Goals for 2016.

This is just a quick post to set out what goals I have for becoming more sustainable in 2016.  They are:

• Reducing waste.  This is a very vague subject and is something that appears in all areas of life.  I've already been working with this already in a small way by using re-usable bags and bottles, but these are only small things and there is a lot more to do.  The plan is to not only buy less but to buy things with less packaging.  One of the main areas that I want to concentrate this on is food, buying fresh produce with much less packaging.  Which takes me neatly onto....
• Food.  I've been vegetarian for a few years now and I have to admit I've found it very easy to do.  However, looking at the use of dairy in my diet has made me realise that it has the same environmental impact as eating beef and I have been fazing it out.  I have easily swapped dairy milk with coconut milk, but living and cooking for others has meant changing out all dairy has been a little more difficult than I had hoped, and this is something I want to work on this year.  It's also had one very unexpected, but very pleasant result, the great reduction in colds, soar throats, and tonsillitis (which I still get despite having them removed).  I also want to use more fresh produce, greatly reduce the number of processed food being used in the household, and buy more local and/or organic produce.  I also want to greatly reduce (and if I can, completely remove) processed sugar from my diet.  I have realised that I am completely addicted to fizzy drinks and it's time that I dealt with that.  Going to be a busy year on the food front.
• Clothing.  I never was a big buyer of clothes and accessories, but I still own and buy more than I actually need.  I've reduced my clothes down to only the clothes I actually love and wear, and am now working on my jewelry (something that has been a lot harder than I thought it would be).  The plan for 2016 is to only replace items when they get damaged or fall apart and to only replace them with items that are either second hand or ethically sourced, being a mixture of either organic, fair trade, or locally made.  This should be one of the simplest things to do as I'm not going to be buying much this year.
• Beauty products.  I will continue to use up the stash that I have left, concentrating mainly on products produced by companies that test on animals and then by products which contain products I am trying to remove from my beauty stash, such as parabens. I also want to reduce my stash in general and really simplify my regime to the bare basics, as well as having all vegan products in the long run.
• Reduce, reduce, reduce.  I still want to work on reducing what I actually own down to just the items I actually use. This includes all my kitchen goods, stationary (another area where I seemed to buy unnecessarily), books, CDs and DVDs.  I also want to reduce my knickknacks down to the ones I actually love and which I actually have some attachment to.  This will be difficult as almost all were gifts from others.  I will start to pull out the items I have in storage at the moment and will hopefully be able to give that up by the end of the year.
• Employment.  I am employed at the moment, but I would like a job that is in the environmental sector.  This is something that I will work towards over 2016 and will hopefully be fully employed in this field by the end of the year.  Hopefully.