Even before the clock has ticked over to midnight and 2014 is arriving, it's wise to start thinking about New Year’s resolutions. Many people think about running a few extra miles at the gym, or donating more to charity, but have you considered changing your environmental habits? By just making a few simple changes, you can impact both the planet and yourself! So where you can start? Think about what makes the most sense for your current activities and day to day life, and work around these as a starting point. Doing things one step at a time instead of all in one go, will ensure that you're more likely to stick to them rather than forget about them within a few days. We've put together a few ideas below:

Green Your Journey - It is very easy to drive everywhere, even just to the local store a five minute walk away, or the kids school around the corner. Why not consider going for the green option instead? Try to walk or cycle more; even just start out by walking to your destinations one day a week, and then gradually increase it as the weeks go by. Not only are you doing your bit for the environment, but you'll begin to feel much more healthy too.

Green Your Eating - Consider how your eating could do with a 'green' overhaul. Do you eat convenience, or 'easy' food a few more times a week than you'd like? Start with a resolution to make more healthy choices and switch to cooking with fresh ingredients bought locally, such as from your local farmers markets. It'll save you money and make you and your families diets much healthier.

Green Your Cleaning - Have you considered the damage that you could be doing to the environment, simply by cleaning your home? Many kitchen based products can do a lot of damage and there are a lot of eco-friendly alternatives that are a lot less harmful. Take a look at our previous blog post, which gives you lots of useful tips on what you can do to green up your cleaning.

Green Your Shopping - It's a shocking figure, but around 1 million plastic bags are used per second over the Christmas period. If these aren't recycled, they end up in landfills, destroying the environment. What can you do? Use your own eco bag every time you go shopping. Keep them in your own bag or in the car, and remember to use them when you shop. It's a small change that can have a huge impact.

Green Your Mug – During coffee time at the office, are you heading for a disposable cup as per usual? Or perhaps in the city at the weekend, you might grab a takeaway coffee in a plastic cup? Stats suggest that each person goes through around 500 disposable cups each year, which can be reduced massively if you use your own mug. At work, take one from home and wash it daily. In the city on the go, most coffee houses let you use your own travel mug and will actually reduce the price for using your own cup too. Saving money, and saving the environment? We're on board with that!

Do you have any other ideas on how you might make becoming eco-friendly part of your New Year’s resolution? Share your tips in the box below!