How new is your New Year?

Is your year really a New Year, or is it pretty much the same as your old one?

Last year I discussed SMART New Year's resolutions - so let's check how this year is better than last.

Organic produce - YES!

• Bought organic bananas and apples several times already, although not exclusively due to quality.  
• Bought organic carrots as extra credit (and extra crunch)

Serving wholegrains to family - YES!

• Mixed white and brown rice is acceptable to the white rice lovers - suspicions but no serious complaints
• Wholegrain tortilla wraps went down a treat and may have been more filling
• "Motel porridge" was popular as a shared family breakfast and now we're back at home I'm pushing that tradition for all it's worth

Saving water - YES!

We've had a drought situation in Auckland for late spring and early summer (wouldn't know it from today's floods!)  So I've

• Watered our garden (in buckets) from the dregs of our rain tank and lugged from the backyard paddling pool - this is hard work but I need the exercise anyway, right?
• Turned off the water mid-shower when I don't need it during shampooing and soaping - it's warm enough and you use less soap if it's not being rinsed away as you scrub!  I won't manage this in winter so now is the time to save...

Gardening and growing food - YES!

I'm no food stylist, but this is fresh from the garden!

It wouldn't feed the five hundred or even the family, but it is satisfying to harvest what I've tended.   And the kids love to get involved.

• Tomatoes
• Strawberries
• Beans
• Rhubarb
• Sunburst squash

And I've even learned stuff - now I know that summer squash produce male flowers first and then those die.  (No male performance jokes, please.)  Next are female and male flowers together, and then if the bees are doing their job (or you do it for them), you have a chance at squash.  Even when you see iddle widdle baby squash growing, those still need to get pollinated or they nosedive and rot at about 2cm.

No poo - YES!  Well, less poo..

This refers to avoiding shampoo, not what most of us mothers will immediately think. 

I really like the results of the baking soda/cider vinegar treatment, but it does take longer than using shampoo so sometimes I just reach for the usual bottle.

I also bought some Dr Bronner's soap as a tooth soap (and it's fantastic so long as you only have a couple of drops) but also am using it as a shampoo based on recommendations from some people experimenting with No Poo.  I'm not so happy with it (I struggle to feel squeaky clean even when using a lot) and when I get organised I will get my baking soda/cider vinegar bottles back online.

I've thrown away my commercial deodorant - I find that the splash of cider vinegar works just as well.  Not perfectly during the summer or times of stress!  But if the pits are smelly anyway by the end of the day, I might as well not be paying to use funny chemicals as well.

Decluttering - YES!

One big bag landed at the charity shop this week and I have some smaller bags earmarked for families I know who might be able to use outgrown clothes and surplus toys.

Report Card

Despite returning from our holiday travels feeling exhausted, uninspired, and almost dysfunctional, I'm showing all the classic signs of New Year's Enthusiasm!  Stay tuned...

Some of these changes cost more money and some cost less - I am hoping they will balance out.