What are your less waste resolutions?

Happy holidays everyone! I don’t know about you but during seasons of giving, I am caught in an inner struggle. There is a part of me that wants to buy new and pristine gifts and the other that wants to use what I have and create gifts more sustainably. Truth be told, both parts of me end up winning. I’m making gifts for friends and family but also boxes fromAmazon arrive at our door, seemingly daily, for me to open and then wrap what is inside. (Side note, have you all read about Amazon teaming up with Goodwill?! You can fill your empty Amazon boxes with goods to donate and mail them in for free!) With all of this going on, it makes me pause to consider some of my less waste resolutions for the new year. I have found it’s always helpful for me to start a list before January 1 so I can hit the ground running.

Here are a few that I will be working toward:
1. Use up what we have- example, Andrew and I will be taking the month of January to create meals by emptying out our pantry and freezer. (Blech. I’m dreading this.)
2. Don’t buy from Amazon first- I will take time to scour craigslist, thrift stores, consignment shops, etc. before purchasing from Amazon. (I was able to buy all of those things in the picture that I needed/wanted from a resale shop. A small rolling pin for Lucy, a stovetop espresso maker, cheese grater, and canning funnel, which leads me to my next resolution…)
3. Can SOMETHING! Anything! Preferably homemade pasta sauce.
4. Plant a garden, whatever the size.
5. Make a braided bread loaf. Preferably brioche.
6. Attempt to make my own pasta.
7. Cook more vegetarian meals and maybe more seasonally, too?
8. Find a more eco friendly way to floss that will still make me want to floss. So obviously, this immediately rules out horse hair.
9. If I buy clothing/wares, try to buy from companies that support sustainable practices and to pause before purchasing to make sure my purchases are quality material, won’t be thrown out any time soon, are pleasing to look at and can I really not use something I already have to serve the same purpose, i.e. Did I “shop the house” first?
10. Not buy more things in general.

This is not my completed list but it’s what I have noted so far. This past year I was able to check quite a few of my less waste resolutions off of my list and I’m hoping this next year will bring even more.

So how about you? Maybe you will utilize your library more often? Or make more food from scratch? I would love to hear some of your less waste resolutions for the new year.

Hope you enjoy the holidays wherever you are and whoever you’re celebrating them with. I will see you in 2017!