The holiday season brings excitement, cheer, and joy to me and my family as we kick off the holiday season with Thanksgiving. The season seems to go full steam ahead with endless comfort foods, family gatherings, and social commitments that last about forty days until we bring it to a close by ringing in the New Year. Most of us kick off the holiday celebrations by overindulging with all the things that bring us joy like our favorite foods, entertainment, and shopping. Holidays can leave us feeling sluggish, depressed, as we bring a close to the season. During the holidays we usually pack on a few extra pounds, expands our waist lines, and about the time we think we can get a little rest—we jump back into life as we try to catch up on job, school, and family as fatigue settles in.
As many of us are running out of holiday cheer and the realities of the season merge with our expectations, we find ourselves searching for the perfect New Year’s Resolution. The timing for setting such an important goal comes at the worst possible time—we are tired and feeling guilty for overindulging yet, most of us set a goal doomed for failure. So, this year I decided to look for a New Year’s Resolution that was easy for me to achieve and good for the environment—here are my 5 suggestions for success:
Recycle: Designate a place in your garage or around your home for recyclables to help make it easy for you and your family to recycle newspapers, cardboard, and aluminum cans. Recycling helps you, your community, and the environment, and best of all it is free.
Give up paper towels: Reusable microfiber towels grip dirt and dust better than paper and are great for cleaning counter tops and glass surfaces too. Reusable microfiber saves money over paper towels and is cleaner—safer for the environment. Giving up paper makes microfiber a win win Resolution.
Run it loaded: Running a fully loaded dishwasher without pre-rinsing the dishes can save up to 10 gallons of water a day. Clothes washers are no exception run a full load or adjust the water level to the lowest amount needed to get the job done. This saves both money and energy, and in these hard economic times every little bit counts.
Give up 2 degrees: It has been estimated you could save 10 to 20% off your utility cost by lowering your thermostat to 68 degrees in the winter. I think it is cozier to snuggle in under a blanket on a snowy winter night than turning up the heat; and I rest better knowing the utility company isn’t getting more of my hard-earned money. Less cost and better for the environment makes giving up 2 a winner.
Reusable water bottle: Each year we dump more than 26 billion plastic water bottles into our land fields every year with fewer than 15% being recycled. You can buy an aluminum or stainless steel reusable water bottle for about $15 and fill with filtered water. Plastic water bottles are convenient and they encourage us to drink more water; so when you have to use plastic—recycle!
So, what about a recycled New Year’s Resolution? Keep it simple; revise as necessary while keeping your eye on what is important. Life is full of unavoidable stress and hazards and the most important part of success is keeping it simple. Sometimes it is the small things that make the biggest impact on our lives and community. If you take the time to relax and enjoy friends and family—I am confident you will enjoy life to the fullest in the New Year.
Howard Baker, RN BSN
For questions, comments, or suggestions on topics you want to read about please email me at: howard@howardsbaker.com
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