#reverb10 Prompt, Day 18: Try (late)

What do you want to try next year? Is there something you wanted to try in 2010? What happened when you did/didn't go for it?
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Image: Sujin Jetkasettakorn
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I want to be more conscious about how I take care of myself and my family, as well as how I take care of the earth. I try to be conscious about what I put into my body (food, medicines), and I try to be conscious about being somewhat "green," but I'm not as eco-friendly as I'd like to be.

Next year, I want to make a conscious effort to get to a more natural lifestyle, and not just by buying organic foods.

Food


I am going to try and incorporate a more earth-friendly menu for my family. We're going to start eating less processed foods, and organic when we can. We're going to eat seasonally and, when possible, locally.

I'm blessed to be in an area that has lots of farmers' markets, and I want to take advantage of them.

In addition, I'm trying to gravitate toward a vegetarian lifestyle. I don't eat much meat to begin with, so it wouldn't be a big shock to my system to move to a meat-free diet. But I do feel it's a positive step for me. My sister-in-law is an environmentalist (she'd make a great activist/advocate), and has pointed me in the right direction for a lot of information I've been seeking. As a result, I just don't like eating meat.

Of course, I can't force that lifestyle on my whole family, but Hubby has agreed to one meatless day a week (to start), which I'll take as a positive step.

Household Products


I also want to start using natural cleaning products at home. When I think about all the chemicals I expose myself and my family to every day by keeping our home clean, it worries me (especially being pregnant!). By using natural cleaning products, we'll all be exposed to far less chemicals, and be healthier.

Clothing


Believe it or not, there are chemicals in clothing, too! In dyes and in the materials that make synthetic fabrics. So as I start acquiring my post-pregnancy wardrobe (because, let's face it, I need new clothes), I'm going to buy natural fabrics dyed with natural dyes. (For example, I already have a skirt that uses vegetable dyes on all-natural fabric.)

Environment


I also plan to try and spend more time in nature. I always feel better when I take time to breath fresh air, to feel the sunshine, and to get to see the trees and animals in my area. So 2011 will be a year of much more time outdoors.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'm a bit of a hippie. Big whoop. Wanna fight about it?