Yeah, 2009 is here! I'm hoping that it beats us up a little less than 2008, but I have a feeling that it will be more about learning to roll with the punches, and appreciating non-material things a little more.
2008 was a really good year for us... if you ignore the stock market crash, the housing crash, the layoffs, and the massive amounts of snow and flooding, 2008 was pretty damn fun. Baby Savvy is growing up to be a handful (but a very fun handful!), I'm learning the importance of having hobbies that aren't work or school, and Mr. Savvy has a lot of time to enjoy being a dad since he's had more time off than expected this year.
We had some goals for 2008 that I'd like to recap below....
1. Become a paper-towel and napkin-free house. Success! We used the last of our paper towels a few months ago and haven't bought any more. We use cloth napkins (hemp ones actually, we've learned to avoid anything with synthetics, and we like hemp ones more than cotton), and it works really, really well. I recommend it to everyone who wants to try... even with three adults and a toddler in the house it doesn't add much any noticeable extra laundry. If you want to try it out, wait for Kohl's to have 50% off their placemats and buy some cotton napkins. If you like it, you might want to consider acquiring some hemp ones from Ecolution. You could also buy some cotton dishtowels and hem them if you want.
2. Continue to increase the amount of food we buy locally. Success, with more room for improvement. We do plan to have a larger garden next year, growing more than garlic, herbs, and tomatoes, and we have planted more fruit trees. We still belong to our CSA and love it, and we buy our meat locally. We've also been trying to eat more game (I'm not a game fan, but I'm learning to cook it in ways that make it more palatable), since Mr. Savvy is a hunter.
3. Make-do. Room for improvement. I've gotten much better at this (otherwise we would have never made it through this year financially), but I still spend a lot of money. I really need to cut back on shopping, especially online.
4. Spend more time with friends and family. Success, with room for improvement. I made efforts at the beginning and ends of the year, but let this slip a lot. Needs work.
5. Compost. Success!!!! We have a compost bin and a bucket and are composting maniacs. Okay, we haven't actually gotten to use any of our compost, but we are making it and should have some nice dirt for next year's garden. It is AMAZING how much trash we have been able to compost. I'm also exploring ways to use cardboard or paper in our compost (anyone have any links or info I would appreciate it).
So what goals do we have for 2009?
Obviously we have to continue working on the items above, but I want to add a few more things to our list....
1. Declutter! I've been decluttering a lot the last few months, and it makes keeping the house clean MUCH easier. I also want to eliminate not only physical clutter, but mail clutter, emotional clutter, digital clutter, time clutter, and any other type of clutter I can find. Here's a cool website I've found that has lots of useful information (and some clutter) on decluttering. I also need to remember that clutter gets into our lives because we bring it in, so I will work on eliminating the sources of clutter as well.
2. Garden more! I want to grow more vegetables and herbs, including storage crops. I'm making lists of the things I want to grow, trying to be realistic (will we eat it? do we have the time/space/desire to grow it?), and planning our space and time. We'll start small this year, see what grows well, and go from there.
3. Install our rain barrels. We bought rain barrels at the end of the season last year, but haven't installed them. I want to install and use them this spring, as well as come up with a way to store them for winter that is convenient and protects them from freezing and cracking.
4. Clean and organize our basement. Really. This needs to be done. I did one room a couple months ago (it looks great!), but the rest is a disaster. We buy materials and tools we don't need because we can't find the one we have, and every project is a chore because we have to sort through loads of crap to find a decent paintbrush or the needlenose pliers.
5. Knit. I'm just adding this because I love to knit and it makes me happy. Who doesn't need a resolution that makes them happy? I should add that part of this resolution is also to attend the local knitting groups, they make me happy too.
Farewell 2008 and welcome to 2009! I hope everyone has a great year! |