We at Smallworks like to think small (in a big kind of way!) and now that the new year has rolled around, we’ve decided on some personal resolutions that reflect our goal of downsizing.  Here are some thoughts from two Smallworks staffers:

From Kate Allen, Design Coordinator:

“Planning a wedding in 2012, I’m finding ways to cut out the extravagance of weddings without sacrificing the special feeling of the gathering. Naturally, the wedding is evolving to have a very ‘nature’ inspired focus!

I’ve recently downsized from 600 square feet to about 250 square feet, too, so it’s been a great exercise to really test what it is that one needs over the course of a year. Having given away or sold about 25% of my stuff, and boxed an additional 30%, I’ll be checking midway through 2012 to see if I can give away any more items that haven’t been disturbed in their boxes.

One of my biggest items I tend to aggregate are books – any kind of books! I’m trying to make the switch to e-books for popular fiction and non-fiction this year and use the library more. “

From Michael Lyons, VP of Sales and Marketing:

“My personal resolution is to go ‘carbon neutral’ in 2012, or as close as I reasonably can.  I am reducing my impact in as many ways as realistically possible and ‘offsetting’ the carbon emissions that I cannot eliminate through conscious effort.  I offset my carbon through Offsetters.ca.  I already live small (2 people in 670 s/ft), so now I’m after even greater efficiency.”

What are your plans  to make a smaller environmental impact this year?