Eco Comment – Resolutions for a New Year

This comment is a rather late start to the New Year, which is already 10 days old by the time you read it. I hope that you all enjoyed the festivities and managed a break from everyday working. I’m also wondering just how many of you made resolutions but have already fallen by the wayside on those promises that you valiantly made on the 1st January? I suppose it depends on the resolution.  

I decided that I really had to do something about the amount of ‘stuff’ that is in my house. It’s something that I’ve supposedly been working on since I retired. I started quite well and did the kitchen cupboards and the living room. I sorted out so much of my wardrobe and culled some of the books but, and it’s a big but, I didn’t stop buying.  

The crunch came over Christmas when my younger son was cooking. He complained bitterly about the amount of space he had to work in. I responded by saying that he was used to working in a commercial kitchen and that I had cooked for more people than he was having to do in the small space that is my kitchen. But, it did make me think especially as I’d treated myself to a proper air fryer and it takes up quite a lot of room. Changes had to be made. Creating space in one place necessitated rethinking cupboards which I realised had become cluttered in the years since I last had a sort out.  I don’t bother too much about sell by dates on the whole but thought that an unopened packet of Turkish tea dated 1999 had possibly reached the end of its useful life. So, feeling quite guilty at wasting something that might have been ok, it went in the bin.  

Work continues and so far my resolution to throw away, donate or sell at least one item per day is still going strong. This morning alone has provided me with 15 items thrown away and the promise to buy the more expensive brands of herbal tea that each come individually sealed, eight items for the charity shop and one for possibly selling on a local recycling site. 

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, but sometimes things have got to get to such a point before we respond in a positive way. The world’s response to climate change and global warming, not to mention the threats to ourselves and nature, have possibly reached such a point. Even trying to do one small thing each day that might help our world has got to be a positive step, but it’s one that’s a necessity for everyone. Possibly you’ve tried – and continue to try – to do your bit for the environment. We find ourselves in uncertain times due to so many factors that it’s tempting to trash our resolutions in the same way as those unattainable ones made by so many at the New Year. My plea to you all is that you try to do that one thing extra every day. Steady and slow wins the race. Hopefully, your daily efforts will give us all the impetus to carry on. Then when we get to 31st December 2025 we can all give ourselves a big pat on the back. We did it. Together we kept that resolution and in our own small way affected the change we wish for. 

Susan Morgan
Eco Group