Greener New Year 2010!

First Toast
Originally uploaded by rsvpentertainment

New Year’s I always have good intentions. I plan for a good fresh start, to do better, follow through… and accomplish tasks that I just did not get around to yet.

This year, I decided to look back on the previous year as a gauge. What might I realistically expect of myself in 2010? It is amazing to think about how I do things differently than I did just one year ago.

One year ago, I threw out about 50 laundry detergent and softener bottles a year. Now there is a quarterly ritual of making homemade laundry soap and softener reusing the same plastic bottles repeatedly.

One year ago, I bought a large package of paper plates about 3 to 4 times a year. I bought one small package this year. Most of them are still in the cupboard.

I stopped buying/using plastic utensils and straws. I don’t even want them anymore, it is easy enough to pack what I need and bring them back home to wash. No big deal, really!

When shopping, I opt for foods and drinks packaged in glass jars, most are cleaned and re-used for food storage.

Packing my own lunch & drinks is not the trouble I once thought. While running errands, I no longer need the bags of wrappers and waste that I thought nothing of accumulating and “throwing away”. Now I eat healthier than the days of past when I thought the fast food drive-up was the only way to go.

Cloth bags over plastic – and I now remember to take them into the store! At first, it was hard to remember. This act alone must save about 500 bags a year, or more!

I have started avoiding wrapping paper. Finding new ways to re-use boxes and recycle items whenever possible is now my current routine.

Listing the strides I have made in 2009 creates a spiral thought process that is sure to magnify my efforts in 2010. I’ve been thinking about how everyone in the world gets to live on this planet rent-free. Paying more attention to what we take and use and what we leave behind makes a lot of sense. No resolution needed, the process to reduce my carbon footprint is now embedded into my behavior.