Living Better in 2010

Looking back at my goals from last year, I can say that I did a pretty decent job with them. I planted my BIG garden, read some gardening books, and set up my bulletin board. All of which have been great "investments." As far as meal planning, I would say I get that done 75% of the time. Things go better when I plan, but it doesn't always get done. I did form a cleaning schedule, and liked having it as a guide, and not a strict schedule. Since I have moved, I haven't written a new one, so it has fallen to the wayside. One of the best cleaning routines I have established is to clean up the family room with my daughter before bed. I tell her she is going to go nite-nite so the toys do to. We put them in their beds (containers). We don't do it every night, but it's a huge help for me when we do. The family room is where we are all the time, and if her toys are everywhere (which is pretty much everyday) we all have to step on her mess. Ouch! I don't feel like I'm any more patient that last year. How does one get more patient anyway? I know my daughter has given me plenty of opportunties this year, but I don't feel like it's helped much. Will have to keep pondering and post another day about that one.

So, here's my list for this year:
Ecological - 8 repurposing projects, a trash analysis, attempt to do sprouts at home (pea and bean sprouts), and get my tomato and pepper starts going at home
Personal - organize my closet, and our attic space upstairs into a useable space, do another cleaning schedule
Family Health - prepare more smoothies, walk daily (or almost daily) once it gets nice enough, continue with meal planning
Spiritual - consistantly keeping a time before bed for prayer/meditation in order to maintain my center

What are your Living Better goals for 2010?

Living Better in 2009 - A List

So here is my list in progress of things I would like to try in 2009 to better our lives:

Ecological Goals:
1. Garden - I REALLY want a nice garden this year, but have you seen my backyard, I mean patio? After last year's failed attempt (the storm battered it to pieces, see pic), I think I will try to get involved in a community garden this summer. There's nothing better than fresh, local, organic produce that you planted!

2. Read a few books. Probably Food, Not Lawns, Intro to Permaculture, and Affluenza...This list is subject to change.

Personal
- I feel like I need some organization, so I have a new bulletin board that I will use to organize meals, cleaning, bills, to do list, etc.

Family Health
- Meal planning, at least a general idea of what I want to eat to help me when I shop, and add some creativity to meals around here. I'm sick of the same things, and if I plan, I'm sure we will eat healthier. We usually try to eat healthy, but if I don't plan, we just eat whatever, sometimes healthy, sometimes not.

Spiritual
- I need to practice more patience. I thought I was a pretty patient person, being a teacher and a wife(hee, hee), but having a daughter has required a whole new level of patience, and sometimes I find my frustration gets the best of me. Sometimes I take a deep breath, and another, and it's still not enough. Like the time I'm cleaning up a big diaper mess, only to find my daughter eating remains of a mango from the trash can (who knows what else it was touching, yuck!), then I try to get her interested in something else, so I can finish, only to find her eating yet something else from the trash! Ahhh, life with a toddler can be trying.

Those are my ideas on Living Better in 2009. What does your list look like?

Living Better in 2009

Are you making any New Year's Resolutions this year? One thing I like about the New Year is that it provides a chronological date to start fresh or try something new. I find it beneficial to reflect over the past year and think of how I would like to change. I have been debating over what to call them...resolutions? goals?...neh. They are more like my ideas on how I can live better. Maybe I'll call it my Living Better List. Some are things I might want to try, and see how they work for our family. So far I've just identified a few categories with some brainstormed ideas in each. My categories:

Ecological choices - Don't we all have something we could do to make us better stewards of this planet?
Personal - What do you want to do different for yourself?
Family Health - How can I improve my family's health this year?
Spiritual - What attitudes or choices do I need to change?

I will let you know when my list is finalized. Do you have a Living Better List? What kind of changes would you like to make this year? Go ahead, post a comment and share...