I have mixed feelings about New Year’s Resolutions. Part of me feels like I should work to improve myself on a daily basis. This can be especially challenging while juggling my day-to-day and admittedly, rarely comes to fruition (or if it does it’s on a very small scale!). There is definitely something to picking a specific date (like January 1) to implement positive changes in my life. And so, I am resolving the following in order to reduce my “footprint” on the earth and hopefully improve my family’s health and well being in the process:
- Eat Out Less, Cook More – After seeing my year end roll up from American Express, I’m horrified at how much we ate out (ordered in)! Cooking has never come easy to me, but I do okay with a recipe. I just need the motivation to get started in the kitchen at 5pm (witching hour) when the girls are at their worst!
- Use Rechargeable Batteries – While I’m trying to reduce the number of toys I purchase that require batteries, it seems that I still need dozens of batteries! I think I’ll be more conscious of turning off battery powered items if I know that I have to take the time to recharge the batteries and it makes me feel good to know that I’m reducing the waste.
- Use Reusable tote bags REGULARLY! – I have lots of reusable totes and some are even insulated for cold items, however they never seem to make it from the kitchen pantry back to my car. Sometimes I feel so guilty about using plastic, that I just purchase more reusable totes at the store. Needless to say I have plenty of these bags…just need to get into the habit of using and RE-USING them!
- Eliminate Single Serve Packaging – My girls have lunch at moms morning out/school at least once a week, so instead of single serve items, I’m buying in bulk and using reusable containers.
- Volunteer – It became very clear to me this holiday season that my 4 year old is starting to take for granted what she has. What better way to teach her appreciation than to have her volunteer with me at a local shelter.
- Purchase Rain Barrels – 2008 proved to be a very dry year for my city and definitely took it’s toll on the water supply. This year I plan to capture rain water using barrels to keep my yard green.
- Turn Off My Computer Every Night – Guilty as charged…I leave my computer on almost every night! It goes to sleep but I know it’s still pulling off the grid. Time to turn her off!
- Buy Locally Grown Produce – I’d like to make more trips to the farmer’s market for my produce and rely less on the convenience of my grocery store that ships in it’s produce from as fare away as Chile & China!
- Replace the Carpet – I really hate carpet (it aggravates my husband’s allergies, is coated in chemicals and traps tons of dust and dirt), but our entire upstairs is covered in it and it would be costly to replace considering that our house was built less than 2 years ago. I’d like to make 2009 the year I rip it up and replace it with FSC Certified wood or bamboo or cork…anything but carpet! (Any ideas on how to reuse/recycle the carpet once it’s up?)
- Continue Learning About All Things Green – I’m dedicated to continuing my education on green living, health and wellness. I promise to share what I discover with you all in 2009!
Happy New Year! I wish you all great things in 2009!
Hey Tela,
First off congratulations on making a list of all the things you would like to do to make 2009 a year of less-is-more. Not only are you creating a healthier environment for your family, you are teaching by doing.
I have a few suggestions/considerations…things my husband and I have done that have helped us reduce our footprint: first off, since you own your home, you may want to consider converting your plumbing to a gray-water system whereby sink, dishwater, and laundry water goes to a system used for outdoor water purposes (*You must then use ONLY products safe for this type of system…check the web). We have done this with our laundry but because we rent we can’t re-route the plumbing otherwise. Secondly, my husband and I started a budget that we have been sticking with for about four months now. I can’t tell you how much this has reduced our eating out in particular. It’s amazing how quickly it adds up. Our rules are 75$ per person per week and it includes all expenses other than groceries and gas. If you don’t spend all of it, then it rolls over…therefore, there is incentive in saving up for that pair of jeans. The rules can be made to tailor each families needs, but the point was to reduce eating out and be more mindful of where we are spending our money. Finally, I am not sure if there is a Co-Op or Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in your area, but we belong to one and get great fruits and veggies year-round all the while supporting our local organic farmers. Another bonus is that you volunteer a portion of your time as part of the program. I love it and have learned a ton about cooking, gardening and why it’s important to eat local and in season. Because of what I have learned through our CSA I was able to build my own garden and ate a beautiful salad tonight from it.
Good luck with your resolutions and thanks for hosting such a great website! I look forward to reading more in 2009
Mandy
#9 – My wife used the carpet we tore out of our house as a barrier for weeds in the garden. We put mulch on top of it, and cut holes where we were planting. We didn’t have any weeds in that part of the garden all year. I thought that was quite useful.
Also, if you need help picking out some floors that would work a little better for you, give us a call at Carpet Express, (800) 922-5582. We’ve got some excellent deals in wood flooring right now, you could spend as little as $1.59 per square foot.
Another great reason for #2, Use Rechargeable Batteries, is that rechargeable batteries, unlike alkaline (non-rechargeable) batteries, can be recycled after they’ve worn out. Call2Recycle.org is a nonprofit, nationwide program that enlists retail locations and community recycling centers to act as collection sites. It’s completely free. Call2Recycle provides the collection boxes and pays for shipping and processing. The rechargeable battery manufacturers fund the program. It’s available in the U.S. and Canada, completely FREE. Everything gets processed in a heat smelting process, nothing ends up in the landfills.
Tela,
I emailed my friend the info about green cleaning. Thanks,
Jennifer
Re: Josh Steele comment
I think the point of getting rid of the carpet is to be done with the pvc, phthalates, and other chemicals manufactured into them. These chemicals stick around for a long time, so why put it in your soil where you may one day plant a vegetable garden.
ok, one last comment….try this site I found
http://www.carpetrecovery.org/
As per the carpet (though I know 2009 is HALFWAY over!!! Who’da thought?!), one thing my fiance and I do is cut them up into squares and use the squares under couch legs and such so as to protect the floors (and I have severe allergies related to carpets as well). Also, you can ask around and see if any childcare centers are looking for slightly used carpet squares or area rugs or such. Donating them to places like that could probably come as a great welcome. Worst case you can either recycle them at a recycling center (if yours does carpets) or see if someone will buy it off of craigslist or a yardsale or even the freecycle website you recommended!!!