Last year, the Green Options writers shared their New Year’s Resolutions. In the course of the year, our blog network has grown and grown and grown.

This year I decided to continue the tradition by asking the writers at Eco Child’s Play to share their green resolutions for 2009.

Here’s what a few of our writers shared:

• Jessica  Gottlieb

I’m only walking the grocery store in 2009. Driving meant that I could pile more in my car that we’d needed to consume, and, of course, I was in the car.  Less stuff will come in or I’ll get stronger. Whole Foods is a half a mile away, and I run marathons so it’s inexcusable that I’d drive there.

• Jamie Ervin and The Polka Dot Family

Our green New Years Resolution is to grow and preserve enough food to carry our family through next winter. Our family also hopes to continue spreading the “green love” through outreach, education and implementation of change, especially in our local schools and among our neighbors.  We hope to continue growing little green people who have a strong social conscious. Most of all, our family resolves to keep living green one step at a time!
Jamie has also written about her New Year’s resolution to make soap!

• Summer Minor

My resolution is to use my reusable shopping bags more often. I am always forgetting to toss them in my purse before I go shopping and end up using the store’s bags. I want to make it more of a habit to use my bags when I go to the store.

• Kristen Chase

We’re going to compost! Never tried it but now’s a good time to start.

• Susie Kim

That’s ours too! We are going to start composting. I am going to start with squiggly worms though. Last time I tried to compost was a disaster. Happy Holidays everyone!

• Tina Casey

My resolution is to bring more plants to the office.  Right now I’m having great success with rosemary, sage, and oregano at my desk.  Next step is to get a peace lily or some other oxygen-happy plant.  Can’t keep plants around the house due to frisky cats (and forgetfulness about watering), so might as well green up the workspace.

• Katy Farber

Hmmmm– green resolutions. I haven’t really thought much past simplifying Christmas. I’m finding no matter how we say it (for the last two years), my mother in law still gets the girls toys made in China. Tonight my daughters were given a Melissa and Doug puzzle that tests positive for lead (on the healthytoys.org site) and a spinning bug music box whose close relation (ducks) testing positive for lead as well.  My resolution was simple:  to not by any children’s products all year that were made in China.  And I haven’t.  But they keep coming to us from family.  Resolution?  My husband to have a difficult conversation with his mom.
Other than that, I need to start composting again after the snow plow ran over our compost bin last year.  I need a new system.  I’m also planning a garden this year in a better location for more bounty, and I’ll try to prep and freeze food for the winter.

• Derek Markham

I resolve to:
pay more attention to the needs of friends, family, and community
perfect my sourdough bread making skills
learn more “old” skills, like canning/preserving
make big strides toward our off-grid dream homestead (sink a well, build a better road)
help other families transition to a greener lifestyle
finish knitting the hat I started 3 years ago

• Jennifer Lance

This was my New Year’s resolution from last year:

To waste less food from the garden by putting up more food for the winter (canning, freezing, dehydrating, etc.) and giving extra food to the needy. I grow a ton of food organically, but I fail miserably at using it all or giving enough of it away, thus much of it ends up as compost.

Unfortunately, my resolution for 2009 hasn’t changed much from 2008.  Due to a summer of smoke from the California wildfires, my garden suffered immensely.  This year, I hope the air will be fresh, and I can expand what I grow a year’s supply of for our family, which this year was just garlic and onions. I did can strawberry jam, but that only lasted a month.
My only additional resolution for 2009 is to take my kids camping and backpacking.  Living in the mountains and hiking every day makes it easy to just enjoy our neighborhood and not explore, but my kids need to experience sleeping under the stars in other wildernesses too!  Oh yea, and Derek reminds me…I need to finish knitting that sweater I started for my daughter seven years ago (I hope it fits my son).

Image: ronnie44052 on Flickr under a Creative Commons License