The new year can be a time of undue stress and anxiety for me. I’m a goal setter, a list maker AND an altruist: which basically means I could be the poster child for “Resolutions.” There were plenty of articles about goals for greening up your New Year, but one that stood out – Kiera Butler at Mother Jones. She asked fellow staffers “What are your environmentally-themed goals for the year to come?”
Since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I posed the same question to my staff – which didn’t churn out many results since I’m a stay-at-home-mom whose “employees” consist of a pre-schooler and a 13 month old who only signs four words.
Holden (our 3 yo), mentioned something about “getting robbers” so he could protect the earth from the bad guys. In his world, “Saving the Planet” begins at the Hall of Justice or with a Marvel Comic book hero: “Saving Planet Earth” and Green Goals Makes Us all Heroes, (with or without the SuperFriends)
My husband, always along for the journey, settled on “Xeriscape our front yard.” Which unfortunately conflicts with our budgetary goals for the year: so we may have to deal with the lawn for a bit longer.
At this point, it was obvious I needed to cast my net a little further for suggestions. I posed the question to family members, friends and even shot it out to folks through various social media channels.
My favorite responses from you:
Cami B. (personal trainer from Herriman, Utah) responded: “Does attempting to potty train a 20 month old count as a ‘green’ resolution?”
-Absolutely Cami! Especially considering disposable diapers are the third largest single consumer item in landfills. For those in a house with a child in diapers, disposables are said to make up 50% of household waste!
Katie A. stay-at-home mom from Farmington, Michigan said their family didn’t make any specific New Years Resolutions, but they were “tightening the belt on our already green ways.” She said they switched gyms so “we could walk instead of driving our Prius eight miles away.” Inspiring!
And Emily H. (South Jordan, Utah) who is currently studying to be a nurse midwife said: “Work to make my kid’s school idle free. Ride public transportation more, and don’t buy blueberries and bananas from Chile.”
Love all these ideas! Think what you can add to the list!
Just this morning I decided to try throwing a dry towel in with my wet clothes in the dryer – I knocked the time back twenty minutes – it’s an experiment, but I think the towel will help speed up the drying. Last summer Hubby installed a clothes line for me – I plan to use it more in 2013 – but being in the great white north of Canada I don’t use it in the winter…. I’m sure I could – I should google that….
A few years ago we went paper towel free, now it’s time to ditch the plastic baggies.