2010 - A Year of New (hopefully better) Challenges!

I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am to say goodbye to 2009. It was not the greatest year for me in a number of ways and I am looking forward to a fresh start.

Naturally, things don't change overnight. The date on the calendar does but the rest takes more time.

I fully admit to being a procrastinator. It sometimes gets me into trouble. I get the important things done in a timely manner, but the rest... well, it gets done. I'm not a fan of housecleaning. My mom is a neat freak and my dad has even followed suit. I am not. I will never have a pristine home because it actually makes me feel uncomfortable. My home needs to look lived in. I suppose it doesn't need to look like the Tasmanian Devil whirled his way through, but oh well.

I refuse to make traditional New Years resolutions. They don't work. Instead, I reflect on the year or years past and think about what I want for the future year and years. This year especially, I feel that it's important to figure out what I do want and need in my life and what I don't.

One goal that I need to step up is getting rid of all the extra "stuff" I don't need. I have been working slowly away at it but have also been procrastinating. I managed to take 3 big bags of clothing in to Goodwill. I still have a couple bags of toys because I missed the Santa's Anonymous deadline. I'll have to find another charity to donate them to or something. The ultimate goal is to go through everything I own and either throw it out, keep it, give it away, or sell it.

I've decided that I need to eat better. Convenience food is not as convenient in the long term as it is in the short term. Besides, with my soy allergy I can't eat most of it without seriously suffering. Ultimately this allergy has taught me that if manufacturers unnecessarily put soy in their products, what other crap is in there that I don't need that could be making me sick? Somehow I don't even want to know. I just can't be passive about all the chemicals and crap that I've been blindly ingesting for years. If I make it myself, I know what's in it. I want to make even more of an effort to buy local and organic food whenever possible.

By making my own food I will also be cutting down on waste. If I'm not tearing open a package for every meal, that makes a difference. I already feel guilty if I forget to pack my own bags when I go to the store. I won't go grocery shopping without my own bags and often use the self-checkouts, too. I like to carry at least one bag with me at all times in case I end up going to the drug store or something.

I've started looking for shared accommodation. This is the first step for me to reduce my living costs (aside from making food) and becoming more location independent. If I only have a bedroom, I can only have enough stuff for a bedroom. I will need to get rid of a lot of stuff. Eventually, I'd like to get to the point where I only need a suitcase or two.

For long term living, I must say that I struggle a bit. I'd really like to have my own home where I can keep familiar things and return to. I do like things but am not the type to go out and buy the biggest, fastest, latest, most expensive of everything. I enjoy simple pleasures. I'd love to build some sort of earthship home that is totally sustainable and off the grid. That would be ideal. I'd also love to live in some sort of sustainable home in the mountains with a hot tub in the back so I could look up at the stars at night. These seem to be more like ten or more years down the road. I still like the idea of getting a converted van or a B-Class motorhome with solar power. I also want to travel the world and spend time living in different countries.

Today I had a brainwave and luckily also had my notebook nearby. I've decided to start a new website. I've just made a skeleton of it so far so I won't post any details just yet. I've also got a lot of leg work to do to get things rolling. I'm hoping it will be the start of something successful - finally.