New Year’s Resolutions-a review

AGES ago, well, 6 months ago, in true New Year style, I blogged some New Year’s resolutions. I thought that this halfway point through the year would be a good point to re-visit them and seem which of them, if any, I have achieved…!

• Continue making, making do, mending, thrifting, re-loving…and BUYING NOTHING NEW!
  We’ve been doing pretty well at this I think. I may have gone slightly off track, but we are now firmly back on track, and full steam ahead!
• Look carefully at the amount of rubbish we produce and try to reduce it (more on this to follow!)
  We took part in Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s Rubbish Diet and Slimmed our Bin by more than 2/3. We have managed to maintain these levels, and just throw away about 2-3 carrier bags full every 2 weeks-not bad going!

• Start up a ‘hip and happening’ W.I
  I got in touch with my local WI Federation and was planning to start doing some PR stuff towards this now-ish, but I have had to cry off. I just do not have the time or the energy to commit to it at the moment, and as much as I want it to happen, I can’t be the one to do it right now 😦
• Run some upcycling workshops
  Hurrah! I have done this, with some help from Emma from Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, and also with Verity, my co-conspirator at Make It Better 🙂
• Put on some kind of event for the Dress a Girl Around World Project-current thoughts are to try and get the local secondary school involved but I have no idea if they even have sewing machines-need to do some research!
  We’ve done TWO! At the first one we made 34 dresses, and at the second one, we made another 16 dresses, and 9 pairs of shorts.

I have yet to persue the idea of getting the local secondary school involved, but Verity and I went to Wiltshire College a week or two ago, to make some dresses with some of their students, which I think  they really enjoyed.

• Hold a Make Do and Mend Market-with stalls selling upcycled goodies, some vintage bits and pieces, a ‘give and take’ table, people on hand to offer advice on mending (clothes/bikes etc), some drop in crafting sessions, a book swap
  This hasn’t happened yet-perhaps a little too ambitious for now?
• Have a Swish!
  We have one planned! Again, in conjunction with Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, we are having Warminster’s very first Swish on the 12th July
• Inspired by A year without supermarkets, I want to try and shop more locally. I am not sure we can commit to avoiding the supermarket for a whole year, but I think we could aim for doing a supermarket free month at some point in the year (someone needs to make sure they hold me to this!)
  Not done so well here. We have started getting all our fruit and veg from Riverford, which ensures we are eating seasonally, and organically, two things that are very important to me. Need to make a more concerted effort to support the local high street and market though.
• I have loads of other ideas:
  Upcycle Exchange-DONE!

Pop up shops/crafting sessions-Not yet
Craft cafe type thing-DONE!
Artisan markets in my local town-Not yet
A book–I’ve said I will , now I just need to actually do it!

Crikey! That’s pretty good going isn’t it?
And it’s only June.

No wonder I’m so knackered-may need to sleep for second half of the year now…