Have you ever heard of Lagom? No, well until recently we hadn’t either.
Essentially it’s all about living in a more sustainable way, but living lagom doesn’t mean that you have to completely change the way you live and the way you do things. Living Lagom is all about finding a balance – literally – as it comes from the swedish phrase Lagom är bäst’ which translated means “The right amount is best”.
Both Jan and I have grown up with a much more sustainable way of life than (at least used to be) common in the UK. Both of our parents have always recycled. You name it, it was recycled. Almost every plastic bottle was one you paid a deposit for and then got a refund when you returned it, any glass container was taken to the bottle bank (and sorted by colour!), any bit of paper was recycled and we never used plastic bags when out doing a weekly food shop.
So, what are we actually doing?
As part of the Live Lagom campaign which is hosted by Ikea & Hubbub, we’re setting ourselves three main areas that we’d like to improve upon. They are areas where we think we could live more sustainable and to help us achieve these goals Ikea are kindly providing us with a selection of products that should make it possible for us to do so.
Firstly we’d love to grow more of our own fruit and veg.
It’s something that we’ve attempted before (with varying degrees of success) and it’s something that we believe is worthwhile and not to mention tasty, too!
The second area we think we could try to live lagom is by reducing waste.
We already compost most food waste and although I would say that we aren’t wasteful, I still think that we could do better. We’ll definitely have to improve upon our food storage, freeze more and make more of leftovers.
This goal also ties in with the first goal, as we’ll hopefully also help us reduce excess food packaging, too.
The third area we’re focussing on as part of this campaign will be reducing our overall energy consumption.
We already shared a few home improvement projects where we’ve tried to improve the energy efficiency of our home. We’ve insulated under our floors, insulated the loft, are replacing our windows and have filled the gaps between our skirting boards and floors to reduce the draughts.
As part of this campaign we’ll also be aiming to improve a few more areas like making sure that all of our light bulbs are LED, saving water and making our house more cozy without having to turn up the heating.
All of these small things and changes in the way you live don’t cost anything and aren’t difficult to do, but they do make a difference. The “right amount” is obviously a very objective thing, but we think that it’s the little changes in our everyday lives that actually make a difference.
I would say that we’re already fairly conscious of energy saving, recycling and waste, so for us it will be really interesting to see if we can improve and really see a change in cost and energy consumption.
The Live Lagom project will run over the next few months and along with the other participants, we’ll be documenting our experiences over on the Live Lagom blog and sharing the steps we’re taking to live more sustainably and healthy and hopefully results we’re seeing.
Maybe you’ll be inspired to make a few little changes to your own life and home!
Do you try to live sustainably? Are there areas that you know you could improve upon? Do you have any energy saving or general sustainability tips for us? Any fruit and veg growing tips would also be appreciated!
*Disclaimer: This post is in association with Ikea and Hubbub. As part of their campaign, Ikea kindly provided us with a budget to choose a selection of products that will hopefully help us live a more sustainable life. All opinions, words and thoughts are of course our own! Thank you for supporting the brands that make it possible for us to keep creating and sharing content here at Little House On The Corner.
Very good projects. I strongly object to IKEA hi-jacking the word Lagom. Lagom är bäst is a saying with a sour aftertaste, it is also used for mediocracy and false modesty. To live lagom is to not make waves, to be content and not get the idea that you are all that special. Good I guess for anti-consumerism, as in, no, I really don’t deserve that sofa. Funny though, that an eco-campaign makes you buy even more things ☺ they really have the best marketing team!
Ohhh, that’s so interesting! I guess my Swedish isn’t up to much. 😉
I like the real meaning of the word much better! Having said that I do think that anything that encourages you to live more sustainable is a good thing – even if it’s thought up by clever marketers!
Cx
I think lagom is up to you in how you take it. I think of it as a positive. If it means “just the right amount” it means finding balance in life, in your eating habits, social media habits, shopping habits, etc. I don’t think it implies anything mediocre. If you need a new couch, get a quality one that will lead to more family movie nights and snuggles with a good book. If you’re living with balance, you’ll be spending less on crap you don’t need so you can afford the couch. Being content is also not a bad thing. Is it bad to be happy with your life and to enjoy what you have? I don’t mean turn stagnant and never want to do better for yourself but if you’re living lagom by reducing waste, you should also be saving money to spend on something lovely like a family vacation or something you really need. And yeah, lagom does make us think of the world or our society as a whole and not just our special snowflake selves…again, how is that a bad thing?
We definitely think of lagom as a positive thing, too. It really helped us focus on little changes that made a big difference.
Cx
I am so sorry to object (a year later too!) but living sustainable doesn’t involve buying anything, especially plastic. It just doesn’t.
I know what you mean, Vanessa! Kind of makes sense ;)
Cx