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Reflections:
This has definitely been an interesting two weeks. I had not anticipated how much the alterations to my behaviors would affect my everyday life and awareness. Regarding the electricity category, after doing this project, I realized how much energy is actually used in our everyday lives. The biggest change I made over these past two weeks was reducing the amount of electric hair products I used, such as my blow dryer and hair straightener. Normally I would use both at least twice a week for a total amount of time of approximately an hour. However, I reduced this to only twice over the entire two weeks. I also became much more conscious of turning off the lights in my room and bathroom to save energy. It became a habit over the past two weeks to rely on natural light in the morning when getting ready for the day. By using natural light, I only needed to use my lights at night once the sun went down. I think that I would be able to continue to incorporate these two changes along with some of the other changes I made as well, such as turning off my power strip. I could have tracked my use of cars – by my use of Uber. However, I failed at this because it was too difficult to minimize my use of Uber to get around DC at this time. If I had my own car I think that I would have been able to track this and minimize the effects more efficiently. Given the circumstances of not having a car and living on AU’s campus, this factor was not realistic to incorporate in my project.
Minimizing my effects in the water category for this assignment was not as difficult as I had expected. I normally take roughly 10-minute showers daily, sometimes longer. I thought that it was going to be very difficult to lower the amount of time I spend showering. However, after the first couple of days of decreasing the length in increments, it became a part of my routine. I also think that simply being aware of trying to take shorter showers makes it more achievable. I would have liked to try using leftover shower water to flush the toilet in my dorm room, however, this was not a realistic change that I could make. Doing this exercise also forced me to remember to turn off the water when it wasn’t necessary, such as brushing my teeth or washing my face. I also started to brush my teeth and wash my face in the shower to minimize my use f water, which was a different experience and took some time to get used to. I also think that moving forward, even after this assignment is completest I will be able to continue to incorporate these changes into my daily routine. I think that if I keep the goal of reducing my water use in the back of my head moving forward I will continue to be more conscious, which is extremely important for more and more people to be doing today. One aspect of this category which was easier for me is the type of water I drink. Even before I started this project, I have been using a reusable water bottle and using water refill stations on campus to fill it up. I continued to do this throughout the project and it made me realize the impact that this action may have on the environment.
Finally, I found the food category of this lifestyle project to be the most difficult to follow through with and actually implement changes into my routine. The main difficulty I had with his aspect is that I live on campus and eat most of my meals on at campus food providers. It was difficult to find out where the food from these places on campus actually comes from because it is not clearly stated or conveyed. I did try throughout the past two weeks to make my own dinner or breakfast when I could. When I did make my own breakfast I was conscious of the amount of water and electricity I was using for the preparation. I also was more conscious of the way I was disposing of leftovers. I always composted and leftovers or trash. This part of the project also made me realize how much waste I accumulate when I buy coffee. To decrease this amount of waste I started to bring a reusable mug or thermos when I got hot coffee or tea. However, I was not able to invest in a reusable cup for iced drinks. I ensured that I composted all of the cups I used from iced coffee over the two weeks. This is a practice that I think I can continue in my lifestyle, however, I think I could also invest in a reusable cup for iced drinks to eliminate making this type of waste from my weekly actions.
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Day - 14 (4/14)
Energy: Turned off the power strip to reduce energy use when I wasn’t charging my phone or computer. Lights were only on when I was in my room - used natural light in the morning. Bathroom lights were only on when I was in the bathroom. Used laptop most of the day in class and doing homework. Did not use the TV and did not use heat or air - had the windows open. Did not use any electric heat products on my hair - wore it natural.
Water: Filled a reusable water 3 times using a water refill station on campus. Took a 5-minute shower in the morning. Turned off the water while brushing my teeth. Yellow let it mellow. Used minimal water throughout the day
Food: Composted wrapper from the bagel I had for breakfast. Ate at the dining hall for dinner. Used a reusable mug for my coffee.
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Day - 13 (4/13)
Energy: Did not use any electronic hair products. Turned power strip off after charging my phone and charged my computer throughout the day as needed. Only used bedroom lights at night used natural light in the morning from the windows.
Water: Took a 5-minute shower in the morning and turned off the water while shaving. Used water refill stations on campus to fill my reusable water bottle. Used minimal water while washing my hands throughout the day. Yellow let it mellow.
Food: Ate lunch and dinner on campus- not sure if the ingredients were organic or local. Did not eat any meat today. Composted coffee cup when finished.
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Day - 12 (4/12)
Energy: Used microwave for 1 minute to make oatmeal. Did not use any electronic hair products. Turned power strip off after charging my phone and charged my computer throughout the day as needed. Only used bedroom lights at night used natural light in the morning from the windows.
Water: Took a 5-minute shower in the morning and turned off the water while shaving. Used water refill stations on campus to fill my reusable water bottle. Used minimal water while washing my hands throughout the day. Yellow let it mellow. Hand washed and dried bowl from oatmeal and only ran the water to rinse.
Food: Had oatmeal in the morning for breakfast and had an organic apple. Ate dinner at the dining hall- not sure where the ingredients from the food come from.
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Day - 11 (4/11)
Energy: Only had the power strip on during the day when I was charging my phone or computer. Only had bedroom and bathroom lights on when I was in either room. Did not use any heat products using electricity on my hair - wore it natural. Used my laptop most of the day doing homework and class. Used microwave to heat up water for tea.
