Reflections - New Years Eve 2008

It's December 31 and the new year is just around the corner. There will be time for resolutions, but today is a day for reflection; for remembering all the wonderful adventures of years past, of all we have achieved. 

For moments of reflection, as well as those times when I feel discouraged and need the reminder of how far along my journey I have come, I keep a running list. This "list" is nothing special, just some bullet points of the efforts I've made in my journey towards a simple-green-frugal life. 

As for 2008, I achieved things I never thought possible. As the year began, my local diet experiment was in it's infancy. Just this year, I learned to make soups and breads from scratch, can jams and soups, I was given my first water bath canner, and I bought my first pressure canner. I quit my job, I started my first veggie garden, and started this blog. I took steps to become more active in my community, did my first talk at the university on eating locally, and did my first radio interview. How amazing what one year can bring.

So how about that list? This is mine. For each of us, it will be as different as we are, but the goal is the same - mindful living.

Steps I've Made Toward a More Simple-Green-Frugal Life

1. Reduce hours to part time/quit work
2. Replace light bulbs with CFLs
3. Bus/Walk/Bike everywhere (reduce car trips)
4. Eat organic, all-nature, whole foods only (no processed foods)
5. Don't turn on lights or use AC/heat when home alone
6. Use electric blanket or heating pad at night instead of heating entire house in winter
7. Recycle
8. Buy items with less packaging/recyclable packaging only
9. Buy/consume only what is NEEDED
10. Shop in second hand stores
11. Borrow books / rent movies instead of buying
12. Buy only  local gifts or give baked goods, time, money, homemade gifts
13. Use recycled toilet paper, organic or homemade cleansers
14. Make used paper into pads of paper for grocery lists, etc
15. NO PLASTIC BAGS - bring my own cloth bags to the store
16. Take my own water bottle, napkin, and silverware to restaurants that use disposables
17. Use cloth napkin instead of tissues or paper towels
18. Take navy showers
19. Meditation and yoga
20. Go Flexitarian/Vegetarian/Vegan (I'm progressed through this over the years)
21. Make my own yogurt, soups, pasta sauce from scratch
22. Make my own baked bread, rolls, bagels
23. Compost
24. Reduce beauty products toward more natural products like witch hazel, baby oil, and baking soda for deodorant
25. Make my own greeting cards with recycled magazines, calendars, paper, etc
26. Switch big-box grocery store purchases to our small, local natural foods store
27. Cancel cable
28. Pack lunch instead of eating out (when I was working)
29. Wash clothes on cold
30. Buy local milk, cheese, meat
31. Make my own local herbal tea
32. Switch to local soaps
33. Learn to can
34. Make my own butter
35. Grow my own herbs and veggies

Change doesn't happen all at once. It takes years of personal growth and evolution. Because of that, I think we easily forget how far we've come. Looking back on this list, I realize what a different person I am ten years after I started this journey. Not that the road has been easy. Those of you who regularly read this blog know that my illness has been an ongoing burden. But illness and all, I'm better person because of my journey. Now, as we make resolutions for the coming year, let us not forget the journey that has brought us so far; the joys and struggles on this path to a more mindful life. 

May the coming year bring more simple-green-frugal happiness to us all!