How Did I Do? Ten Green Goals for 2013 Reprise

I bought some houseplants, but now they're all dead.

Happy New Year!

My 2013 green goals were designed to help my family reduce waste and energy use, reduce exposure to toxins, and improve our connection to nature.  See the original post here.

Unfortunately, like thousands of other well-meaning resolution makers, I have barely referred to my 2013 list of resolutions in the last many months, although some of them were nonetheless always clear in my memory and have been nagging at me from the back of my mind pretty consistently (composting, for example). I always like to review the goals of the previous year before making any new resolutions (helps to clamp down on any unrealistic ambitions), so here we go.

1. Expand my homemade snack repertoire.
I'm doing OK in this category. I still wish I were making more homemade snacks and buying fewer pckaged chips and crackers. I have added a few items to my repertoire (in addition to my healthy whole grain "cookies" and chewy granola bars). I now frequently make my tried-and-true honey whole wheat bread into rolls. They freeze really well and, as far as I can tell, everyone loves rolls. I've also been experimenting with healthy muffins, another kid-friendly-sized food. What I really want to make is homemade cheesy crackers, because my children are obsessed with goldfish crackers (which we rarely buy, but everyone else always seems to have and give them). I want to master a homemade whole grain with real cheddar cheese mini cracker. I'm always on the lookout for any snacks that are easy to make in bulk, kid-friendly, good for on-the-go, and, of course, healthy. Any suggestions?

2. Transition from cloth diapers to training pants/ underwear by 15 months. 
I have been practicing early potty training with my third child since she was four months old. I had to look back through my early potty training posts to figure out if I actually did this. It looks like we transitioned to training pants almost all the time around 18 months. Actually, we are all done with potty training now with this one. We're down to one accident (day or night) every couple of weeks. Stay tuned for an early potty training reprise post coming soon!

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Ten Green Goals for 2013

My green goals are designed to help my family reduce waste and energy use, reduce exposure to toxins, and improve our connection to nature. 

1. Expand my homemade snack repertoire. I currently have two main snacks in my repertoire: healthy whole grain "cookies" and chewy granola bars. I like snacks that are easy to make in bulk, kid-friendly, good for on-the-go, and, of course, healthy. Any suggestions?

2. Transition from cloth diapers to training pants/ underwear by 15 months. I have been practicing early potty training with my third child since she was four months old. At one year, my daughter uses the potty at least 3 times a day and for all of her poops, and holds her pee for hours at a time. It's time to switch over, but because I don't have a million training pants, it will require that I commit to taking her to the potty more consistently than I am now. I'm psyching myself up for this. I waited until around 20 months to transition my second child out of diapers and later felt that I had waited too long.

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One Down

I've already completed one of my five climate change resolutions!

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Climate Change Resolutions

This month the Green Moms are blogging about Resolutions to Fight Climate Change. Check out Strocel.com on Monday, January 23 for links to all the other submissions. 

I already posted 10 Green Goals for 2012 last week. But today, I'm going to focus on some additional very modest resolutions related more directly to energy usage and climate change.

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10 Green Goals for 2012

Last week I evaluated my performance on my half-year resolutions made in July 2011. Today I'm posting some goals for this year. These goals will mostly be modest, because I like to feel successful, and because I have a new baby and won't be accomplishing much of anything for several months.

Make my own hummus from scratch.
So, I know how to make hummus from a can of garbanzo beans and from garbanzo flour. But I don't like the BPA in canned foods, and I was never completely sold on the texture from the hummus I made from garbanzo flour. We own a pressure cooker, which my husband mostly uses to make black beans and pinto beans. But I know how to use it and it's not that hard, so it's high time I cooked my own garbanzo beans to make into hummus. Several of my friends do this and when they bring their homemade hummus to the park, my kids always gobble it up. This goal isn't particularly difficult in and of itself, it's just a matter of fitting it into my routine, which already entails making homemade bread, yogurt, snacks, etc. [Update January 2013: I now make my own hummus from dried garbanzo beans in 5 minutes. Read how in this post.]

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Half-Year Resolution Reprise

Back in July, I posted 10 Half-Year Resolutions. Before posting any resolutions for 2012, I thought a review of my progress on my Half-Year Resolutions was appropriate.

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10 Half-Year Resolutions

This post is my contribution to the June Green Moms Carnival: Half-Year Resolutions, hosted by OrganicMania.  

In April, I set three Earth Day Eco-resolutions. I am proud to say, that I have accomplished two of the three goals:  stop using single-use plastic produce and shopping bags; stop my junk mail.  But I still haven't accomplished the first goal: make my own yogurt.  The Green Moms are setting some half-yearly resolutions, just in time for summer, when the weather is wonderful and everything seems possible.  So making my own yogurt is at the top of my list now.  I also came up with nine more resolutions for 2011.  As you can see, I like to stick with small, doable goals, rather than grandiose visions of all that could be.  If I even accomplish half of these, I will consider this exercise a major success.

For many of these goals, I could use a little advice or guidance (see the questions at the end of each goal).  Please add your wisdom in the comments!

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Earth Day Eco-resolutions

Inspired by Green Baby Guide, I would like to make some Earth Day Eco-resolutions:

• Make my own yogurt
• Stop using single-use plastic produce and shopping bags (I have a review in the works on this one)
• Stop my junk mail

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