Thanks for this list! I think I see a theme here - less shopping (except for necessities) and slowing down to make the process fun.

I'm curious about #7... do you guys actually return books you borrow? I have hundreds of books so friends always end up finding something on my shelf they want to borrow. And I have never, ever gotten a single book back. I'm trying to find a way to turn down borrowing requests without sounding awkward or offensive. "I'm sorry, I don't want to lend any books because I'm sure you're going to be exactly like all the others and basically steal my $80 book." See, that's just not nice to say so I end up "loaning" out my books, some of which are very expensive.

^^^
Oh sorry, I meant #6!

My resolution is also to use less paper towels. Unfortunately I mostly use paper towels to clean because for some reason I am just really grossed out throwing cleaning rags into my washing machine. I don't know why, I really shouldn't!

oh archdarling, I feel your pain. I have tons of books and movies that I lend out but most people are good at giving them back. We just have one friend that we don't allow to borrow ANYTHING from us. I guess it helps that I have a super geeky husband who set up a book/video database for them to sign things out on...

Misterrious, I'm glad I'm not the only one! It's not that I have cr*ppy friends, it's just that there's SOMETHING about books which makes people behave quite liberally in a way they normally wouldn't. I don't know what it is. I lent a new hardcover to a very good friend and she returned it completely chewed up -- by her dog. And she literally didn't mention anything as she handed it to me. A brief look of shock passed across my face and I asked her what happened to it. She said, "Oh, you didn't give it to me that way?" and her face turned bright red. Now I know if I lent this friend a dress, she would never return it with a stain or if she damaged it, she would offer to pay for a replacement even if it was a couple hundred bucks. She's a very decent person, but I guess not when it comes to books! I find that almost all my friends have this attitude. I've lost a few very expensive coffee table books to friends only to find out they're now out of print... sigh.

Regarding #6 - You can also buy books second-hand. Used bookstores tend to be independent establishments. Same with clothing. Consider vintage!

@Archdarling - my solution to that problem is that I make it very clear to my friends that the condition and care of my books is of utmost importance. I will only consider loaning to friends who I know take equal care of their own books (that's only a few people, lol). Most people don't even ask me, because they know how much of a stickler I am. If someone who I don't trust with my books asks to borrow, I just tell them that I don't like to lend them. *Exception - if they're wanting a book that I don't like very much. My close friends who do borrow books from time to time don't go bragging about it, so those people who get told that I don't lend are never the wiser and nobody's feelings are hurt. Maybe they think I'm a nut, but I don't really care, lol.

My eco-resolution is...NO MORE PLASTIC BAGS! Although I use plastic bags to collect garbage and whatnot, I always have a huge surplus at home. So now I will not use any from the grocery store and just use the ones my roommate bring home... :) I am doing good so far!

Archdarling-- if someones asks to borrow a book, just be honest. Perhaps leave out the "stealing" part, but you could say something like "I make a point of only keeping books that are really important to me, so unfortunately I just don't feel comfortable loaning things out." Or make a joke out of it: "All of my books feel like friends. I like seeing them as much as possible and it makes me sad when they disappear."

I've been mostly paper towel free for three years, now. Buy a dozen each of two colors of kitchen towels or wash cloths (not terry). One color is for dishes, the other color is for everything else. That way, I don't use the dog pee/beer spill/windex towels on the dishes. If you can find them, flour sack towels are wonderful. I quarter them to make the size more manageable for small jobs.

I do keep a roll of paper towels around for especially gross (cat barf) or poisonous (oil and grease from my tools) jobs.

I've been paper towel free for about a year consistently now (when I got married, I had a paper towel relapse - he was very used to them for just about everything), and we've switched to using cloth napkins. I have found that the washcloths that I'm using now are far more effective at getting things clean anyway, so it was an easy step!

I'm one of the worst impulse shoppers in the world: My rule is that I have to sleep on it, if I still want it and it's not there when I come back, it wasn't meant to be. The exception is when I'm traveling, but then it has to fit in my carry-on, and I'm strict with the budget.

One of my missions for this year is to garden the hill at my mom's house. It's too steep for grass, and has a lot of water run-off and strong wind, so we have to figure out something for that one.

Archdarling, back in my school days I had hundreds and hundreds of comics that I would loan out frequently. For the most part people always brought them back in a timely fashion but every now and then someone wouldn't. I would suggest just to make it very clear that they have to return it and then pester them about it if they don't and to not loan it out to irresponsible people in the first place.

My main problem with loaning stuff was that some people weren't treating them very well and they came back to me looking completely traumatized. Worse yet when they go and loan them out to other people without asking first. I got a DVD box set back once (after over a year had passed and I'm pretty sure it passed through a lot of hands) just completely wrecked. all the dvds were scratched horribly, and there was trash in every nook and cranny of the thing. I even suspect it was being used as an ash tray at some point. *sigh* I would have demanded they pay for it but it was my sister-in-law so I wasn't allowed to be mean about it. So another rule to go by: Don't loan stuff to people that you can't scold and demand reimbursement from.

