Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 3

My SMART goal was to reduce the amount of toilet paper and paper toweling I use on a daily basis and in my home. I did a good job at achieving this goal this past week. I am proud to say that I did not use any paper toweling, but instead used old T-shirts to clean up spills and other minor cleaning. There is actually no more in our house, and I do not plan on buying anymore either. I also did better with less amounts of toilet paper use. I thought of this everytime I went to the restroom.
 I found success with cutting down the amount. My strategy was again to write a little "t" on my hand for toweling to always remember to count when I reach my hand out to grab the toilet paper. However, it was challenging at times when I was not at home to use a limited amount of toilet paper. I always count the squares, but when I am at school there is not squares, so it is hard to know the exact amount I am using.
I felt really good about myself and my behavior for this past week. It was a good feeling to not use paper toweling and to know I am helping to preserve a tree, and not only was I changing but it was forcing my roommates to as well. It was rewarding to know I am not only benefitting myself, but others actually. I am excited to continue by behavior change, and to see how far I can really go with this. Everytime I used the bathroom or cleaned a spill I felt this rewarding feeling.
I learned this week that if someone really wants to change that they will. Also, that it is easy to change if you are willing to, and it's a lot easier with a little effort.
Next week I am going to tell more people (my teammates) about the old t shirt idea as we have a ton after cleaning out our locker room, and instill the idea on their heads and hope that they listen to what I say and try it! I will continue to write the "t" on my hand and count the number of squares. I am also going to measure it out, to get a better idea of the exact length to compare it to when I am in a public place with no precise squares to count. My goal is still to get down below 5 squares. However, I know this will be challenging to do, but I am going to continue to work at it.
Average Number of restroom Use: 5 times daily
Average Number of squares: 7.5 squares (this is still way to high).

Eye Opener-CSPI

I really liked this website and found some of the statistics really surprising actually! I was shocked at the general overview of how much fertilizer and pesticides is in the everyday foods around us. After calculating the foods I ingest I found that 465 grams of manure are created by the foods I eat, .1 acres of grain, 0 pounds of pesticides and 2.4 pounds of fertilizer for animal feed. I am a vegetarian and also do not eat eggs or cheese, so I was not surprised after my servings were calculated. I do eat a lot of fruits and vegetables which are healthier and better for the the enviornment, which I already knew. After I scored my diet I found that the highest numbers were in the fruit category (60). I eat a lot of fruit, usually multiple servings everyday. I am trying to cut back on the sweets I do eat also because I know they are not healthy, and are also expensive to make and package. The fruits I do eat are made cheaply, and are good for the land, which is why I am trying to eat more of them, and more organic foods as well. My overall score was 75, which was excellent. I was pleased with this score, but also know it has a lot to do with me not eating meat, and trying to stay away from the packaged foods, like chips and cookies. I really didn't have any low scores, the lowest one was -2, which was in the sweets category. I can always improve my overall diet again by cutting out the sweets I do eat, which is something I am working towards, but sometimes ice cream is just too tempting for me! I was pleased with my overall score and with the results of the foods I am eating. It was pretty interesting to see how after changing my diet how little the whole process takes, and the little amount of energy I am using. It is definitely a good feeling to be helping more than hurting our world! I also did take the pledge, because I want to do my part and help in anyway that I can. Also, I realized that I am not the only person living on this earth, and essentially everyone is affected by my actions in someway. I am going to work on improving my diet (eating less sweets) as well! Wish me luck!