Greener living: I created the perfect reading nook – all with reused products from Ikea

We have all seen them – the reports about our planet and how we, collectively, are destroying it with our over-consumption and diet choices. What it means, to put it bluntly, it that we all need to make better choices. We need to recycle more, buy less, repair more – and eat more vegetables and less meat. There is no if's and but's about it – this is just the bare minimum we should all be doing in an attempt to save the planet. Coincidentally, October happens to be National Reuse Month here in Ireland, a new waste prevention initiative to raise awareness about the economic and environmental benefits of reusing everyday items and materials that would otherwise go to waste. Reuse, of course, reduces the volume of waste being discarded while also conserving natural resources, energy and water. Reuse also offers significant economic benefits by creating jobs and boosting local economies. Sounds good? I know. I think we all need to get better at reusing things – be it clothes or interiors or packaging – and lots of other things. And I think that, in turn, will make big changes, it will push others into doing the same, and it will make business and companies more sustainable too. When it comes to sustainable businesses, Ikea is currently raising the bar – and is always coming up with new ways to help their customers live more sustainably at home. As well as this, the company at large have commited to becoming 100 percent 'people and planet positive' by 2030. In honor of National Reuse Month, I recently headed out to Ikea to chat sustainability and reuse with the people out there, who feel really passionate about the topic. As well as this, I was even set a challenge to decorate a corner of my home (I have always dreamed of a reading nook!) with only items from Ikea's bargain corner, where you actually get to see their incredible reuse philiosophy in practise. I have often visited the bargain corner before, in fact, I think I swing by it most times I visit Ikea - just in case there is a treasure lurking in there. And this time, not only did I find the most amazing matching armchair and footstool, as well as a lamp and a rug – and basially completed my reading nook then and there (for an amazing price!), but I also got an amazing insight into how Ikea operate their bargain corner, and, in fact, their entire operations – and it left me feeling like we all have a lot to learn. The armchair I found (and fell in love with) in the bargain corner was the Strandmon Wing Chair, a gorgeous classic-shaped chair just asking for you to crawl up into it with a book and a blanket. As it happens, there was also the matching footstool there that day, and I realised these were the items I pretty much had been looking for all along. The best bit? The items I bought were returns – the armchair had come back from a customer who had bought it, brought it home, but then realised the chair was too big for his space. When he returned it to Ikea, it went to the bargain corner where I could now purchase it for a discounted price – yet the chair was as good as new. Win-win. For me, the previous owner and for the environment. And Ikea, who's aim it is to be a waste -free company – meaning nothing goes to waste or isn't repurposed or reused. The floor lamp I just knew would look perfect behind my new reading chair had arrived down to the bargain corner from the showrooms upstairs in Ikea, where it had been on display for a few months. I wasn't crazy about the shade it came with originally, but after a quick root around the bargain corner, I found a shade that worked perfectly. Again – to a reduced price compared to full price, and at a much lesser cost to the environment. At the Democratic Design Days earlier this year in Älmhult, where Ikea's global head office is located, Ikea announced new commitments to inspire and enable sustainable living - making it easier for people to reduce their climate impact and contribute to a world without waste. “Our ambition is to become people and planet positive by 2030 while growing the IKEA business, explained Inter IKEA Group CEO, Torbjörn Lööf. "Through our size and reach we have the opportunity to inspire and enable more than one billion people to live better lives, within the limits of the planet." Demonstrating several new solutions and innovations that enable people to save lots of water, clean the air in their homes and products made from new innovative and recycled materials, Ikea's goals are admirable – and big. “Becoming truly circular means meeting people’s changing lifestyles, prolonging the life of products and materials and using resources in a smarter way," says Ali Sheridan, new Sustainability Leader in IKEA Ireland . "To make this a reality, we will design all products from the very beginning to be repurposed, repaired, reused, resold and recycled." Al through October, a ‘reuse roomset’ has been in place in Bargain Corner. This roomset has showcased IKEA products that have been given a ‘second life’ thanks to the incredibly talented and passionate recovery team. It will also feature products from the range that help people to live a more sustainable life at home e.g. LED bulbs / keep cups etc.   I must admit – I was a little sceptical at first about the thought of using repurposed furniture, and didn't really think I would be able to curate such a gorgeous little reading nook from just bits I found in the bargain corner of Ikea. But I was not only wrong – which I was, but I also learned so much about the incredible effort Ikea's recovery team put into this unique area of the store. How not a cushion or screw or bolt gets tossed out, and where everything – literally everything – gets reused. It was mind-blowing. And really made me think about just how little old me and little old you can make a positive impact on the planet – just by making some small changes to our ways. It is the small changes, guys – for real. All these small acts of doing better, living greener and more sustainably, they all add up, and they will make a huge difference to our planet. Ikea, impressively, is leading the way for their consumers, and I for one know that I will no doubt be back to go treasure hunting for more sustainable items soon – that bargain corner, I feel, it could easily become a bit addictive.