Well folks...we come to the last day of the No Impact Experiment. Today was the Eco-Sabbath. A day to reconnect with family and just plain old relax. So that is what I did. It also allowed me time to reflect on this past week and what impact it has made on our family. I want to say that by participating I came out of this feeling awesome about our efforts but that is not the reality. I know we have done a lot to reduce our impact but when it came down to trying to find new things to do each and every day...and have those be sustainable in our life...well that was hard. If I was to do this again I would prepare well in advance. I would calculate everything for each day so I know what a typical week is like for us and then I would go all out during the actual week. Try to live off the grid, only eat foods that are low on carbon footprint and water consumption, work from home....
There was some positive out of this week. I interacted with some fantastic people on twitter. I learned more about what they are doing in their lives and communities. I also came up with some plans for this year including making the switch to cloth diapers, not using the dryer and becoming more involved in our community.
I have also had some fantastic comments left here with words of encouragement and new ideas for us to try out. Keep those coming. I love hearing about what others are doing to reduce their impact!
So my final updates are as follows:
Day 1: Consumption Update - Did not buy anything today
Day 2: Trash Update - 3 diapers, 1 cereal bar wrapper, 1 cottage cheese seal
Day 3: Transportation Update - Did not drive anywhere
Day 4: Food Update - 2030 CO2e
Day 5: Energy Update - Line drying
Day 6: Water Update - Paid attention to how long I was in the shower
Day 7: Giving Back - Did some work for The Greenpages
Related Posts - Check them Out
Tap vs Bottled Water
Blackout Day Challenge
I just posted about No Impact Man and his documentary! Have you seen it?
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. I felt a little down but came out with some new knowledge and new connections. I'm doing a 100 day follow up to see if I've stuck with some of my new changes. I figure if Collin gave himself a year, then a week is a pretty tough challenge to change things. Congrats on making it through!
ReplyDelete@TEG - I have not seen it. I will have to check it out.
ReplyDelete@Julie - A 100 day follow-up is a great idea! Congrats on making it through it too!