I give an audible groan every time I see the first mention of New Year’s resolutions. They usually start to show up in my Facebook and Instagram feed early on December 26th. Weight loss, eat healthy, be happy, etc, etc, etc. For awhile I swore off New Year’s Resolutions. Why do I have to wait until the first day of the year to make a change in my life? If I want to better myself I can do it whenever I want, right??
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My attitude towards New Year’s resolutions shifted a few years ago after I read Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson. I was wowed by the book and vowed that I was going to make changes in my lifestyle and buying habits for the good of the planet. This was one of the first times I made a New Year’s resolution and stuck to it. As a result, my entire life changed. I thought daily about my pledge and made small changes over many months. Before I knew it, not only was I reducing waste, but I noticed that I was cooking at home more and my whole family was healthier.
The funny thing was that since I was taking my time with the lifestyle shift, the new practices I put into play really stuck. I wasn’t burned out. Ultimately that one resolution is what led me to develop this website. I wanted to share my successes with others and inspire you to make positive changes for your health and the environment. It has become my passion!
So now I am a believer in non-traditional New Year’s resolutions. It is a good time to start fresh with an idea and motivate yourself for change. Otherwise you might not get around to it. Not all of my past attempts at resolutions have been successful, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth a shot.
If you are looking for some way to make a difference in the world and help yourself at the same time, I have a few ideas for unconventional New Year’s resolutions. Share with your friends and work together to make it even more fun.
1 – Take a Plastic Free Challenge
I created a 90 day plastic reduction challenge last year to help others who recognize that plastic is a problem, but are totally overwhelmed by the crazy amount of plastic in our world. Several participants worked 90 days with me to reduce plastic in the kitchen, bathroom, home, cleaning supplies, and many other areas. I now have the entire challenge posted for you to peruse. I recommend starting from the beginning as it is set up to build upon itself and get you set up for permanent change. You can work thru it slower or faster depending on how hard the challenges are for you. Grab a friend and get to work!
2 – Eat the Seasons
Seasonal eating is super important to reducing your environmental impact. You can read why in my article 6 reasons to Eat the Seasons, then visit my Seasonal Eating page for all the resources you need to figure out how to get started. This is a great resolution if you are looking to improve your health. You will find that you and your family are much healthier when you are eating the freshest, local, seasonal food you can get your hands on.
3 – Start a Garden
This resolution may seem like something you can’t do until spring or summer, but if you want to have a successful garden you actually need to start planning now. This is even more important in the covid-era as many people have been drawn to gardening due to food shortages and spending more time at home. Last spring, seeds were very hard to find! You also may want to consider starting seeds indoors and then transplanting to your garden and that means planting as early as February or March (check out this cool indoor 3-tier plant stand. A bit of a splurge, but worth it to start a great garden). So if you choose gardening as a goal for 2021, you need to get going!
4 – Reduce Your Consumption
Are you feeling overwhelmed by so much stuff?!? Many people make a resolution to get organized, but I argue that really you should resolve to stop buying things in the first place! You can’t organize junk. If you have gone through my 90 day plastic reduction challenge you may have noticed that Week #12 is entirely dedicated to shopping habits. That is because there is tons of waste involved with producing goods, shipping them, and packaging. Not to mention that we don’t really need most stuff anyways. Vow to stop buying so much stuff and you will quickly regain your sanity, feel like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders, and value what is really important in life. An easy way to tackle this topic is to first limit your shopping trips to once per week. Then start asking yourself if you really need an item or just want it (sometimes that is okay too, but most of the time you really don’t want it and figure that out later). Next, consider stopping subscription services and limit your online purchases. Finally, use the things that you have and fix them when they break. This is just a starting point, there are many ways that you can tackle this topic.
5 – Meal Plan and Cook from Scratch
Not everyone is cut out to be a five star chef. I know there are a lot of people out there who either don’t know how to cook or just don’t like doing it. I get it, I used to be that way too. Then I learned a few simple cooking techniques like how to chop an onion and roast vegetables. My world was turned upside down! I figured out that cooking was not as hard as I thought and was a chance to get creative. The key was to keep it simple. Now I am on a mission to help others learn to plan meals and cook from scratch too. It is so much healthier, and you truly will make a difference for the environment by cutting back on take out and all the trash that goes with that system. You can start a New Year’s resolution to cook more at home by following my weekly meal plans. I’ve done the hard planning work for you, now you just have to jump in and start cooking. If you also want to learn to eat seasonally, I will give you tips on how to make that a reality. The meal plans that I provide are mostly based on what produce is available in the majority of US during each season. Subscribe to the Green Life Philosophy blog and you will get the most recent plan sent straight to your inbox (no advertisements or junk ever).
There you have it. Five different New Year’s resolutions that you can get to work on right now. Remember, all it takes is a positive attitude and small steps and before you know it you will have accomplished what you set out to do. Happy New Year!!
