The small, sustainable steps I've taken to becoming a slow interior advocate, and why it's important more of us do the same

Welcome to the first in a new series of columns by Amanda Jones as she joins Ideal Home's Open House to show how she has balances her love of interiors with a desire to live more sustainably.

Hi, my name is Amanda. I’ve been active on Instagram as @small_sustainable_steps since 2012. Whilst my account took on several different iterations, for the last few years my focus has primarily been on keeping a simple, mindful, intentional home.

Several years ago, I found myself fully immersed in the zero-waste movement. I was distressed seeing all the images of what single use plastic was doing to our, oceans, waterways and wildlife. Not to mention the pollution it is causing to so many communities across the planet.

As I started to question what we were doing to our planet, I became more informed about overconsumption, about waste in general, and that led naturally to questioning my own relationship with the stuff I had acquired over my lifetime.

I looked at what I had accumulation over the past fifty years. I decided a lot of the stuff I had around me, I no longer needed or appreciated. It was no longer useful; in fact, it had become a burden. It needed to go.

My decluttering era lasted several years. I had so much to go through, we had a huge cellar, literally filled to the rafters with boxes that hadn’t been opened in years. Every cupboard and drawer were heaving. I am by nature a tidy person, so for my home to look presentable, I would literally just shove my stuff in the nearest cupboard.

One day I woke up feeling completely overwhelmed, I knew I had to change, so I did, one small, sustainable step at a time. I live with Multiple Sclerosis and because of that, must manage chronic fatigue, which limits the time I can spend on activities. If I was to live a ‘clutter free’ life, I was going to have to approach it in a way that I could maintain the momentum. So, I started small, little chunks of decluttering, but regularly and consistently.

Gradually over the next few years I reduced the contents of our home by 70%. With each area I cleared, I felt lighter, I devised simpler routines, keeping our home clean, tidy and organised. Life became much, much easier. I wasted less time trying to find things, cleaning up was quicker too.

Over those years I felt a huge amount of guilt about my spending habits and overconsumption, about the waste I had produced. As I learned more about the damage our overconsumption is doing to our planet, I vowed to live differently.

Am I perfect? Do I get everything right? Absolutely not. The systems within capitalism make it extremely difficult for an individual to live a waste free life. I now however live my life much more mindfully, and with intention. Now I make any purchases with this in mind. Over the next few months, I would like to share with you how I changed my impulsive shopping habits. How I’ve saved time, energy and a huge amount of money, by simply not chasing after stuff.

I’m a self-confessed interiors addict, and as I became more aware of how much waste I’d produced, I began to focus on what was happening within the interior industry. I began on my platform, to talk about ‘fast interiors’. At the time I didn’t really have the words to describe what I was seeing, but there were parallels to what was happening in fast fashion. Trends within the interior industry were speeding up at an alarming rate, when did it become the norm to change pieces of furniture every couple of years?

So, I now advocate for ‘slow interior’ design. Interiors that developed slowly, mindfully, where any purchase you make, is done with intention. I promote buying second-hand or vintage items wherever possible, and not to immediately think of buying new. I advocate supporting small businesses, craftspeople and artisans, whenever possible, rather than mass produced, poorly made items.

For the first time I started to think about what would happen to the items I bought into my home, what happens when I no longer needed them? Were they sufficient quality to be resold, were they recyclable, or would they just end up in landfill. What materials were they made from, who made them, and under what conditions. Ethics came into my decision process.

Interior design can be addictive, it can encourage overconsumption, especially as the next trend is being chased. We can feel huge pressure to have our home picture perfect, especially those of us who are on social media platforms. It doesn’t have to be this way, we CAN decorate our homes, express our creativity, mindfully and with intention. We can design beautiful homes that buck the trends, that don’t encourage overconsumption, and that are kind to our pocket and our planet.