My Resolutions Defined

Be ‘Greener’
With all this hype about "Being Green" these days, I thought I would make my contributions. I have come up with my own list on how I can Be ‘Greener’. (I know that once my husband reads this he is going to think that I have turned all “Tree hugger” on him. Honey, I have not! Believe it or not but by doing these few things we will be saving money and I like the sound of that!)
*Add one meatless meal a week
*Shop the Saturday Market
*Using energy smart light bulbs
*Reusable shopping bags

When I was making my list I noticed that there are things I already do to Be ‘Green’!
*Using cold water to wash laundry
*Turning lights off when not in use
*Taking advantage of the sun and opening the curtains and shades during the day
*Turning the water off when not in use
*Washing full loads of laundry
*Wearing your clothes more than once (I know this one may sound gross but I have clothes that I wear just around the house and clothes when I have to go out. When I need to leave the house I change into something nicer and when I get back home I change back into my “house clothes”. The outfit that I wore out will get hung back up.)
*Running full loads in the dishwasher
*Using newspaper and cardboard as fire starters
*Turning the thermostat down when we are not at home or at night
*Using rechargeable batteries

Live Frugally
Dictionary.com defines frugal as “prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful.” With that being said here’s my list to work on this year.
*Eat out less
*Have cook ahead days – make batches of food and put them in the freezer for future use (I love this idea!)
*Homemade gifts for birthdays and Christmas
*Make brown bag lunches for my husband

And of course I already have a list of things I do to be frugal:
*I hardly ever buy name brands
*Batch my errands to save money on fuel and time
*I usually only buy new clothes for the family when they are on sale or on the clearance rack
*I buy inexpensive cuts of meat for crock pot meals
*Most of Orion’s clothes are secondhand
*All of our furniture was secondhand
*Always go to the grocery store with a shopping list
*Try to always eat leftovers
*Buying in Bulk
*Buying books from used book stores
*Re-using my baby food containers and other containers

Have a Clean and Organized Home
Those of you who know me know that I struggle with this but now that we have Orion and I work from home I am going to have a better handle on this.

Cook From Scratch More Often
I love being in the kitchen but over the last couple of years I have gotten lazy in this department. Well I am dusting off my cookbooks and diggin' right in!

Make a Point to Scrap Every Week
I've been scraping for 7 years and the only thing I have to show for it is our Engagement Album, Orion's Monthly Album, random pages and gifts for everyone else. I am so far behind, but yet with scrapbooking there is no such things as being caught up!

Loss weight
I am going to give myself a small goal of 15 lbs. I know that once I beat that I am going to want to go for 30 lbs!