Jason Ball

This week I focused on consuming organic and local foods, I was able to go to the farmers market with my Grandma and get fruits and veggies for this week, a lot of what I got ended up being more snacks than meals but I was still able to have a majority of what I ate throughout the week be organic and/or from the local area.

When I was going through the energy category this week I was able to say I was already doing a lot of the actions in the list provided and it made me realize that energy also equates to money, the more you use the more you have to pay so growing up in a rough economy I was always told to turn my electronics off if I wasn't using them, be very mindful of the lights you have on, etc. One that I could focus on that I also usually do when the weather is nice enough for it is cooling through natural ways, since it was so nice and my house catches a breeze I was able to cool my room through my windows and also let a lot of fresh air in. I spend a lot of the summer with my windows open especially at night so this will just get me in the habit for the season to come.

This week when looking through the waste category, I was able to do a few daily actions that help to reduce waste. The few I added were use reusable bags, use a reusable water bottle, and carry my trash. These are things that I already do most of the time but I was definitely more conscious of it this week. For example I have a bad habit of forgetting my bags when I go shopping, usually just in the trunk of my car but I will decide to just fill what I can in my hands or decide not to bag, put everything in the cart and pack it into bags when I get to my car. I can also do the same with my water bottles, I have a good amount of reusable ones but sometimes I will forget to grab one on my way out and not have one for the day. I decided to put an empty one in my car, and one in my cabinet on campus so I would have one in most situations. This definitely made me think of all the times I had bought a bottle of water because I was forgetful in bringing a reusable one with me or when I bought a paper bag from the store when I really didn't need it, even if paper is a better alternative to a one use plastic bag it still adds to the production needed to make and also recycle it. This was a nice reminder to be a little more mindful of the waste created by these littler things.