So, it's been about halfway through the quarter, and I can already see some positive results from the changes I wanted to make to lessen my footprint. I said that I wanted to see what unplugging "ghost power" would do to our energy bill, and so far our bill has been decreasing. Our bill is about $10 less than it was when we started. Which isn't a huge difference, but living in a house with 3 girls it still was fairly effective.
I also wanted to bring coffee in a reusable container at least 90% of the time, and I've stuck to it pretty well. I still need to buy coffee on campus less, but by bringing coffee to school I've already noticed more money in my bank account and consuming less coffee overall.
The third change I wanted to make was buying 3/4 fresh ingredients and have at least 1/2 of that be local food. I've started buying 3/4 fresh ingredients, and it's been noticeably more expensive, so I may have to be focusing more on sales/promotions. But I have noticed I've felt a lot better and have learned a lot more about preparing and cooking food as a result. As for buying local food, it's been only about 1/4 of these fresh food purchases, so I may have to adjust my goals.
As a new goal, I think I want to work on my water consumption. I tend to let the water run a lot as I do the dishes or wash my face, so I want to reduce my water consumption by only turning the water on to do the actual task, not leaving it running. This means only using water to wash soap off plates and washing my face with the least amount of water possible. Overall I'm pretty pleased with my progress, and I'm excited to continue to reduce my ecological consumption and improve my impact on the environment.
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