By Fredrica Syren
Every year I make new year’s resolutions. I see them as goals I set for myself annually to keep me going, to make my life better. This year my resolutions are mostly about doing more for our planet. Last year’s Green-mom.com conversations were so much about climate change, carbon legislation, energy independence, and growing consumer eco- awareness to generate an eco-movement. It should not be a surprise that a lot of us will have made new year’s resolutions to address these topics and to do our part. For some, though, the resolutions become too hard to keep.
So how do we make green resolutions we can keep?
I think the first suggestion is not to pick too many things to change in one year. It might seem that 365 days will be a lot of time to make huge changes, but they do go by fast, and if we made a promise to change pretty much everything about the way we live, it can get overwhelming. So pick one or two changes start with, and if these are super easy to do, of course no one will hold it against you if at the end of year you have done more than planned!
That brings me to my second tip: select a substantial concept you believe in or are passionate about. If you are passionate about it, then making the resolution come true will be much more fun. For example, last year my family and I tried Sundays without the use of our car and lights. We all enjoyed biking or walking everywhere and cuddling up to candlelight in the evening. We also decided to give up our cable and a year later we do not miss our TV at all; actually, we have more fun quality time with each other.
This year, to help me stay focused on my resolution I’m using Earth Share. It’s a site where you can select one or more green resolutions, and register them along with your name and email. Once you submit your resolution(s), Earth Share will follow up with you throughout the year to check on how it’s going.
This year one of my resolutions is to volunteer to clean up a beach with my 6-year-old. What is yours?
