Sometimes new year’s goals don’t have to be grand accomplishments that takes months of prep and work. While I do have New Year’s resolutions, I also like to compile a list of smaller and more easily achievable things to do throughout the year.
Last year I created a generic (not specifically green related) list of things to do in 2021, and on free afternoons or weekends I referred to the list as a guide for what I can fill my time with. This year, I wanted to create a list of 40 green things to do over the span of 2022! These are activities that either beneficial to the environment, growth in my green journey, or appreciation of the world/ environment around me.
I hope to refer to this list throughout the year and keep track of what I accomplished. At the end of the year, I will look back on what I was able to check off and speak more on my experiences with the specific activities.
Here is my list of 40 green things to do in 2022:
- Participate in a trash cleanup opportunity
- Donate to a green charity
- Talk to a family member/ friend about green lifestyle practices
- Acquire a full outfit from the thrift store/ secondhand store
- Have a plastic free week
- Try out a new green cleaning practice
- Help fix up my family’s garden using items from the side of the road
- Bike to get groceries/ run errands
- Go vegan for a week
- Prepare a whole vegan meal for my family
- Prepare a whole meal for my family using only local ingredients
- Eat at a restaurant that uses local ingredients
- Start a garden (even a small one such as an herb garden)
- Grow my own flowers and gift them to someone
- Visit a physical zero waste/ bulk items store
- Create an eco-friendly kit and put it in my car (Tupperware – for takeout, reusable utensils, cloth napkins, metal straws, reusable grocery bag, etc.) so that I have them readily available
- Read a book about green living/ lifestyles
- Read a book about environmental intersectionality
- Read a book about how politics shape the environmental movement
- Go on a hike in a new location
- Do an overnight camping trip, minimizing waste as much as possible
- Learn how to sew
- Do a thrift flip for a wardrobe item
- Make your Halloween costume from thrifted materials/ items you already own
- Carve a (locally grown) pumpkin, compost when done!
- Make my own Christmas cards from repurposed materials
- Create some compostable/ eco-friendly Christmas décor
- Gift something local to a friend or family member
- Learn the names of and be able to identify 5 different species of native plants in my area
- Plant at least one of those species in my yard
- Attend a yard sale
- Take a cold shower
- Post something on my personal social media sharing a green lifestyle practice I am doing
- Figure out a green option for my box of old t-shirts
- Find a package free toothpaste option that works for me
- Find a package free face wash option that works for me
- Mend the hole in my green cardigan (that has been there for over a year now)
- Watch a nature documentary
- Watch a documentary about the environment
- Discover and listen to a new podcast on environmentalism
Use this as inspiration to create your own list of green activities to do throughout the year!