Yeah, the headline’s a little awkward, but after the long, cold winter we’ve had, can you blame me for being a little punchy?
Yesterday we had a real taste of spring; the high temperature in Madison was a balmy 61 degrees. I took the dogs for a walk and actually broke a sweat wearing just jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and an insulated vest—no hat, no gloves, no scarf. It was glorious.
Another sign of spring—I can see the tulips peeking up through the dirt in my flowerbeds, which always makes me happy.
Yes, it’s very likely we’ll get another snowstorm before spring has officially sprung (or even after), but the occasional warm and sunny day like yesterday is enough to keep me focused on the positive.
Over the next few months, in addition to spring cleaning, I also plan to do some spring sustainability-ing—finding new ways to help us live well on less money, and starting new habits that will reduce our impact on the environment.
To live sustainably is to live with kindness. Cultivating kindness, along with compassion and empathy, is key to finding happiness—kindness to ourselves, to others, and to the earth.
Here are my spring sustainability-ing projects for 2011. What are yours?
- Start a vegetable garden. We’re going to start small, with a 4 ft. by 4 ft. raised bed and some beans or peas on trellises. Neither of us is very handy when it comes to building, so we plan to use raised bed corners to ensure our garden is square and secure.
- Landscape the yard—for free. When we bought the house last year, the landscape was badly neglected. Huge, overgrown shrubs dominated the front and back yards, and the flowerbeds were mostly weeds. With most of that cleared out, I’m starting nearly from scratch. I want to use native plants, and my goal is to get as much as I can for free, from friends, neighbors, and family.
- Ditch the toxic laundry detergent. Store-bought laundry soap is loaded with chemicals. Homemade laundry soap cleans clothes just as well, is non-toxic, and costs just pennies per load. I’ve made it in the past but got out of the habit when I lived in a small condo with no laundry room and little storage space. Now I have no excuses. I found this simple recipe for homemade washing powder on the Low Impact Betty blog.
- Bike to the grocery store. This year I want to use my car less often, in favor of foot or pedal power. The grocery store is less than a mile from the house and we have a bike trailer. Now that the snow is gone, I want to try biking to the store instead of driving, saving gas and increasing my activity level.
- Continue with Project 333. Phase 3 of the minimalist wardrobe challenge starts April 1, are you in? This will be my third, three-month stint in Project 333. It’s taught me so much about building a practical, functional, and fun wardrobe. Here’s how to get started.
How about you? Have you thought about ways to live more sustainably this year? I’d love to hear about them. Share your spring sustainability-ing projects in the comments below.
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Good ideas all Cheryl! I can’t do the veggie garden but may do some container gardening and am signing up for a CSA share to get me in the habit of eating better and eating locally.
I just got my bike tuned up and am ready to ride. After my butt is acclimated, I’m going to try riding to work a few days a week. It’s about 12 miles round trip and mostly all scenic bike trail.
Not sure I’m up to making my own detergent, but I’m going to look into alternatives. I don’t use softeners or dryer sheets and my laundry comes out fine. I do miss being able to hang my laundry outdoors.
If I could admit to myself I won’t be losing tons of weight any time soon, I could ditch a lot of my skinny clothing. Ditching it means admitting defeat. And if I did lose weight after the purge, I would have to buy an all-new wardrobe at Goodwill – not something I’d look forward to. What to do, what to do?
I think you’ll like the CSA. We had a little trouble keeping up with all the lettuce but in general we loved it. Everything was so fresh and delicious.
I disagree that ditching your so-called skinny clothing means admitting defeat. It means accepting (and loving) yourself the way you are today. I know you don’t like shopping for clothes, though, so I understand.
Good luck with the bike commute to work, it should be a nice ride.
Great ideas!! I’m planning to start a potted vegetable garden on my second-floor patio this year, as well as a compost bin! I’m also doing the next part of Project 333 but have yet to go through my wardrobe. Will probably do a lot of this over spring break (which comes the last week of March). Let us know how everything goes for you!
I had a container garden when I lived in a condo. I tried a compost bin too but I couldn’t get it working properly. Now, with a yard, we have access to more “browns” like leaves and grass clippings. I’m looking forward to having a garden but the chipmunk population is insane in this neighborhood. The dogs don’t seem to deter them one bit!
We’re going to start a garden this year, too, we just have to narrow down the long list of things we’d like to plant
I know, it’s hard to decide. I think I’ll stick with things that are easy to freeze/preserve.
I’d really love to start my own garden, but all I thin I can grow right now are herbs inside. Potatoes have to be in the ground, tomatoes need space, and green onions also need room.
I’d also probably need a balcony and to stop moving so much
(19 times in 2010).
Perhaps once I’m in a sunnier place.
Tomatoes can do really well in containers if you can find a place for them. But you are right, they need a lot of sun. Wow, 19 moves in 2010? Moving is such a chore, even if you don’t have much stuff. I hope we don’t have to move again for a loooong time. Thanks for reading!