Part of my goals for 2010 is to:
1. Cut down on the consumption of paper goods by using cloth substitutes. Our household is a simple one and we wipe our mouths at dinner using a square cut from a t-shirt or a bandanna.
2. Cut down on the purchase of toys for the year. Natalie prefers a box still. For her Birthday she is getting a board game, musical piano and a book pillow thing from a yard sale.
3. To go with #2, I am going to try to give more home made or used items as gifts. Think of all the times you've seen something brand new with tags at consignment sales or yard sales. I want to give those items new good homes where they'll be used.
4. To get a part time job. I won't lie, I don't need the money. But I have this urge to make more. Can't explain it. I am going to ask next week if I can't work part time at Natalie's daycare so I won't spend more time away from her. Maybe I'll find another kiddo to babysit? I think it will be something child related that I can take Natalie too.
5. Cut down on our grocery bill by using up leftovers and planning out meals. I throw away more food than we eat. That simply has to stop.
6. Grow a garden. Or at least try!
7. Start a compost bin for the garden. I had the realization while watching sid the science kid. He said we should scoop up all the used banana peels and make a slide. I eat a banana every day of my life. Natalie eats one at least every other day. That is 546 banana peels going in the trash every year. yikes.
8. To donate to Salvation Army. Like everything. Minus Christmas decorations, if I don't use it once every week or two, it is going. My tax write off this year will be monstrous to the point of making me nervous. So I am making a very detailed itemization list and I am taking pictures!
9. Organize the playroom, even if it is with cardboard boxes, so Natalie can access everything that is age appropriate. I still need to hang decorations and her princess gowns that are too big.
10. Go through my huge piles of baby loot and trim it down, tag it and get it ready for the consignment sale. I am going to make sets of all my separates and get rid of things that don't go. If you are wondering about the longie pieces below, I am ordered those pants for DD2. I'll seek out matching tops from consignment or yardsale. Or maybe I'll learn to applique.
11. Cool it on baby stuff. Seriously, is there a 12 step program? I have a wicked addiction to all things small and pink.
12. Stop putting feelings into stuff. Stuff is stuff, simple as that. Memories, in the form of pictures rock, and are the best things you can have in your life.
13. Transfer all the home movies from reel to DVD. This will cost me hundreds of dollars. But it is my childhood and worth it. I also plan to scan hundreds of pictures, all the way way to my great grandparents on my Dad' s side. I also need to make a better effort at getting all our pictures on DVD and the copies put in the safety deposit box.
14. Make an inventory of the clothing I have stored for Natalie so I won't end up with 27 pairs of 4T jeans.
15. Buy more used clothes for myself. I was able to get 2 pairs of jeans the other day at the consignment store for $6 (NWT) and $1. So I do look, I'm just not often lucky.
16. Make a sign of my 5 year goal. List the steps I need to accomplish to make it. Then put it above my computer as a reminder (I won't post my goal yet, it's a secret! lol)
17. There are more. I'll have to keep adding to my list at a later date!
What are you resolutions? Mine center around waste. Do you have a theme?
2 comments:
You've got quite a list! I am surprised that you throw away so much food. Food has always been sacred in my home all my life, because it is life. I don't throw away ANY food. Well, perhaps a tiny bit of moldy bread and leftovers once a month or so.
I have an easy solution for the kid stuff gorging. Don't go to the stores, don't go to garage sales. When I need to save money, I have a motto: Don't shop. Buy only what I NEED. I know what my needs vs. wants are.
My playroom rule is simple: If the child can't put all the toys away without help, there are too many. There are a few toys out of reach that require permission or supervision and two small containers of building things that get rotated (wood blocks vs. legos). That's it. If I have to pick it up, they lose it. The other rule is No toys outside the playroom. Because there is no negotiation here, the kids follow the rules without a problem. If I say it's snack time, they say, I need to pick up the toys, automatically.
If you don't need the money, don't work. Do your composting and gardening instead. It will take as much time and you'll grown a good salary's worth of food.
I, too, don't use paper products. I have a ton of raggy towels and washclothes and good remnants under each sink for cleaning. I have a stack of washclothes I made from towels for washing the kids. They are 8" x 8" with rounded corners and are zigzagged or serged around the edges.
I think you have a very good theme to your resolutions this year. What goes around comes around and I believe that if you waste, eventually you will know want.
wow, I think I'll just change my resolution to be more like you! lol...but seriously. My original resolution was to sell all the "stuff" I don't need anymore on ebay...otherwise I might soon end up on some tv show! I plan to post soon on my blog for tips. Thanks for the inspiration and great success with the new resolution!!!
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