Not a New Year's Resolution

I don't do New Year's resolutions. I don't like the cliche promises or the obviously inevitable let-downs. I've just got lots of stuff on my mind lately and tons of questions and no outlet for it. So--I'll try blogging what's going on in that hollow space just above my neck...and we'll see what happens. If I only do this a few times, then so be it. If it takes off and I do it alot--then great. I really don't expect anyone to read it...you have to be committed and network and all that kind of "schtuff" to grow a readership. I don't have the time or the strength for that kind of dedication.

So it boils down to this--I'm wrestling internally right now and have been for almost a year. On top of my normal family chaos, I've started thinking of things outside of my self. I've started thinking about the world...the world I'm supposed to live in when I'm old...the world my children are supposed to live in when they're old...the world I hope hasn't gone to a pile of crap by the time I might have grandchildren growing old in the world. Have you ever paid attention to how much garbage you throw away each week? Seriously, have you ever sat and looked at it? Then have you ever tried to cut it down by 1/3 or 1/2? Sometime in late Spring 2007, we started recycling bottles and cans...it honestly cut our weekly trash in half! That made me feel like I could actually do something worthwhile for the world while at the same time made me feel horrible for all of the recyclable crap I've had buried in various landfills over the years...

And plastic bags--how many are in your house right now? Come on, actually look...don't just guess while you're sipping your coffee... I have approximately 30 in the plastic bag holder and another 30 holding various crap in 3 different closets. I have another 4 or 5 in my desk at work. Did you know that they don't biodegrade--they photodegrade? That means they break down into tiny pieces that never go away--ever. So my 65 bags, no matter if I reuse them or not, will eventually end up in a landfill and will never disappear but will more than likely end up in my drinking water as some cruel form of karma...Oh, but you recycle them, do you? Did you know that they don't recycle well? A lot of times, they are turned into useless plastic pellets that aren't able to be used for anything...kind of depressing, isn't it? But don't take my word for all of this--go find out for yourself. My suggestion is to start out at www.reusablebags.com and read the information on plastic bags there...then go to your favorite search engine and start reading articles from reputable websites. Have fun and take your Prozac, because it can be depressingly overwhelming at first...

On Christmas a few days ago, I looked at the mound of wrapping paper on the floor after the presents were opened and I actually sat there stunned and a bit nauseous. Bye-bye gigantic mound of paper! Have fun in the landfill! So, things will have to change a bit there...I'm thinking reusable fabric gift bags at least on birthdays and for my Christmas gifts from now on. It's hard to put the kid's Christmas gifts in bags as they will peek in them under the tree. Maybe I'll do half wrapped and half bagged next year and keep the bagged ones locked up until Christmas...it's hard to do the "no shopping Christmas" thing for kids who are teens and who have always had gifts...I don't know, but I've got a whole year to work that all out in my brain...

So, no New Year's resolutions...not for me anyways...do what you'd like for yourself. I'll try to be thoughtful, witty and semi-entertaining on this blog once again even if I'm only entertaining myself. I won't be doing any vigilant "one green change per day/week" kind of thing...it's all about the baby steps in my house...right now, I'm thinking I'm doing pretty darn good keeping the heat down between 64-66 degrees Fahrenheit at night... I won't be winning any Nobel prizes for my sacrifice, nor will I be inspirational to any of the "green bloggers" that I so often follow...but I'm at least doing something positive and I'll get there eventually--wherever "there" is...and hopefully when I get there things will be just ducky...