Wednesday, December 30, 2009

New Year's Resolutions


We all have them. Exercise more, lose weight, stop eating chocolate (that's one that has never been on my list), keep in touch more.....! This year I really wanted doable, motivating goals for Community Swap Shop and for me personally. First, I'm planning to simplify my life as much as possible. My husband and I are downsizing and getting rid of a lot of "stuff" and it feels great! Less to clean, less to maintain, less to move. We will have more time to concentrate on business, take long walks, visit with family and enjoy our hobbies. Hopefully we will save more money, grow another successful vegie and herb garden this year and maintain good health.

In the day to day life of building this website I have resolved to do more speaking engagements and encourage our mission of buying, selling and trading locally to minimize our footprint on the earth and support our friends and neighbors. I have come across a couple of important websites that I think will be helpful to all of us. One is www.myfootprint.org. Take their quiz and you'll be shocked at the drastic impact we all have on the Earth in our lifetime! Another that just came across my computer today is called Move Your Money. A group of well known writers got together over the holidays and wondered what the average person could do to help this financial crisis we're in and stop big banks from taking taxpayer money to pay for big bonuses. The answer is simple. Move your money, or at least some of it, away from the big banks and to local community banks. Check out their video on YouTube, http://moveyourmoney.info/, which compares the story of George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life to exactly what we are experiencing today. Not only will you support yet another local business but you maintain some control and bring power back to the people where it belongs.

I am determined this year to make other people's lives better in whatever way I can. So many people have helped me through the years--some I knew, some I did not. My family and friends have helped me through both profoundly happy and profoundly sad life events. A stranger once stopped on the side of the road and helped my family when the gas gauge broke on our car (we did not realize this) and we ran out of gas. This past spring and summer my neighbor helped me better understand the timing of my vegetables in my garden as he's 75 and been doing it a lot longer than me.

We cannot get along in this world without the help and support of others. It's that simple. So please help out these small businesses who struggle during this continuing tough economy. Wouldn't you rather know that your favorite local shoe store stayed in business instead of some big CEO getting yet another gazillion dollar bonus? Or doesn't a nice ripe red tomato from your own garden sound a lot more appetizing than the one shipped from Mexico ladened with pesticides? Every time we open our wallet and spend our money outside of our community we lose control. Try trading with your neighbors and using your own form of "exchange". We're pretty sure you'll have a much more "prosperous" New Year as a result.

From all of us at Community Swap Shop, Inc. we wish you all the best in 2010 and look forward to seeing you on the site as we continue to grow!

Terry E.


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