Elex Peyote Otero

This week, I’ve been thinking more about my Eco-Change project and how I want to approach it. Making meals and baked goods from scratch has been fulfilling on many levels, so I decided to expand on that experience. I want to dive deeper into using all-natural, eco-friendly, and organic products, and a great way to do this is by making my own body care items. It feels good knowing exactly what goes into the products I use daily. Plus, it’s cheaper and better for the environment since I can reuse ingredients multiple times and support local businesses by buying locally made products. So far, I’ve made a body deodorant, face scrub, and toner. Next, I want to explore growing mushrooms and creating medicinal products and tinctures.

This week, I started spring cleaning. Since material things consume energy, I have been decluttering mindfully. I don’t go to a full Marie Kondo level, but I like to check in with each item and ask how I resonate with it. I’ve noticed that I tend to hold onto things I no longer use, hoping to need them again someday. I save clothes with this mindset, even though I realize that some are not aligned with my current style. I also keep items because of the memories associated with them. I usually donate things because selling them feels like extra work. Lately, I’ve been critical of Goodwill and have been exploring other places to donate. One place I’ve donated clothes to in the past is Haven Rose, which helps women and children. I also give items to my neighbors, which has been fun because we exchange things. Some neighbors even have outdoor food pantries, little libraries, and designated spaces for larger items. I think it’s easy to get caught up in consumerism, but we must remember that there’s more to life than consumption, and I enjoy finding a balance by giving back.

For the past two weeks, I have shifted my way of transportation and traveled by foot to campus. It’s a 1.5-hour commute, but I spaced it out to walking to school one day and then home the next. It definitely was a time commitment, but I mostly did it to exercise and save money on a bus ride. I don’t feel it is sustainable over time because it is a 4-mile walk, and my commute by foot used to be a 2.7-mile walk from my old house, so I did it more often when I lived there. I enjoyed the walk for the most part, and I got to listen to audiobooks and challenge my focus. I plan on continuing to walk to campus whenever I have extra time, especially now that the weather is warming up, and it’s nice to see and smell all the flowers in bloom.

My challenge for the past two weeks was not to drive and only take public transportation or walk. I have not driven in 11 days, which was pretty easy since I was just at home sick and live close to a couple of grocery stores. Before this, I had only driven once or twice a week, if at all, on the weekends. It’s been nice saving on gas, but I haven’t put in any gas since January 4th!

For the past week, I focused on my water usage. I have been stuck at home sick, so there was not a whole lot of action other than eating soup and sleeping, so it was easy to use less water in certain ways and keep track. I timed my showers to be between 5 and 7 minutes, which was pretty each. I also have been getting into the habit of turning off the water when washing dishes. It made more sense to soap up the dishes and then do a quick rinse instead of continuously running the water. When washing clothes, I try only to wash once a week, but I have also been using the quick cycle. I also use clean, recycled water when possible to water my plants. I want to continue paying attention to my water usage and see other ways to go into more depth with this challenge.

I have consumed a vegetarian or vegan meal at least once daily these past couple of weeks and rarely eaten meat. I also added the challenge of eating mindfully and limiting restaurant meals to no more than once a week. Cooking daily is challenging when I don’t have time, so meal prepping is key. It has helped me continue to eat healthy and keep to my vegetarian/vegan dishes.

This past week, I have been focusing on getting an hour or more of exercise daily, which worked perfectly, along with going for daily walks. I don't always find going out of my way to work out enjoyable, which is why I prefer to live an active lifestyle such as going to music events because I love dancing, yoga, walking to the grocery store, going on a hike, or working on a physical project, and so on. My main obstacle these days is that school involves a lot of sitting, and it’s hard to find time for movement, which is why incorporating movement into my daily chores is helpful. When I don’t drive and take public transportation, I walk more; if I do drive somewhere, I park further away from my destination. I will continue figuring out how to be active while in school, especially because I know it’s good for my heart and mind, but it also gives me more energy, and I feel more motivated overall.

I am learning to navigate the eco-challenge website. It was fun and inspiring to read some of my teammate's eco actions and see the photos they posted! This week, I focused on going meatless and getting into the rhythm of meal planning. It can be hard to meal prep/plan when my schedule is busy, but what I found helpful is making bigger portions that I eat for a couple of days until it is finished. As for going meatless, this is fairly easy for me because I was a vegetarian for 7 years, but my body started craving meat for the first time when I was a carpenter. I now don't crave it as much since I am not as extremely physical, and I usually eat vegetarian because it's more affordable and has less impact on the environment. I am going to continue to be more vegetarian. Here is a photo of my first home-made cast iron pizza. I used pineapples because I am that person, tomatoes, olives, mangos, jalapenos, and onions.