So we are half way through our Ikea Lagom project and it has been a great journey!

The kids are loving our indoor herb patch and we are not far from being able to getting cooking with our foliage........ If theres any left after our little scamps keep stealing a nibble!

I have been loving our freezer to oven containers which has cut down on washing up which is invaluable for a family of 5! Plus steaming the vegetables above whatever I am cooking for dinner is cutting down on water wastage and soggy veg is now a thing of the past! Our recycling bins have never been so full and our black bin bag waste so small. The new recycling system in the kitchen has made the sorting so much easier for all in the household including visitors who now no longer try to sneak recyclables into the black bin bag waste. Other positives include; less laundry with any clean clothing now being aired on the back of our glamorous free standing mirror; and warm feet when I exit the bed in the morning with our lovely bedroom rug. On a downside now that we have a rechargable battery pack we no longer have an excuse for some quiet time when the kids toys need a battery change so are now constantly surrounded by noisy activities! 




Our new attitude has spread out to further parts of our ways of living. We decided that instead of spending a small fortune on our 2  and 4 year olds birthday we would try and "live lagom" by buying second hand. It was a fun challenge to undertake and I was surprised at the amazing toys that I was able to collect for my 2 year old. The boys both loved all the items and I was able to get a bike which new would have cost £275 but second hand we found for £25. We calculated that we saved approximately £400 by buying second hand. In fact I got so many toys that we have had to hold some back for Easter and Christmas. We the surprise summer weather making an early appearance I was caught out with my 4 year old needing some appropriate summer clothes. After going through his chest of drawers trying to dig out some lighter wear I came up with the brainwave to alter several pairs of his winter joggers that were worn and holey at the knees from his constant knee slides


Hubby has still not made the commitment to riding to work however now our 4 year old is up and racing around on his wheels I'm hoping it won't be too long til his papa follows! We still need to use the tumble dryer occasionally however we recycle the water collected by using it to keep the indoor plants going.

I felt as though I spent my entire pregnancy mentally preparing myself for three kids under four years old. This time around it was a surprise as oppose to a planned pregnancy and I was extremely daunted at the prospect of having no family nearby to support us and flying solo Monday-Friday having all three humans to keep alive. All the professionals kept calling me an experienced mum and all my appointments seemed so short. The health visitor must have only been here 20 minutes - "oh this is your third your what we called an experienced mum". Unless experienced means not being very good at contraception, bumbling through life and wishing for the best then yes thats me!

So having nearly completed my sixth week of solo parenting after my husband has returned to work I feel elated that life ain't that bad and I'm actually enjoying it. Now granted this is only six so trust me I am far from smug on the matter and know that at any moment life could turn cray cray but thought I'd put together my list of top tips for any folks out there battling their way through each day attempting to survive.

- clothes out the night before for EVERYONE! Yes even the baby who wears a singular baby grow!
- Forget ironing clothes, who cares if your top is a little crumpled it'll soon be covered in either sick, snot or porridge. Wacking your boob out every two hours will detract people from the non ironed clothes. Oh and don't wear black it totes shows up snot and sick, something patterned helps camoflage the bodily fluids.
- Embrace odd socks, last time I checked no one died from a case of odd socks! Live a little and clash!My son now loves having Spiderman on one foot and hulk on the other.
- Bulk cooking/ freezing left overs and slow cookers will absolutely save you from a catastrophic meltdown when three children are all crying to be fed
- Ikea is now requested by two of my three children for afternoon entertainment. My three year old gets booked into the soft play for an hour and my 1 year old gets to run around messing up a variety of front room mock ups which aren't mine whilst I try out sofas for their breast feeding comfort.
- Get a huge empty cardboard box and trap those little ones in it with toys and pens and let them go wild! Hours of free fun right there and I can guarantee they will be heartbroken when the box falls apart and needs to get recycled.
- Use directly from the dishwasher, don't waste your time emptying and refilling just take directly from it until its empty!
- bath time everyday is a must. I don't understand anyone who misses a bathtime I love it for the simple fact that for 45 minutes those little suckers are confined to the bath and not demolishing my house
- Do everything in your power to enforce a bedtime, I love my brood but after a full day with them I love nothing more than shutting those bedroom doors and settling down with a glass of wine mentally preparing myself for round two tomorrow. I'm currently day two of controlled crying to get the littlest imp onto a routine!

I wrote a little dit last night at around 4am as I breastfed my little princess remembering how hard I found it first time round when I only had one baby to look after. If you had told me four years later I'd be looking after three I would have laughed in your face as I took my newborn to the toilet with me because I couldn't possibly put it down whilst I went for a wee!

2017 is shaping up to be an exciting year for the Dearsley household! We are now a family of 5 and we have been selected to take part in the Ikea Lagom project.

What is Lagom I hear you ask? That was exactly my reaction when my husband told me he had entered us into the project. Lagom is a simple swedish philosphy which means "just the right amount of everything". The idea is that you adapt your home and lifestyle in order to live a more sustainable, healthy and cost concious life style without making any drastic changes to your lifestyle habits.

"Hallelujah" I exclaimed! Now my husband loves to be cost effective however he seriously lacks on the sustainability and healthy lifestyle front. I have been trying to change his ways for our entire relationship and he may fall into line for a few days but then rebels and reverts back to his natural ways! 

So a bit about our household...Peter 36, moi 32, Sid 3, Ralph 1 and Dot 4 weeks. We love to be out and about with the kids in all weathers mainly due to the fact my two boys are like dogs and need to exert their high energy levels at least twice a day outside. Peter is  a graphic designer and loves art and design. I have recently taken a career break to care for my 3 small humans and love cooking. 



We already excel with food waste and it seems half my life is spent bulk cooking, freezing meals, recycling left overs and making packed lunches for our adventures.

Our main New Year resolution is to become better recyclers of our household waste. We have one final renovation to do to our small victorian terrace which is the kitchen extension so we are pretty strapped for space in this area and recycling has always felt like a bit of an uphill battle. This is what our shopping list mainly focused around, we purchased lots of items to help us on this front because as we were learnt in our first lagom workshop size doesnt matter and ikea have recycling solutions to fit all homes. Other items include a vegetable and herb growing equipment to help us grow items indoors all year round that I can incorporate into my cooking. Peter's individual resolution is to become healthier after spending a ridiculous amount on a bike two years ago that has been cycled once (on the way back from the cycle shop) he has decided to begin to cycle to work to get his dad bod in check and instead of his lunchtime binges on junk food he is going to start taking a pack lunch in with him and utilising all the healthy meals I stock up the freezer with.

We hope that by the end of the project we would have made slight changes which will have big effects on our lifestyle. We also want to educate the children so they grow up with this sustainable out look on life and help do their bit to improve the environment. In the same week that us London residents were hit with the severe pollution warning and advised to keep little ones indoors I want to do everything possible to help slow down the damage we have done to the our beautiful world.