green goals in 2009

I was encouraged by this post over at Green Baby Guide to formalize my greening goals for the coming year. These are things I have been thinking about and working towards for a while, but there's something to be said for putting this all into writing.

Some of these things may seem very common sense, but I'm recording them more for my own reference than anything else.

1. Switch to eco-friendly (and kid and pet friendly) household cleaners. I'm using up my stash of the nasty stuff now (I can't waste it!) and will use this post to make my own when they're gone.

2. Walk and use the bus more. Once the weather warms up we'll walk to church, but I also plan to start using the bus for visits to the library and for grocery store runs for just a few items.

3. Buy used. We're going to do a better job frequenting thrift shops and craigslist for needed items.

4. Use the dishwasher and don't pre-rinse! I am bad about rinsing before I put in the dishwasher and that wastes a ton of water! Since I feel the need to pre-clean just a little, I'll run a cup of water and use that water to lightly clean dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. It's a compromise.

5. Be intentional. This is really vague... but I really just want to be more thoughtful about everything that I do. Like really thinking before I throw things away if there are other possible uses and being more creative in how I live to reduce my mark on the environment.

We'll see how it goes...