2019, heyo! It cannot believe its already a new year. Once November hits I start thinking about the holidays, my birthday, and the new year. I’m one of those people that loves New Years resolutions. I make about 20 resolutions each year and keep maybe 3. However, I recently started a bullet journal and plan on tracking each resolution so I hopefully have better luck keeping them. I’ll keep you posted…
Last year I made a commitment to live a more sustainable, eco-friendly lifestyle. This means something different to each person. To me it means being a conscious buyer, consumer, and discarder of all things eco-friendly. David and I cut our trash in half in a matter of days by just thinking before we purchased certain food products. In half people. It really made a strong impression on us and made us consider the impact we have on the world around us. Sense then, we have been examining every aspect of our lives and discussing how we can be more eco-conscious and reduce our impact.
Some aspects come really easy, while others are more difficult. In 2019 I’ve committed to doing these five things better. I’m working on making these resolutions measurable but for now, here is a general description of what I’m working towards and why.
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Eliminate food packaging plastics: We used to be so bad about this. We purchased all of our produce from Trader Joes, which is one of the worst offenders of produce packaging waste. Almost all of their refrigerated vegetables have some type of plastic packaging. Cutting Trader Joe’s produce out of our lives in 2018 made a huge difference but we can do better. We still have a few diet staples: dairy free milk, tomato paste, chips, and bread that have packaging waste that we will be trying to eliminate for good in 2019. Granite they are not necessarily diet essentials, they are just our diet staples that we enjoy from time to time. Any times for eliminating packaging for these items, I’m all ears.
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Start composting: On our trip to Vancouver, Canada last year we had the opportunity to meet with the Fairmont Waterfront which enlightened us to the fact that composting is required by city law in Vancouver, and other places across British Columbia. *mind blown* Required?! That is really impressive. Especially when you compare it to a city like Las Vegan that products an enormous about of food waste each day. If a city the size of Vancouver can implement mandatory composting, so can US cities. To do my part, David and I will start composting our food waste. I have not decided exactly how we will be doing this, but it is mandatory.
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Shop second hand: We just moved into a new apartment, like as in two days ago. We sold all of our furniture so we are starting fresh. In order to furnish our home I plan on shopping second hand. Craigslist, thrift stores, flea market, I’ll be hitting up all of them to hopefully score some great second hand finds. Shopping second hand not only gives a piece a second life but it is also more affordable and eco-friendly than shopping new. Part of this resolution is also to start shopping second hand for clothing. I have periodically shopping thrift stores for sweaters and costume pieces but I want second hand shops to become my go-to for “new” clothes. While I was in Germany I dropped in an upscale thrift store and scored an awesome wool dress and skirt that I plan on wearing to work all winter.
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Support sustainable brands: I have at least three blog post planned for this year showcasing my favorite sustainable brands when it comes to home, travel, and food. As I said it Resolution #3, second hand will be my first stop, but if I cannot get something used or prefer to purchase it new (think bath towels, sheets, etc.) I want to support brands that have the same values I do. Over the last year I have found some awesome brands I cannot wait to share with you. These companies have made huge strides in their fields to make eco-friendly sustainable products that are affordable and super high-quality. I am committed to supporting more of these brands this year.
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Educate myself: Am I the only one that sees the word “organic” and assumes the item is healthy and good for the planet? I hope so. In 2019 I want to do a better job at educating myself on what is good and what is bad for the environment and the impact it has on the planet. I hope to compile a list of resources that you can use to educate yourself as well.
I’ll be doing a check-in on these goals later this year to let you know how it is going and the progress I’ve made. Do you set New Years Resolution? Let me know in the comments below!
