Sierra Barker

This week's theme was community so I decided that now would be a good time to tell my friends and family what I've been learning in this class so far, and give them suggestions about sustainable changes to make. I didn't want to be condescending about it, so I asked my friends and family what areas in their lives are the least sustainable right now, and I gave them solutions that were specific to their situation. For example my mom is really into gardening and is working on building a greenhouse, the problem for her is that soil is expensive and she uses a lot of water, so I told her to try composting and using leftover water cups (which she leaves around the house all the time) for her garden. My friend is always blasting the heat in his house, so I told him to bundle up more so he doesn't get cold. That one sounds a little more like I'm up on my high horse, but I was just being honest and the people close to me respect that.

This week our theme is water. I already bring a re-usable water bottle everywhere and only flush the toilet when necessary, so my challenge this week was shorter showers. I always struggle with this especially when I have to wash my hair because that takes a while, but these week I've done a good job of keeping my showers at around 5 minutes or less. I'm not placing too much pressure on myself to be cut off at exactly 5 minutes because that would stress me out during a time where I want to feel relaxed, but just being conscious of that goal has been helpful enough. I will continue to do this going forward, and I'm sure in a week or two I'll be used to it and it will become my new normal.

Challenge #3: This week I chose meal prepping as my eco challenge report action. I was specifically drawn to this because of how much easier it has made my life when I've tried it before. In addition to that, it's environmentally sustainable which is great. I work Monday through Friday and have the weekends off, so that's the perfect time to prep my meals for the week. I also have classes Monday through Thursday which makes it hard for me to find time to cook and eat, so meal prepping is super helpful. The first meal I made was pasta which provided me with lunch for about two days, then I made a sandwich for the day after, lastly I made some fried rice and chicken for my final lunch of the week. This helped me feel less stressed about coming up with things to eat, and it saved me money. A lot of times I'm not in the mood to cook and just end up getting takeout because it's easy but meal prepping saved me a lot of time.

Challenge #2: Lately I've been powering down my computer instead of just shutting it. Even doing it one time saves 1.1 pounds of CO2, which is a lot more energy than I would have guessed. It's a really small thing that someone can do, and it actually helps a lot. It was pretty easy to make this switch, lately I've been trying to think more intuitively and slow down my decision making process. Doing this helps me make more environmentally conscious choices overall, instead of just impulsively doing what's most convenient for me in the moment. For example, I've always been taught to think about turning off the lights when I leave a room which is another good way to save energy.

Challenge #1: This past week I purchased a reusable mop. I've been looking to make changes the amount of waste I produce and this seemed like a good place to start. Before I made this change I was using a swiffer, which required me to purchase non reusable pads for it. The mop I just purchased on the other hand allows me to take off the part that wipes the floor and put it in the washer which saves money and time. The only challenge with this was spending the money to buy the new mop, which I already did so at least I don't have to worry about that anymore. I already tried it out and it works even better than the swiffer I had before which is great.

Lately I've been powering down my computer instead of just shutting it. Even doing it one time saves 1.1 pounds of CO2, which is a lot more energy than I would have guessed. It's a really small thing that someone can do, and it actually helps a lot. It was pretty easy to make this switch, lately I've been trying to think more intuitively and slow down my decision making process. Doing this helps me make more environmentally conscious choices overall, instead of just impulsively doing what's most convenient for me in the moment. For example, I've always been taught to think about turning off the lights when I leave a room which is another good way to save energy.