Three at the Dinner Table

Stokke has added a baby seat to their Tripp Trapp series, so now the chair suits newborns too. We like it because it allows her to be at the same level as us compared to a standard bouncer. Isolde was a bit sceptical and felt five minutes was enough but hopefully she will want to sit a bit longer in it eventually.



Via Anna's iPhone

CO2 Savings, Japanese Style

The Japanese government is being creative in finding ways for its citizens to reduce their carbon footprint. Earlier they urged workers to wear short-sleeved shirts and offices not to turn the A/C lower than 28 degrees during the summer (the Cool Biz campaign) and now they recommend people to adjust their sleeping routine to cut household CO2 emissions. The Morning Challenge campaign is based on the premise that by getting up one hour earlier in the morning and taking advantage of the morning sunlight, and instead going to bed earlier and thus not using as much electricity in the evenings, the average Japanese could reduce its footprint by 85 kg a year. This is equivalent to 20% of emissions from household lights.

The Japanese initiative is interesting as it focuses on lifestyle and behavioural change. This being Japan, the government is of course also recommending that people use their extra morning hour to go running, do yoga and eat a healthy breakfast :)

In Sweden the conditions are slightly different. Now in the summer with the sun going down at at 11pm and rising again at 3am we're obviously saving quite a lot of electricity (from lighting; the TV is constantly on due to the World Cup...), while the winter months, especially November to January, are worst CO2-wise. Luckily we Swedes have taken a strong liking to tea lights.

Pimp Your Ikea!

This post are for you Swedish expats and other Ikea fans out there! Check out Ikea hacker!

WANTED: your Ikea hacks. whatever they may
be - a funked up Klippan sofa, an ingenious idea for your Pax wardrobe, a
creative twist on your kitchen countertop, or even advice on how to finally stop
Forby stools from wobbling, I'd love to see your ikea hacks.

Compact Living

My fellow blogger Skolfröken is planning to fix up her bathroom ahead of the arrival of a little baby in the family. One piece of equipment that she and her husband will really need is a washing machine. But their bathroom isn't big enough - what do to? Skolfröken is looking into alternatives, notably to put the machine in the adjacent walk-in-closet.

But Skolis, I have found the solution:

The two-in-one washing machine and sink!

Picture from www.smeg.se

It also comes in baby blue!

Your Carbon Footprint and How to Offset It

Wondering how you can save energy - and limit your carbon emission - in your home? These are the most energy thirsty machines in your home:

* Laser printer
* Plasma TV
* Projector
* LCD TV
* Playstation 3
* XBox 360
* Amplifier
* Ink writer
* PC
* Media PC

Turn them off - don't leave them on stand-by - and use them sparingly if you can!

And how you can offset not just your energy use in your home but also car journeys, air flight, etc? Here's a list of companies and organisations that offer reduction units, i.e. ways to climate compensate, that the Swedish Energy Agency recommends (NB! The list will be updated regularly):

Tricorona
Uwab (only companies)
Klimatneutral (only companies)
Atmosfair
Klimat Statoil
Miljobörsen
Svenska naturskyddsförening (Swedish Nature Conservation Society)
Utsläppsrätt (starting later this year

The organisations are recommended by either/both the UN and the EU.

I can tell you that I compensated the carbon emissions caused by my trip to London this past week! Although I didn't use of these sites but did it directly through British Airways. Hopefully the money goes to a useful project!

Green Driving

Environmental theme today. Five steps to greener driving behaviour:

1) Plan, plan, plan. It's essential for economical driving. Don't stop and start when it isn't necessary.
2) Drive in as high gear as possible. Change directly from second to fourth gear. Or from third to fifth. Today you can drive most cars in highest gear already at 50 km/h.
3) Keep the speed limit and don't overtake when you don't need to.
4) Motor break instead of breaking with the pedals.
5) Roll downhill - and keep level gas uphill.

Other tips
* Keep the right tyre pressure. Higher pressure reduces both wear to tyres and fuel consumption.
* De-assemble the roof box. Reduced air resistance gives lower fuel consumption.
* Use motor heaters. Cold starts consume a lot.
* Don't let the motor idle.
* Service the car regularly.
* Turn off the AC when you're not using it.
* Half of all car journeys are shorter than 5 minutes. Park the car and walk instead.

Source: Swedish Road Administration / Svenska Dagbladet newspaper