LAGOM Project Round-up

 6 months in and we’re at the end of the Live LAGOM experiment, so what have we learnt?

It really doesn't feel like we’re so far into the project already, which is always a good sign! The biggest effect of the project has been to give me the push to start doing a lot of the things I knew I should be, but just hadn't had the time (or incentive) to start! It also highlighted the good things we were already doing to be more sustainable, and made us more aware of the impact these small changes can have on our well-being, carbon footprint and home management.

The project has been split roughly into 4 main areas of focus, so I'll rounding them up in sections.

Wasting Energy

One of the first big changes was to look at the amount of energy we used, after we were given some terrifying statistics at the induction workshop about water & electricity usage! Since then I’ve been turning off all non-essential lights, trying to wash up in a bowl rather than under a running tap and avoiding putting on the heating unless it’s really really cold! A big success, was keeping a cold bottle of water in the fridge at all times, so we have instant ice-cold water to drink, rather than waiting for the taps to run cold. I’ve also been trying to cook in one pan as much as possible, to avoid having multiple hobs on at the same time and save on the washing up! We’ve also been using the rechargeable batteries which we picked up in our products shop, which means less batteries being wasted and going in the bin and plan to buy one of the wireless recharging ports for our gadgets soon.

Another change has been to limit the use of the tumble dryer and try to dry clothes outside as much as possible. As well as saving energy, this also helps to make our clothes last longer, so helps us to be even more LAGOM!

Cozy Homes

It feels very strange to be writing about cozy homes in the middle of a heatwave, but this has also been a success! One of our products was a clip on, angle-able light, which we’ve installed on our bed frame for bedtime reading. This has reduced the inevitable eyestrain, meant that we can turn off the big light and reduced the need for heating as we can read tucked up in bed. We’ve also been looking at throws, draft excluders and cushions to keep us warm and cozy, something we’ll be taking with us when we move into our own home soon.

Grow your own

Before starting Live LAGOM I’d fallen out of growing my own veg, something I’d been really into a few years previously. Long working hours, inappropriate equipment and a few failed crops had sapped my enthusiasm, and everything bar a hardy outdoor mint plant (from left over cut herbs) survived. One of my purchases for the project was the VAXER hydroponics kit, which I added to the basket mainly to add up to the budget. I wasn't sure about it and hadn't even touched it until the Grow Your Own workshop at the store. I left feeling excited about growing again and set the kit up straight away on the patio. Within days I had some sprouting and after a couple of weeks I had some fully fledged plants! 

I considered buying the next step inserts for the kit to continue growing hydroponically, but with an immanent house move and limited space in our current place, decided to go old school and plant them in soil instead. The seedlings are still small, but hopefully we should be well stocked with fresh basil & watercress from now on!

Food Waste

I hate wasting food, and do everything I can to make sure we don't throw any edible food away. I started Live LAGOM feeling pretty confident about this area, but I’ve still learnt some tricks along the way! First is to make a weekly shopping list and only buy what we need for the week ahead. As there are only the 2 of us this is pretty easy to do, and means that there aren't forgotten vegetables festering in the back of the fridge! I also make a mental note of the things which are regularly being thrown away and consider if we actually need them at all - I haven't bought a loaf of bread for years as we just don't eat enough bread to make it worth while! I’ve also been making more use of the freezer, not only freezing batch prepared meals and reduced-to-clear items, but also fruits and veggies which I know wont get eaten. This works really well with lemon/lime slices & grapes, keeps them fresh and acts as an ice cube to make your G&T even more refreshing without watering it down!

I’ve also been saving vegetable waste in a caddy to be recycled in our brown bin. This has saved lots from landfill, but didn't go down too well with our current landlord! So moving forward, I plan to get a proper composting bin which this waste can go straight into, and can also include teabags (we certainly get through enough!) 

And what else?

The workshops have been great, with interesting activities, brilliant freebies and a chance to chat with the other participants about how they’ve been getting on. Writing this blog has also been really helpful in processing my ideas about Live LAGOM and is something I plan to continue adding to as we continue living sustainably! The changes made have been relatively small, but have had a huge impact and I’d recommend taking part to anyone! It doesn't have to cost a lot of money, or take more time than usual, but you can really make a difference! We’ve hit some big snags along the way, mostly as buying our first house has been a long and stressful process (and still ongoing!). We’d intended to be in our own place early in the project, but are still renting, which has curtailed some of our plans for the project. However, we’ll be implementing all of the ideas once we move, and the delay means we can design our new place with LAGOM living in mind!