@Archdarling the best etiquette advice I ever got was to say something like "I have a policy that I don't loan out my books" or simply "I don't loan books to people". In the past I would have thought that sounded snotty but so many of my "good, reliable" friends never returned books even after I asked them too, so it's perfectly reasonable to say with a smile that you just don't loan them out. And if you do, assume it's a gift to your friend, not a loan.

Recycled paper towels are the way to go for contaminated stuff. It is much better for the environment than virgin paper towels.

I'm so glad my resolution made the cut (I submitted #6)! I have tons and tons of books in my house that I haven't read, so I'm hoping this encourages me to read those books and also to do my part supporting local libraries. I do give myself an one out: if after reading the book, I still feel like I need to own it for future use, I can buy it.

Ditto, thanks for including my comment. Trust me when I say one per month is a REALLY fun way to do it because you can be creative, go shopping (cool travel mug time! fun cotton totes!) and inspire yourself to learn DIY at home. If it fails, there's always January of next year. I started with the easy stuff (buy only shade grown coffee for February, use only cotton totes for March) then harder stuff later (begin compost pile). All except for 2 went really well, and now I'm onto a new year. Nothing you can buy feels better than being a good steward of the planet.

I have vowed to reduce, as much as possible my use of plastics, all synthetic materials really. I can't eliminate all of them but I can certainly keep them to a minimum. As the synthetic materials I own wear out I will replace them with a natural alternative whenever possible.

My ecology-minded resolutions for the year are not as pretty as some. I will be switching the kitty litter from clay to either recycled newspaper or wheat chaff (depends on what the cat likes) and I'll be switching me from tampons to a cup.

Every year I choose a "lazy" environmental resolution - I try something that is so easy I'll definitely stick with it. In the past when I've tried more stringent resolutions, I haven't stuck with them, so I look at the possible resolutions and choose the ones that have the greatest result for the least effort.

@archdarling I have had this problem too, and it's made worse for me by the fact that I frequently forget what I've lent out and to whom. My live has been made much simpler by adding a "Library List" to my documents. In it, I just put the name of the person and what book/movie/whatever they have in it. I've had to gently remind a few people to give things back, but I do get them back this way. I've never had anything returned damaged so far - knock on wood.

Less packaged and processed foods. Goal is to take out the recyclables only once every other month. Getting there - no more canned goods and trying to buy only seasonal foods. Make my own snacks (baked chips) and buy bulk. Documented my goals so now I'm accountable:
http://typearamblings.blogspot.com/2012/01/eating-habits-goal-for-2012.html

In defense of shopping at Amazon (who I do NOT work for). If you can get the product you want from a local and or independent business please do so, but if you find yourself choosing between a big box "mart" and Amazon for a particular product dont hesitate to chose Amazon and don't feel too bad about it. I do have a professional background as a retail store buyer and I can tell you they are far more wasteful establishments and have worse worker policies than Amazon , due impart to their biz model. A retail establishment needs to buy all its product speculatively and to entice spending - the "best" practice means buying more than anticipated demand as running out of something is considered a deadly sin. There is also the "need" to build full enticing displays.This almost always creates waste at sales end and this cost is always built into the retail product price which is why Amazon usually (not always) has a good price. Amazon doesn't need to do this, nor does it have countless retail buildings with their large parking lots and flooding lights everywhere and on all the time. But again prioritize local and independent when you can.

Where's that box/ label from. It's adorable and would love to get my hands on some.

Mine is to shop less at large supermarkets like Tescos (in the uk) and more at farmers markets and independent shops for food.

NEREID, with all due respect, Amazon is a horrible company. ForestEthics gave Amazon an F+ for sustainability, dead last on the list. They use SFI certified which is a fraud label, known to ravage and clear even old growth forests, and they have gps data to back it up. Amazon also makes no effort to put in recycled packaging from what I can see. It's not good enough.

Also Amazon sells civet oil which I suspect is from civets raised in horribly cruel cages.

@archdarling: the way I get over the "icky thing in the washer!" is this -- do I think my washer actually cleans the things I put in it? If not...why do I bother using it? Everything except anything with sewage or dog feces goes in -- those exceptions get the rags/towels I'm about to throw away because they're more hole than rag, and if I don't have any of those, then recycled paper towels. At some point, you just have to have faith in your washer. :) Use vinegar and be not afraid!

EMMI I didnt mean to suggest Amazon was panacea for unethical shopping. The point I was trying to make in my post was that Amazon is preferable to say a Walmart or Kmart. The eco resolution that named Amazon was worded such that it called out that particular company and avowed to source a local alternative. There are times, when a consumer cant find or afford an item through a small local retailer and might turn to a big box to find it. At such times, I humbly suggest one could do worse than amazon (again - think walmart).

Our books are very important to us. My husband's expression is "to keep my books and friends, I never loan one to the other." We will give books away, but not loan them.

Nereid, I totally respect what you're saying. Here's the thing: when people chat about eco-friendly products, we often talk philosophy instead of ecology. The goal is to stop damaging the environment. To do that we must fully understand the impact of say, Amazon or Walmart on a real scientific level. Both are harming the environment in severe ways. If we want to chat and be happy, we can do that. If we want to save the environment and life on Earth from severe harm, we need to do better.