Goals for 2008

I've been mulling over a list of goals for this coming year during the day, and while there are a number of specific goals I have, I realised that they all, more or less, add up to the goals of the 90% Reduction: Riot for Austerity goals. So these are essentially:

• Continue to reduce our use of resources (electricity, natural gas and water) down as far as we can towards 90% of the Australian average. For our family of five, this equates to electricity: 5.7 kWh/day (using 20% GreenPower); natural gas 19.2 MJ/day; water 120 L/day. Our current average usage is 12.6 kWh/day, 34.8 MJ/day and 389 L/day.

• Reduce our waste (garbage) as far as we can towards 90% of the Australian average. For us, this equates to a goal of 2.3 kg/week landfill rubbish and 0.75kg/week recycling.

• Reduce our petrol use to 90% less than the Australian average. For us, this equates to using 94L per month.

• Cut consumer spending down to a minimum. For our family of five, this equates to spending around $58 a week or less on consumer goods, or a bit over $3000 for the year. Given that I want to buy a new front-loading washing machine worth around $700, this will certainly be a challenge.

• Eat as much locally-grown food as possible, ideally our diet should consist of 70% locally-grown, preferably organic, food/25% bulk dry goods/ 5% wet goods, including food transported long distances and all processed foods.

So, in order to try and achieve these goals, I will be endeavouring to:

• Keep up the good work with all the changes we have made so far!
• Make as many things as possible, including gifts and clothes;
• Buy no new clothes for myself or the kids, with the exception of underwear and school uniforms (which can't be bought second hand as they have changed the design);
• Cook from scratch even more often, and stockpile more bulk goods;
• Keep trying to find a bulk dry goods supplier, preferably organic, that will deliver locally;
• Investigate buying a solar oven;
• Replace our water-hungry top-loading washing machine with a water-efficient front-loader;
• Investigate swapping our small bar-freezer with a larger (but energy-efficient) chest freezer;
• DH will try to ride his electric-motor-assisted bike to work four times a week (when it arrives);
• Gradually renovating our backyard to remove ornamental plants in favour of food-producing trees and shrubs, in the form a "food forest".

That should keep us busy ;-)