I had original intended JOY to be my word for 2019. Feeling and nurturing JOY in my life felt like the perfect intention to describe what I wanted do in 2019…until I was showering this morning.
GREEN fits even better!
Green for the Planet
I have always tried to make the best choices for the environment but convenience frequently wins. This year I plan to do better.
In 2018, I made some simple changes that have me feeling great:
- I switched from a traditional razor to a straight razor; wasting ZERO plastic when its time to change the blade.
- I also quit the traditional bottled shaving cream in favor of block shaving cream. Paddy and I share ours, have been using it for over a year, and have yet to need to buy another one. My only complaint is that it is in a plastic container.
- I ditched the bottled shampoo, got a shampoo bar instead, and my hair and the environment are better for it.
- Audrey is still rocking cloth diapers.
My big goal for 2019 is to ditch the straw. This means I will need to be better at speaking up and saying no to straws that are often freely given. My girls love straws, so I also need to order some reusable ones; either in bamboo or in fun colored metal.
We also have a ton of reusable grocery bags that we never remember to take with us to the store and that is going to change; at least on my end.
And as always I am going to continue to look for ways to reduce my impact on our planet.
Money is Green
My family is in a rough season financially. We are making it work but we are getting by paycheck to paycheck with a little debt on the side. I can hear Paddy freaking out about my sharing this already, Mr. Tin Foil Hat.
We are going to buckle down financially and get things straight. The girls will move up classes in daycare saving us a little bit. We are doing better about eating in and we eat vegetarian a minimum of 4 days a week. I canceled my gym membership that I wasn’t using, and I have my eyes open for additional places to save or make some extra cash.
Into the Green
This is Sarah Under the Sea, it should be “Into the Blue”…and I am not against that, but diving is expensive and I am serious about getting our finances onto more stable ground. I am not saying no diving, just not enough for a rallying call of “Into the Blue”.
Instead, it is Into the Green! I want to get myself and my family outside more. We are already outside a lot but more will be even better.
I have discovered a love for hiking; by myself and with the kids. It can be cheap or free depending on where we go and often times a playground is close by for the girls.
More outside, more time in green spaces! It will be good for our bodies, spirits, and minds.
Any GREEN tips to help me out this year? What are your intentions for 2019? Is February too late to state my intentions for the year?
This was a great inspiring blog to read. thanks for such amazing content. In order to support our society we all have to take some serious steps and quite using plastics. Thanks for the share. Cheers!!!