It's hard to believe that over a year has passed since I started this challenge. I've learned so much from you, my readers - thank you so much for your support, encouragement and comments! Although I didn't manage to make 366 changes in one year (my original goal), I am very proud that I added an additional 128 changes to my family's repertoire. Some of them didn't work out, but most of them have been lasting changes.
Because of the number of changes to date, I'm only going to highlight the ones that didn't stick. Everything else has been added, relatively smoothly, and has now become habit about 90% of the time.
Here's what I couldn't keep doing:
2. Environmentally-friendly ant killer
8. Buy environmentally and body friendly face moisturizer
13. No more disposable coffee cups
15. Eliminate baths for kids; have showers instead
17. Use GoodSearch for Internet
21. No more plastic takeout containers
25. Only buy ethically farmed/fished seafood
27. Carbon off-set all vacation travel
30. Make my own hand soap
35. Use vinegar/water to clean eyeglasses
53. Ban Styrofoam
62. Only use dishwasher at night
63. Turn off "heat dry" feature on dishwasher
67. Get rid of mould in shower with hydrogen peroxide
81. Place compost bags in all rooms
120. Return plastic pots to nursery
123. Bring my own containers to bulk store
Not bad, eh? (Eco Mama pats herself on the back). I'll keep striving to implement changes that work for my family, and continue to improve current habits to try to get 100% compliancy.
Congrats! I recently stumbled upon your blog and have been reading old posts. And its totally ok to have some not-so-green habits, we can't be 100% impact-free, and with so many good habits in place, its ok to have a few oopsies. My not-green thing? I can't seem to remember to turn off lights when I leave the room. Years and years of trying, I still forget. Oh well!
ReplyDeleteThat's great! Congratulations!! Really alot of great stuff here - I learned some great new tips on decreasing the energy of my home.
ReplyDeleteI think you did GREAT! And I hope this isn't the end of your blog- PLEASE KEEP ON blogging!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reding your words of wisdom!
Congrats on your success!
-Deb
I can't believe it's been a whole year. The point of the blog was to see if changes like Vanessa made would work for a family of five. Some of them didn't but most of them did. The most important thing is that you didn't keep this all to yourself. You shared your time, wit and experiences and have inspired others in the process. Well done.
ReplyDeletewell done! so impressive that the list of couldn't dos is much, much shorter than those you could do!!
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone! I've enjoyed sharing my experiences with you, and can't wait to share the rest.
ReplyDelete