The start of a new year always awakens a new determination in me.  It’s a chance to start fresh, to get back on track, and to forge ahead with becoming the person I want to be.

In past years, I’ve always set out to make a list of New Year’s Resolutions.  If I didn’t make a point to review them periodically, I would get to the end of the year and discover that I didn’t accomplish anything I’d set out to do at the beginning.  Not fun.

Last year, I decided to apply a theme to my year.  The idea was that I could keep my theme in mind throughout the year and measure if what I was doing helped or hindered my theme.  I found this approach to be a very good way for me to stay focused on what was important to me.  It allowed me to craft a series of goals throughout the year that applied to the theme.  It also allowed me to let go of the things that didn’t fit into the theme.  No more stressing over 1,000 little goals – Just one focus that covered all aspects of my life.

Last year’s theme was “Less is more.” and I spent the year decluttering, cleaning out, and saying “No” to over-extending myself.  My theme led me to focus more on experiences and less on stuff.   It was a year that was filled with accomplishment and contentment.

This year, I’m going to follow a new theme.  This new theme fits with my “Less is More” theme and fits well with some of the writing I want to do here on the blog.

The theme for the year:  “Live greener.”

My plan is to make small adjustments throughout the year that will prove to be more environmentally friendly and cost-effective than what I’ve been doing.

For those of you who may be concerned, I assure you that I have no plans of becoming a crazy, crunchy hippie who lives off the land and wears skirts I’ve woven out of hemp.  I’m too much of a moderate for that.

My mission is to be more aware of how my choices impact the environment and to make corrections to benefit the environment and my wallet in a way that works for my family.  There’s a lot I don’t do now that I could be doing that would save a lot of money and help me live greener – simple things like making sure I always use reusable bags, buying more secondhand goods instead of new, reducing consumer waste, and making better food choices.

I hope you’ll join me in this venture, as I think this theme is one we all could work at.

Do you make New Year’s resolutions?  Or do you pick a theme? Regardless of what you do, I wish you all the best on your goals for the new year!