consumerism

Less Waste + Consumerism

I’ve had lots of little steps of progress in this one. It’s still clunky, but our recycling system (storing in the garage and driving it ourselves to the facility) at home has improved to a sustainable point. It no longer causes a lot of tension between my wife and me.

We have started saving food scraps (potato peels, etc.) in a gallon-size Ziploc bag in the freezer, then we turn it into the veggie broth in the Instant Pot when it’s full. That not only reduces how much broth we buy (i.e. packaging and transportation), but it also gives the scraps a second life and starts the decomposition process, reducing volume and lifecycle in the trash process.

I’ve repurposed a lot of wood this year, too. I have bought some tools like a jigsaw and a crowbar to tear down pallets, I took apart someone’s mantle that they were throwing away (one could even say I “dismantled” it 😏), and we’ve upcycled some things people were throwing out. My wife and I have worked as a great team!

In our little military community, everyone is so transient that people throw away a lot of good stuff. We found some wood-and-metal barstools that we upcycled for our home, as well as some wooden chairs and a Step2 plastic kitchen set. In fact, we gifted them the upcycled kitchen set (wife’s idea!), and we wrapped the rest of the girls’ Christmas presents in brown paper, which we then recycled.

I would say we’ve also been more deliberate in what we purchase. We canceled our Amazon subscription last year, and we’ve been looking to support small/local businesses more. I admit, though, that we started using Amazon Prime again since we splurged on Christmas to get two expensive gifts using our credit card rewards points 🥸

Another point, and I won’t get too political, is that in the 2020 election, I paid particular attention to how candidates at all levels spoke about the environment and climate change. That may be the single most important issue to me as a voter. In fact, in an episode of the podcast Bill Gates and Rashida Jones Ask Big Questions, Bill suggests that on an individual level, there is perhaps nothing as effective as voting in those who will be stewards of the environment, because it is at a government level that these changes need to happen.

Start Another Revenue Stream

I have loved the weekly emphasis on this goal. I’ve worked to make it happen, and I just had too much competing for my time this year. Plus I need a good idea, right?

I’ve riffed on a few possibilities with my brother-in-law, but none of them panned out. It was still a great exercise, though.

I did stumble into something that I think will work, and while it isn’t launched yet, I do have a logo and a domain name. I’m working on building a simple website and determining which products (I’m narrowing designs down) I will make. I’ve built some prototypes though, so it’s legitimately coming along!

In summary, I do not have another source of revenue, but I’ve laid the groundwork to make it happen in 2021! 🤨

Deliberate Caffeine Consumption

I didn’t make much progress on this goal. I teetered on and off of caffeine. My best streak without caffeine was while I attended a three-week military course where I didn’t have access to any caffeine. I still use my “drink packets” (e.g. Dragon Fruit) and drink yerba mate, although here in Alabama, it always feels too hot to drink mate.

I do, however, feel like caffeine consumption is directly tied to my periodic moodiness and irritability, so it will remain something I monitor in 2021.

Focus on My 5 Fs

Family

This was a steep learning curve and one that I still don’t feel “done” with. Naturally, you can’t “win” at marriage or parenting, so there isn’t a box to check saying things are up to par, but being intentional has made a difference.

My wife and I have tried to be more deliberate about a weekly marriage meeting. We’ve tried to go on dates, although COVID and kids at home have made that significantly more complicated.

With the girls, I’m trying to find things to do with them. We watched a rocket launch on TV, we’ve gone on walks or bike rides, we’ve played restaurant, etc. I’m trying to find things the girls can do with me that help us connect. I’ve watched some cartoons with them that I enjoy (e.g. Star Wars, Avatar, etc.), we’ve tried drawing together, I got some games through Steam that I grew up playing (Freddi Fish, Pajama Sam, Putt-Putt, etc.), and I’ve had the older of the two help with building projects.

Faith

Incidentally, we haven’t been to church just about all year, so this one was a particularly difficult goal. We’ve been having church on our own at home nearly all year, and we only recently started participating via Zoom with our local congregation. Admittedly, I have liked the autonomy.

I’ve been writing faith-based essays to study topics more deeply. I also invited a friend to study the same topic together each week followed by a discussion on Sunday. We’ve only done it twice so far (we started the last week of 2020), but it is already going much better for me to be able to study with a purpose.

Finance

This is the most money we’ve ever had. I finished paying off my student loans, so we are finally completely debt-free. We also don’t worry about money right now, and I’m trying not to take it for granted and still be frugal.

We’ve got some potentially big purchases coming up, so we’re mapping things out. We need to revisit our budget, too. This year, we move back to Colorado (significantly higher cost of living), and Shalene starts her graduate degree.

Fitness

Wow has this one has slipped. I thought I would surely keep up on my fitness as I have for the past several years, but the constantly fluctuating schedule that accompanies flight school has wreaked havoc on my routines. Fitness has been extremely difficult to pin down on when exactly I will exercise.

I purchased a year-long subscription to BeachBody, knowing that I can commit to the Insanity workouts. That’s been good for cardio/HIIT. I haven’t been as good about running (pace-wise, not consistency), but I am starting to get back into the gym to lift.

Flight

I went from not flying to flying, so goal complete! In all seriousness, though, I need to figure out a rhythm for studying and staying on top of my responsibilities.

Draw + Share 12 Drawings I’m Proud Of

I intended on one drawing per month. That did not happen, and I’m left cramming many of the drawings at the end. That pressure, though, helped me overcome the immense mental barrier brought on by the difference in where I want to be artistically and where I currently am. I actually think the burden of drawing last-minute helped, and I look forward to drawing regularly now as opposed to procrastinating and building it up in my mind as overwhelming.

Wow, okay—hold the phone. I went through my two sketch-books, and best I can tell, I already have a bunch of drawings, and I need to give myself more credit 😱 I’ve been more productive than I thought! I can spend the last few days of the year sketching some new things and polishing up some older drawings, getting them posted rather than stressing!

The biggest “win” from this goal was rediscovering my love for drawing (and comics). I plan on doing this much more regularly 🙂 

Here’s a list of my drawings with links to DeviantArt, where I posted them: