New Year’s Resolution 2019

Do you make new year resolutions?  I’m a bit half-hearted about them I must admit.  But in our house we have decided what we’re doing for 2019 already.

We’re going to pledge to make a change every month during 2019.  There are a few rules:

1. The change must be ethical
2. The change must have the potential to be permanent (if it works out we stick with it)
3. The change must be measurable.

So what to choose?  In the past we have:

• Only bought takeaway drinks in reusable cups
• Started using an Eco-Egg in place of washing tablets
• Subscribed to local buy and sell groups to source preloved goods
• Bought our loo rolls ethically
• Switched to buying our milk from a milkman (in glass bottles)
• Bought (and used) compost bins in the garden
• Bought (and used) water butts
• Made gift tags from the Christmas cards we received
• Taken packaging from our online orders to charity shops for them to reuse
• Held fundraising events
• Volunteered for charity events
• Set up a bird feeding station in the garden
• Planted shrubs in our flowerbeds which attract bees and butterflies.

There’s probably more but hopefully it’s because they are imbedded that I can’t remember them!  So we can’t choose any of the above as they are already routine.  I’d be more than happy for any of my readers (or should I say either of my readers?) to embrace any of them though.

Back to our possible projects for 2019.  We’ve had a few ideas and I’d love to hear from anyone who has more.  These are not all definite but so far we have come up with:

1. Never buying wrapping paper again
2. Build a raised bed and grow veg
3. Eat no meat for one week per month (hubby is not keen on this one!)
4. Switch to only household cleaners, toiletries etc which can be refilled or for which there is a plastic-free alternative
5. Proactively reduce the amount of junk mail we receive
6. Start a petition to government (I know I did this in 2018 but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be successful – still not even 2000 signatures)
7. Never buy food items in black plastic
8. Choose another single-use item to never buy again
9. Use the 30⁰C and the cold wash programmes on the washing machine to achieve a significant and measureable reduction in electricity consumption
10. Buy only fully recyclable Christmas cards (ie no glitter, foil etc)
11. Stop buying pre-packaged meat
12. Use only rechargeable batteries
13. Subscribe to a renewable energy tariff
14. Adopt an eco-friendly technology item (I’m not quite sure what this means but I saw it on the internet)
15. Re-join the library
16. Plant a tree

I hope to have decided on January’s project by New Year’s Eve.  I will post what we decide and also how we get on.  In the meantime, if you have any ideas …..