Unfortunately, I am not going to participate in CTWW this week. I'm sure that I am looking at activism in too intense of a way, but I just don't think I have time right now to commit. I have a social work background and when I return to work full time, I would love to work in an eco-friendly activism area (which is why I am probably thinking too big with this challenge. I may look more into doing it, but right now I'm not going to commit for this week.)
As for last week, my goal was to get coffee out, but to make it at home or just drink tea. I didn't quite meet my goal. For some reason, iced coffee just kept calling my name and I tried to avoid and ignore it, but I didn't plan well enough to have cream in the house for coffee, so what did I do? Did I go out and buy the cream? No, I went out and bought iced coffee at local coffee places (and by local coffee places I don't mean small shops, I mean chains). So my new goal is to stop buying coffee out and if I can't stop actually drinking the coffee, I will by the creamer at the grocery store, not the coffee at my local Dunkin Dounuts or similar places. In general, I am going to try to stop buying processed pre-made foods, but make my own. A big part of this is due to some food intolerances of me and my children as well as my husband. I am wondering if there are hidden foods that we are eliminating that maybe causing at least one of my sons to have an issue. Also this will greatly reduce waste and be better all around!
Where I did meet my goal or at least come close to my goal was in the area of driving for no reason. I made sure that when I went out in the car, I had a reason to drive, not just to go for a ride. I made sure that I knew what errands needed to be completed and where and tried to make it so that it was more economic and environmentally conscious to drive. If I had a better grocery store closer, I would walk with the kids and get what I needed daily or close to daily so that I could get in my exercise, get the kids outside, and not use my car as much.
After sitting here writing this post, I think I am going to re-look at the CTWW challenge and see f it is something I can do. I may have to think outside the box, but I really want to try to do this challenge and the challenges that get presented every week.
Amy
I believe that living a greener life is first about awareness and then about small steps. Perhaps you didn't reach the total goal that you set for yourself on the coffee, but you were aware of the bumps in the road. And that's excellent! Your awareness has already prompted you to think of new ways to meet your goal. I personally think that living green is about balance and making the best choices most of the time. :-)
ReplyDeleteI have a ton of allergies and we've been systematically removing processed foods from our lives. It might be a coincidence but I have noticed that I don't feel as bad this year. I've also noticed that food made at home tastes so much better. :-)
Many of the "activist" opportunities listed on CTWW are real easy to accomplish and take only minutes. Petition sites usually present an issue and then provide participants with form letters to electronically sign. My reason for including this particular challenge is two-fold ... yes, if we all sign a petition or take action in some way, we could have a huge impact. But perhaps more importantly, I hoped to encourage everyone to look for those opportunities where we could take action. For example: a couple of years ago, after attending our state fair and seeing all the Styrofoam being used and tossed in the bin, I wrote an email to the organizers asking them to come up with a better alternative. The next year, we didn't see Styrofoam at the fair (and I looked). It took me perhaps an hour to find the names & email addresses of the organizers and compose a letter. Being an activist could be no more than asking a grocery store manager if they'd consider stocking organic & fair-trade bananas ... or asking them to stop wrapping produce in plastic wrap. It's basically just speaking up to someone who might be able to make a difference.
There's never a wrong way to accomplish our challenges because every effort, even the smallest ones, count! Thanks for your honest post! :-)