Okay, it’s March, and since the year is still in its youth, it’s time for me to check in with my resolutions! How’m I doin’ so far? Well, let’s take it one by one:

My first resolution was to spend more time in the great outdoors. I’ll give myself a pat on the back for this one, because so far this year we have been sledding on Mt. Hood, took a trip to the beach and have a waterfall and wildflower hike planned for later this month. The voices in my head are optimistic on our chances for taking advantage of even more outdoor activities once the weather starts warming up.

Resolution number two was to make public transportation our first-choice means of getting around. But if anything, I’ve been driving more, especially if you count the outdoor experiences! And remember Car-Free Tuesday? We’ve fallen off the wagon, again. Although we have at least one day a week when we don’t use the car, we still don’t have a bike, and we haven’t taken the bus for months. On this, we need to do better.

My third resolution was to use less water. I haven’t checked my water bill, but I have sheared many minutes off of my regularly languorous showers, thanks to my new shower timer. I sometimes grant myself more precious gallons to de-stress, but the day-to-day perfunctory shower is down to 7 minutes and counting. Dishwashing is Hova’s job, but the times I rinse I’ve learned to scrape everything off the plate with a scrub brush dipped in a pan of water instead of letting the water run. Hova runs a basin of water for shaving, I only do full loads of laundry, and we all turn the water off while brushing our teeth. I still want to figure out rainwater recycling for the garden, and I’d like to see if I can siphon grey water out of Georgia’s baths for the flower bed right outside the bathroom. So I think we’re doing pretty well on raising our awareness to foster some better water-use habits.

Next up, number four, just like Bill Maher says in this week's LIME video: eat less meat. On this, we can claim success. I have to admit, though, it’s not because of the environmental costs of meat production or for health reasons, but simply because we’re tightening our belts these days. We’re eating a lot more rice and beans, and whole-wheat pasta and eggs, and beans and pasta, and rice and eggs, and, well, you get the idea. I am so disgusted by the idea of factory-farmed meat that for years I’ve said I’d eat a burger only if I know my cow. That became easier as more cows were humanely raised, and even though the price was higher, meat went back on our table. But now we eat less meat because we just can’t afford to "know our cow."

So we come to the last resolution: to organize and simplify. We get a big, fat F for our efforts. I see no way to get a handle on this one, and our life continues to pile up around us. The only way things get clean is if we are having company, but even then we have to go for the “illusion of clean” — dumping the piles into a box to be dealt with later. Heaven forbid there is something important in there (like, say, the tax bill) that we might have to dig through and find in a month. It’s a stressful way to live, especially since in our minds, both Hova and I live in pristine Swedish-designed structure and organization. But our reality is far more rusting-Pinto-on-cinderblocks. Help!

At least it’s only March. We haven’t made great strides in all of our resolutions, but I still have hope. Bit by bit we can make changes that will help do our part to save this earth of ours — and maybe even spare our sanity too.