I'm a little late on the New Year's resolution thing but I'm not usually the yearly resolution type anyway. I don't want to look at these as resolutions for the year, but as a change of ways. Not just yearly resolutions but real lifetime changes.
So here's what I came up with; Use Less, Have Less, Want Less.
Use Less:
•Water: I'll work to take shorter showers. I'm not able to take long showers anyway since I'm home by myself with the kids but at a few gallons of water used per minute, each minute shorter can save a lot. Also, the kiddos sometimes shower with me or hop in the bath together. It saves us time and water!
•Energy: We keep the heat quite low during the winter, 65° during the day and 62° at night but I think I'm going to turn down the night setting to 60° since we're all snuggled into one bed and stay plenty warm together. Also, we're pretty bad about leaving lights on around the house and I really want to try to pay more attention to that.
•Money: I'm the money person in our family but that doesn't mean much more than making sure the bills are paid. I want to make a proper budget and then follow it. I have no idea where to start but I feel like we should at least track our spending better to know exactly where our money goes and then save where we can.
•Stuff: We really don't need much but we have plenty. There's a lot we can do without and we'll continue to work on finding that comfortable place between what we need and what we think we need.
Have Less:
•De-clutter: We have lots of storage in our basement and it all needs to be gone through. The office/sewing room closet is packed with things to be filed, fabric scraps, photo supplies, etc. And the kitchen counter is a dumping ground for mail, bills, electronics, fruit, pens; it's a mess.
•Organize: Some of those things will just need a better organizational system. Totes, baskets, folders, etc.
•Donate: Things will get tossed into a donate box and they'll either go to Goodwill or to someone we know who can use them. No need to hold onto things that aren't being used.
Want Less:
•Buy less: It always seems like we're heading to the store for something. A cleaning product, something for the kids, groceries, etc. One thing I'm going to do to buy less is make more. I'll use up what cleaning products we have but I'm going to make more of them from castile soap, vinegar, baking soda, etc. Also, I'm working on knitting a hat for Tyler so we won't have to buy him a new one. I'll continue to make other household things like curtains, pillow cases, laundry soap, and supper (that last one was from Aaron).
•Get used to resisting: Sometimes we think we need things that we really don't. We need to train ourselves to be without things. We don't need cable. We don't need a second car (yet). We don't need lots of fancy toys for the kids.
So I want you to use less also. Actually use fewer. Use fewer plastic bags by using re-usable shopping bags!
I'm giving away one Daisy Pedals Chico Bag to one lucky reader!
To Enter: Make sure to like Daisy Pedals on Facebook AND Comment below and let me know what your resolutions for 2012 are. How do you plan to stick to them? How did you do on your resolutions for 2011?
Deadline for Entry: Make sure to enter before Friday, January 20th at noon.
How it works: I'll use random.org to pick a winner and announce who it is on the Saturday, January 21st post. One entry per person please.
Good luck!
My resolution for 2012 is along the same lines as yours. Decluttering is always on my list :) I have been meaning to make my own laundry soap so I should just do that eh? I use vinegar and baking soda ALOT for cleaning, but still buy to many other cleaners, my resolution last year was to use less chemically stuff and eat healthier foods, so far we have been able to stick to it mostly. It helps having a "dent n bent" grocery store near us that sells alot of organic and gluten free foods! Another goal for this year is to get into our house! we are currently living with my parents as our house got a complete remodel down to the studs, when its done the floor plan will not be the same in any one room and we will have in floor heat throughout!
ReplyDeleteMikayla Breneman
Laundry soap is such an easy thing to make and saves SO much money. Your kids might even like to help make it by grating the soap or stirring for you!
DeleteI hope you can get back into your house too! And in floor heat sounds amazing!
Thanks for stopping by!
I'm working on a challenge to de-clutter 2012 items from our house this year. We have boxes we haven't opened from when we moved here in April -- we can't possibly need all that stuff! I'm also making an effort to use or re-purpose things we already have instead of buying something new.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
DeleteI second all of yours above. I believe in them, but I find it difficult to always be mindful of them. My NY resolutions this year are punctuation related. This past year, I was really convinced to use one space after the period, rather than two (as we'd been taught in typing class), at the end of a sentence. I was also convinced that the Oxford comma is the way to go with lists. Now, my resolution is breaking my old habits.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is difficult, that's why they aren't really yearly resolutions. These are things that I/we will continue to work on for many many years.
DeleteAnd Aaron will be very happy with you in regards to your updated punctuation!
So many admirable lifestyle changes included here! We more or less try to do all of these but we are more successful at some than others. Your post is motivating! Time to reinvigorate the resolve. I love the Daisy Pedal design Chico Bag. I would definitely clip it on my bag and use it! I'm reading three great books from the library that might help give shape to the things you are looking to do: The Locavore's Handbook, Eating In, and Not Buying It (can't remember the author's right now).
ReplyDeleteI'm going to go "like" you now on Facebook. Happy New Year!
Thanks for stopping by, Sarah! I'll have to see if those books are at our local library too! Happy New Year to you too!
DeleteMenu planning is at the top of my list this year. It's so nice when we take the time to plan a menu and shop for what we need than to frantically scour the cabinets looking for something to make and eat in the 60 minutes we have from when we get home from work until the first child goes to sleep. Getting rid of office clutter and revamping my wardrobe are also on the list.
ReplyDeleteWe're working on the menu planning too. Always difficult to scramble at the last minute and hope there's something in the cupboard. Good luck!
DeleteWe don't typically do New Years resolutions in our house, either. But of course, there's always room for improvement and betterment! I personally want to make more time for family. Since I own my own business, I tend to get very caught up in work, making the most of every available minute. And working from home makes the separation between work and family even harder. But this year, I'm going to capitalize on our family times on the weekends and in the evenings. My computer is going to stay in my office and date nights are a must!
ReplyDeleteWe are also making an effort to plan our meals every week. We have been going out to eat WAY TOO MUCH, so we've figured out a weekly budget for food which will force us to eat at home more often.
Thanks for the post, Ashley, and good luck with all of your goals!
Date night is a must! It's nice to know there's going to be time to connect with no interruptions. But we usually end up going out to dinner so I don't have to look at what needs done around the house! Good luck!
DeleteEven though there aren't any kiddos in my house, I'm a faithful reader... Gotta support my pals! Anyway... We're always trying to de-clutter and stay organized and save money and use less. Sometimes it works better than others and sometimes, well, not. I hate when I forget to bring my reusable bags with me, especially when stores give you a discount for using them! (Which is why winning a super cool bag would be super cool for me!) We did not make any official resolutions this year, but we found diet/exercise.motivation by booking a trip to Hawaii in February. Nothing says "get your pasty, flabby tail to the gym" like the thought of a bathing suit in February!!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like good motivation! It's 15° here right now (and colder tomorros) so I just pile on clothes and no one notices the flab! Hawaii sounds nice! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm also working really hard on decluttering. Last year was more family time and volunteering which we were able to do a couple of different ways and I want to continue that as well. The only other thing I would really like to work on is getting at least some alone time with my husband.
ReplyDeleteI would love to do some volunteering with the kiddos soon too. As for the alone time, the date night swap has been great. We trade Wednesday nights with my sister and her husband. One week we watch their kids and then next they watch ours. Gives us each a break from time to time and don't have to find a sitter since it's already set up!
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