Hey earth muffins! I can’t believe 2021 is almost over. π This year has been full of a lot of life changes for me, from a new job to buying my very first home. I am excited to see what lies ahead in 2022! Last year, I shared all the reasons why you should go green in 2021. If that post didn’t convince you to start on an eco journey, I hope this post will do the trick! This is the season of making New Year’s Resolutions, so I challenge you all to add “be more eco-friendly” to your list. Here are 5 ways to be more sustainable in the new year!
*Evaluate your current eco journey!
The end of a year is the perfect time to reflect back on what areas you found success in your eco journey. I personally love to sit down with my journal before a new year and write out every success and failure. It is a great way to visually see a list of where you are struggling. Plus, you can look back on this list throughout 2022 to remind yourself as well. In order to be more eco-friendly in the new year, it is important to first evaluate how far you have come.
*Make yourself a plan
Once you have evaluated your progress, make yourself an “improvement plan” for the upcoming year. I suggest picking three goals for yourself: an easy, medium, and hard goal. The easy goal can be anything from signing up for my newsletter to get eco tips sent to your inbox every month or watching a green documentary on Netflix. Medium goals are more long term and can revolve around changing a habit into something more sustainable. Lastly, the “hard” goal should be one that will take a bit more work to improve your eco journey. Having three goals of various difficulty will allow you to be successful and not fall off your New Year’s Resolution after a couple of weeks.
*Think about reducing your meat consumption
Like I mentioned in my recent post about more ways to be sustainable, reducing your meat consumption is an easy thing to help out the planet. There seem to be more meatless options on the market every day, so why not try to reduce your meat consumption in 2022?? This can be a medium or hard goal in your 2022 plan depending on how much meat you want to give up. Veganuary starts in a couple days, so look for some posts about plant-based diets in the future! π
*Check your budget and find categories to reduce your spending
Being an accountant by day, I love to budget my personal finances. I look at my budget at the end of every month; at year-end, I love to do calculations to see my average spending habits in certain categories. I highly recommend you do something similar, as it can help you be more eco-friendly in 2022. Once you evaluate how much money you spend in certain categories, set goals for yourself to reduce your spending in areas of your life (aka eating out, toiletries, etc.). This will reduce your overall consumption, which is always good for Mother Earth.
*Once you complete goals, choose new ones!
Your eco journey should always be improving throughout the new year. After you set your three goals and accomplish them, don’t think you are off the hook just yet! I suggest putting reminders in your calendar every couple of months to re-look at your 2022 goals. At these points in the year, take time to think about if you are seeing success towards these goals. If you are, great! Time to pick some new ones. π If you aren’t, adjust and adapt so that you will find success in the future.
Final Thoughts on How to Be More Eco-Friendly in the New Year
2022 is going to be a great year, so it is important to think about how to be more eco-friendly before it starts! If you aren’t following Life of an Earth Muffin, I highly suggest it. I can definitely help you on your eco journey π Before 2021 ends, take time to reflect on this year. Set some goals for yourself with various levels of difficulty so that you won’t burn yourself out a couple weeks into the new year. Try things like reducing your meat consumption or spending habits. And don’t forget to constantly evaluate your progress throughout 2022! What are your New Year’s Resolutions this year? Comment below and let me know how you plan on being more eco-friendly in the upcoming year!
Love,
Jenna β₯
These are wonderful suggestions! I hope that you have a fantastic 2022 <3