Gurugram, May 29 -- Dr Savita Nagpal, 66, is quietly leading a sustainability movement in Gurugram by encouraging residents to adopt decluttered homes and a minimalistic lifestyle. Through her nine-year-old initiative, Slim Homes, she has been promoting mindful consumption and environmental responsibility in a rapidly urbanising city increasingly marked by excess. Nagpal has been running a privately owned diagnostic laboratory in South Delhi for 25 years. After retirement, she shifted her focus towards environmental causes due to concerns over poor sanitation, rising pollution levels, and environmental degradation. One of her earliest initiatives promoting the 3 Rs- reuse, recycle and reduce- to cut down use of single-use plastics and encourage cloth bags. "We used to request people to donate their old but usable clothes, which we were stitched into bags and sold at a nominal price of Rs.10 or Rs.15. We also distributed them free of cost in some areas," she said. She added that the proceeds were used to fund other environmental initiatives. Slim Homes focuses on household waste management and composting, encouraging residents to segregate organic waste at source and convert kitchen waste into compost. "Even small contributions can make a big impact. These efforts aim to reduce landfill burden and promote use of natural manure in household gardens and community green spaces," she said. In 2020, Nagpal initiated plantation drives in and around South City-1. Along with volunteering neighbours, she planted over 100 saplings in green belts and vacant spaces. "We also took care of these trees," she said. Every monsoon season, Nagpal and her volunteers distribute saplings to residents in Gurugram and Delhi free of cost, promoting plantation and civic responsibility. Plastic waste management has become one of the most successful component of the initiative. Nagpal shared that almost 15 condos in Gurugram have collaborated with Slim Homes to conduct such drives. Starting from 2020 till December 2025, Nagpal shared that they have collected 166,000kg of plastic waste across Gurugram and send for segregation and processing to the NGOs. A total of 71,068 kg of textile waste was collected and sent for processing across Gurugram between 2024 and 2025. "Our next drive for collecting textile waste will be held on June 2 in South City-1," she said. Nagpal believes that sustainability is not an optional lifestyle choice but a necessary way forward for urban communities. She advocates a shift towards mindful consumption, where households actively reduce waste, reuse resources, and adopt practices such as composting and recycling as part of daily living. According to her, real environmental change begins at the community level, with individuals taking responsibility for their consumption patterns. "I have conducted several awareness talks in schools and colleges, and it is important that we adopt this at young age," she added. She maintains that small, consistent actions-if adopted widely-can significantly reduce environmental burden and help create cleaner, more resilient cities for future generations. "Let us not become those who leave an even worse planet for the next generation. We are aware of what is happening to the environment and how our actions are disrupting the habitat of flora and fauna," she said. From waste segregation and composting to plastic reduction and plantation drives, her initiative continues to engage residents across Gurugram in practical environmental solutions....