Eco Challenge 8: Nature

Eco challenge 7: Consumerism

I honestly have so many clothes and I’m always tempted to buy more because I want to change things up or try a new style. Since I know I already have a lot of clothes and because I don’t have enough space for more nor do I want to spend more money, I’ve tried going through all the clothes I have and seeing if there’s a way I can make different outfits with them. This helped me realize that I already have a large variety of different clothes that I don’t need to buy new stuff to change up my look, I just need to be more creative with the combination. It was honestly a lot of fun finding new outfit combinations, even when they looked really silly. Since I already have so much stuff, I want to get better at using what I already have rather than getting rid of it to get more stuff. My roommate also sews, so I gave her some of my clothes if she thought the fabric could be of use to her for a project. I know I could donate the clothes, but that just feels like taking it to the landfill but with a longer delay sometimes, especially considering how second hand stores are starting to raise prices more.

Eco challenge 6: Transportation

I usually have to drive everywhere, but me and my roommate started planning our outings more so we could basically carpool. Like getting groceries, going to the dispensary, or if one of us needed to be dropped off somewhere. Not only did it help us use less gas since we’d try to go places together rather than separately, but we also got to bond a lot. Oftentimes, we would end up getting a lot of our errands done on the same day so we wouldn’t have to keep going back to the apartment and then leave again later.

Eco challenge 5: community

For this eco challenge, I tried to talk to my new neighbors more. Me and my roommate recently moved to Tigard in this new apartment area. We usually see our neighbors with their dogs a lot and we started talking to them more. It helps when they have their dog with them since that’s a really easy conversation starter. This helped us feel more comfortable and at home in the new area. It’s really easy to keep to yourself in a new area, but I wanted to challenge myself with connecting with people I wouldn’t normally connect with, especially because I think a lot of our neighbors are older and have families. There’s a better sense of belonging now, even though I don’t know them a lot personally. Just knowing their names and being able to say hi when I see them around without feeling awkward helps a lot. Really made me realize that community building doesn’t have to be so hard, it just requires breaking the ice, and I want to be someone able to break the ice first rather than hoping the other person will.

Eco challenge 4: Water

For this eco challenge, I tried to use less water in situations where I have to use water. That seemed like the easiest way to reduce water consumption without having to build a whole new habit–I just adjusted what was already there. One of the things I did was when me and my roommate would make our separate instant ramen noodles, she would boil the water and cook her noodles that way. Instead of boiling a new pot of water, I’d just use her ramen noodle water that was still really hot to make my noodles. All I had to do was cover the bowl with a plate and let my noodles sit in the hot water for a 4-5 minutes. She usually doesn’t eat her ramen with much, or any, of the water while I like to eat my ramen with broth, so this worked out well for us. I also would handwash dishes with very low water pressure and only turning on the water to rest the dish/utensil and to rinse it after. Same with washing my hands and brushing my teeth–I used really low water pressure to use as little water as possible. I also started setting a 5 min timer for my showers. If I'm able to use less water every time I have to use water, the little bit I save can start to add up.

Eco challenge 3: Food

For this eco challenge, I lowered my meat consumption and also shopped local at a farmer’s market nearby. I went to this local farmer’s market called Justy’s Market in Oregon City. My roommate and I got watermelons from Winco a few days ago and found them to be bland while the watermelons we got from Justy’s were a lot better–more flavor, less watery, sweeter. It was more expensive, but I found I'm less likely to waste the food if it's good because I'll feel more inclined to eat it. When it comes to other fruits and veggies from bog box markets like Winco, it just doesn't taste as good so my brain just doesn't think about eating it. When I went out to eat, I’d also pick the tofu option, which I usually like more anyway. I also made a meal with tofu as the main protein when normally I’d use chicken or something. My roommate is vegetarian so we made tofu katsu together. Frying the tofu ended up being a lot easier because I had recently gotten an air fryer. That’s usually the hardest part for me when making a meal with tofu. I really only like tofu when it’s fried. Honestly, in terms of protein, I do prefer tofu more than meat just because it’s lighter and easier to chew than chicken or pork. I also don’t have to worry about food borne diseases or about overcooking the tofu–I’d overcook pork and chicken a lot because of worrying about food borne diseases. I found cooking with tofu to be an easier and less messy process, so I’ll probably use tofu more often now, especially since my roommate is vegetarian.

Eco challenge 2: Energy

For this eco challenge, I tried to turn off all the lights when I didn’t really need to use them. I’ll be honest… I’m a bit scared of the dark, but unless I needed to see something, I just did it in the dark. Like working at the dining room table, I’d work in the dark if I was using my laptop since that already generates light itself. This also forced me to lower the brightness on my laptop screen, making it use less energy, so I wouldn’t hurt my eyes. Usually, my eyes adjusted in the dark fine after a second, there was usually enough light coming from the windows, like in the bathroom. Brushing my teeth in the dark wasn’t too bad once my eyes adjusted. I became aware of how much I’d instinctively reach out to turn on the lights in a room even when I didn’t need to, like in the mornings when I’d go into the kitchen. More than enough light came in from windows and turning them on didn’t make things easier to see than they already were. This helped me curb that reflex.

Eco challenge 1: Waste

For this eco challenge, I made beeswax wraps since I wanted to make an alternative to plastic wrap. I also like how versatile beeswax wraps are, like being able to use it to cover bowls and store food or to wrap food in it to go. It’s really easy to wash, too. Me and my roommate also already had a lot of the resources needed to make them, like cotton fabric, parchment paper, and pinking shears, so we only had to buy the beeswax. What we did was graded a block of beeswax to make shavings, then put the those on the cloth evenly, then sandwiched the cloth between parchment paper. Using an iron, we melted the beeswax into the fabric while the parchment paper protected the iron and the cloth. The pinking shears were to create edges that wouldn’t fray too much. It turned out pretty well, but we did run into some problems, like some beeswax getting onto the iron and creating some smoke when it burned on the iron. Otherwise, it went well.

For Eco Challenge 8: Nature, me and my boyfriend are looking inot potting and planting pollinators and vegitables. We looked into what is native to the area and what would be useful and realistic for us to grow, and plan to plant it in pots so we can take it with us when we move. He is interested in planting cucumbers and tomatoes, and we are looking at native flowers too. He is very enthusiastic about gardening, and this course has made me like it more as well. I want to participate in gardening more too, and i think it can be a fun activity to do together, and on the bright side, he is more reliable about remembering to water plants, so i won't torture another plant the way i have in the past lol.

For Eco Challenge 7: consumerism, I decluttered my room and got rid of what i dont need. Lately, i've been getting overwhelmed by my clutter, but cleaning and organizing my room has opened my eyes to what i need and dont need. When i go shopping, I've started to think about where i would put something, or if i even have room for it, which encourages me not to buy it. Getting rid of items also shows me what I already have, and what I don't have use for or haven't touched in years. When I'm tempted to buy something, and if I just got rid of something similar, I know for sure I will not use or need it. I've also taken the approach where I only make purchases I'm 100% sure about, and even if I'm 99% sure I won't buy it. Then if I keep thinking about it, I know I'll use and need it, but if I forget about it completely, I saved myself money and space.
Also, in our class we've talked about the issue of collecting and wanting to get multiple of something that makes us happy. I have decided i no longer want to buy anything i collect new, instead buying it second hand to take off somebody else hands and keeping it out of the landfill. It makes me feel better about getting plastic figurines, but with clothes getting it used or thrifted helps many different issues. I've been thrifting my clothes for a while, but now with anything I can I will try to get it used, which the swapmeet helped do.