Resolutions

It's been years since I've made formal New Year's Resolutions. Since I am a planner, a list maker and detailed oriented by nature, I'm always looking for ways to make things bigger or better. Early last year, I did decide to make some "green" changes and I realized this week that I have done a really good job. Here are some of the changes our family has made.

*We take reusable shopping bags to the grocery store, Target, the mall, etc.
*We haven't bought paper plates all year (except for the few parties we hosted).
*We recycle significantly more than we throw away.
*We stopped buying bottled water sometime around March.
*The last time I bought paper towels, was an 8 pack at Costco sometime in February. We are still working on that same pack. We use dish towels instead.

I know there are bigger problems and better ways to exert energy, but for us, these changes have been natural and easy to implement. Plus, you'd be suprised how much you can save by not buying bottled water, paper plates and paper towels. It really adds up!

Our second change involved the TV. After Lincoln was born, we decided not to have the TV on when Lincoln was awake. We really, really stuck to it and in fact, Ryan was more disciplined than me. Once Lincoln was in bed for the night, we would watch our shows, American Idol, The Office, Prison Break and a few other favorites. The biggest change was not having the constant sound of the TV in the background. Back in November, we introduced Lincoln to Sesame Street, he was about 14 months old. He loves to watch Elmo, but only for the first 10-15 mintues. He gets bored. So, several times a week he gets an Elmo fix and the rest of the time the TV is off. It's made a big difference for Ryan and I and I hope it will have a positive effect on Lincoln. (Oh, I will confess that if the Aggies or Cowboys were playing on TV, we had that on, asleep or not!)

We'll see what changes are in store for the Blakes in 2009. Happy New Year!