routine. It is so easy to store things in, to transport on it’s little wheels and slot into almost any space. At the moment it lives at the end of my bedroom and houses my everyday items that previously cluttered up the house and ended up getting trodden on – I use this for blog items yet to photograph, every day handbag essentials and often my recycleables on the lower level. For filming or photography, I can wheel this across the house and have everything I need right then when I need it, and store the remains there ready for use, too.

It was really hard for me to choose one item that didn’t live up to expectations, as I honestly love them all, but I feel like I haven’t properly utilised the planting items I’ve used yet. Only this weekend have I had chance to dedicate time to planting some herbs and spices in them and feel like I could really do a lot more. Hey, less of the product’s fault, and more a consequence of my busy lifestyle! But, I am confident that as the warmer days improve I can get a lot more use out of them, especially now I’ve tried my hand at terrarium making at our April Ikea Workshop. At the moment I am just using my plant pots for storage items, which is handy, but I know I can do better than that.

Next Steps

So, where next? I’m just gonna keep going as I am, whilst still making attempts to improve step by step. As I mentioned, I know I could make more of an effort with planting my own herbs, and then eventually little veggies, and the eventually try my hand at fruit. I’m not suggesting I am going all green fingers on y’all, more that I know I am capable of being somewhat self-sustainable and attempting to fulfill this to some degree. Not gonna lie, the pizzas will still be getting bought in!

Mainly, I want roll out my Live Lagom case study to my whole house – and this is something which is already on it’s way. Now my bedroom is fully Live Lagom’ed, I want to make the rest of my home sustainable too. It’s going to be a long project but now I know it works and I can do it, I want to make changes to the whole house. I’ve already changed all the lightbulbs to LED to be more energy efficient, but that’s the first step on a long journey to come. Bring it on!

Who Would I Recommend Project To?

I would recommend this project to anyone wanting to make a change. Hey, you don’t need Ikea to start this with you – they’re there to support, but it’s up to you to make the changes – and if you want, you can start it right now.

You know that dinner you’ve cooked that’s way too big for one sitting? Pop it in a Tupperware and shove it in the fridge ready for tomorrow’s lunch, instead of throwing it into the rubbish. You know that dress you bought for twenty quid and are only gonna wear once? Dontate it to someone who will wear it, and next time, consider something a little more expensive that was fairly traded. You know that light you’ve had on all night burning away? Pop an LED bulb in instead. Oh, and switch it off when you leave the room.

Thank you to Ikea for starting me on this journey, I won’t be looking back. Come on guys, if I can start this journey, you can too.