Early this year I shared some of my New Year Resolutions. Since the end of 2012 is quickly approaching, I thought I should look back and see how I did for the year.
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Buy one of these. I may have not bought an item to put in my toilet tank, but I did weigh down a glass jar and put it in there. Hard to tell how much water it saves, but every drop counts.
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Try and use less water overall. I feel this resolution can always be improved upon. We also installed a low flow shower head that we received for free from our energy company.
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Walk whenever possible. Again, this can always be improved upon. I did try to use my legs or bike whenever possible over the summer.
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Whenever it is sunny and warm (above 60 degrees) hang clothes out to dry in the sun, over using the dryer. I have not hung up the diapers in a while. Once the sun’s positions changed this fall, it made it so there is minimal sun in our backyard. But I have been laying them out in the bathroom to dry.
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Be more conscious when buying products; what the waste will be from packaging or other possible wastes. Still working on this one and planning to make it part of my 2013 resolutions. I feel like I am being more conscious of my consumption though
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Reduce my chocolate consumption. Getting better.
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Purchase as much local produce during the summer and freeze or can it for later use. I did this a little bit, but it is very challenging freezing enough produce for the winter. I had several bags of blueberries and strawberries that we have already gone through. Hopefully I can improve on this each year. As for the canning, it still scares me a bit. I will get over it eventually though, promise.
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Wait as long as possible to use the air conditioner this summer. I followed this resolution pretty well. We didn’t turn it on unless it was going to be in the 90s for the week. The downside is this summer was pretty unbearable and hot, so we used the A/C more than I had hoped. Hopefully next summer won’t have so many 90+ days.
Overall I didn’t do terrible or great. But that is what 2013 is for, more improvements.