Water: Showered for 5 minutes. Turned off sink while brushing teeth and washing my face. Yellow let it mellow. Used on campus water refill stations to fill my reusable water bottle. Used minimal amounts of water when washing my hands throughout the day- only had the sink running while rinsing my hands. Ran sink to hand wash and rinse reusable container from Chinese food - hand dried.
Food: Drank tea in the morning in a reusable mug. Ate lunch at the dining hall. Ordered Chinese food for dinner and saved container it came in. No waste today, waste-free day.
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Day - 10 (4/10)
Energy: Only had the power strip on during the day when I was charging my phone or computer. Only had bedroom and bathroom lights on when I was in either room. Did not use any heat products using electricity on my hair.
Water: Showered for 5 minutes. Turned off sink while brushing teeth and washing my face. Yellow let it mellow. Used on campus water refill stations to fill my reusable water bottle. Used minimal amounts of water when washing my hands throughout the day- only had the sink running while rinsing my hands.Showered again at night for 8 minutes.
Food: Composted wrapper from a bagel for breakfast. Composted container from iced coffee. Ate dinner at the dining hall - A meatless day!
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Day - 9 (4/9)
Energy: Only had the power strip on during the day when I was charging my phone or computer. Used microwave for a total of 1 minute. Only had bedroom and bathroom lights on when I was in either room.
Water: Showered for 5 minutes. Turned off sink while brushing teeth and washing my face. Yellow let it mellow. Used on campus water refill stations to fill my reusable water bottle. Used minimal amounts of water when washing my hands throughout the day- only had the sink running while rinsing my hands.
Food: Composted wrapper from a bagel. Composted container from iced coffee. Ate dinner at the dining hall - A meatless day!
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Day - 8 (4/8)
Energy: Turned off power strip in the morning after charging my phone. Did not use heat or a/c - had windows open overnight and during the day. Did not use lights in my bedroom - had shades open to let in natural light in the morning/day. Used blow drying for 30 minutes and straightener for 10 minutes. Only used bathroom lights when I was in the bathroom.
Water: Took an 8-minute shower and turned off the water when shaving. Brushed teeth and washed face in the shower using the water. Used on campus water refill station.
Food: Recycled container from sandwich and ate dinner at an event. The chicken was organic - Not a meatless day.
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Day - 6 (4/6)
Energy: I used the switch on my power strip to reduce energy use in the morning when I finished charging my phone and computer. Lights were only on when I was in my room in the morning and at night. Bathroom lights were only on when I was in the bathroom. Used laptop almost all day doing homework. Did not use the TV and did not use heat or air - had the windows open. Used electric stove for 5 minutes to make eggs.
Water: Showered for 5 minutes and used water from the shower to brush teeth Yellow let it mellow. Drank water using water refill stations. Used sink water only when rinsing dishes after washing and hand dried dishes.
Food: Used organic eggs and organic whole wheat bread to make breakfast, composted leftovers/scraps. Had an iced coffee and recycled the plastic cup. Ate dinner at the dining hall - Meatless day!
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Day - 7 (4/7)
Energy: I used the switch on my power strip to reduce energy use in the morning when I finished charging my phone and computer. Lights were only on when I was in my room in the morning and at night. Bathroom lights were only on when I was in the bathroom. Used laptop almost all day doing homework. Did not use the TV and did not use heat or air - had the windows open.
Water: Showered for 5 minutes and used water from the shower to brush teeth Yellow let it mellow. Drank water using water refill stations. Helped hand wash dishes after dinner at my friend’s apartment. Only ran water when rinsing and hand dried dishes.
Food: Had a bagel on campus and composted wrapper. Had an iced coffee and recycled the plastic cup. Had organic pasta and shrimp at a friends apartment and used electric cooktop to prepare food.
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Day - 5 (4/5)
Energy: Turned power strip off after charging phone and computer overnight. Took a 7 Used hair dryer for 5 minutes and used hair straightener for 10 minutes. Unplugged both hair dryer and straighter after use. Didn't use lights in the bedroom in the morning- opened shades and used natural light. Used electric stove for 7 minutes to make the eggs.
Water: Took an 8-minute shower. Hand washed dishes. Only ran kitchen sink water to rinse dishes. Used water refill stations. Turned off the faucet when brushing teeth. Used on campus water refill station twice.
Food: Used organic eggs and organic whole wheat bread to make breakfast, composted leftovers/scraps. Had an iced coffee and recycled the plastic cup. Had an iced tea and composted cup. Meatless day!
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Day - 4 (2/4)
Energy: Turned power strips off after charging computer and phone. Turned lights off in room and bathroom when not there. Used laptop for approximately 8 hours during the day. Did not use the TV and did not use heat or air - had the windows open. Did not use any heat products for my hair.
Water: used water refill stations. Took two showers 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes in the evening. Turned off the faucet while brushing teeth. Yellow let it mellow.
Food: Composted wrapping from a bagel. Had Freshii on campus for dinner - composted leftover and wrapping. Composted cup from drink. Used a reusable mug when I bought coffee. Meatless day!
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Day - 3 (4/3)
Energy: Used the switch on my power strip to reduce energy use when I wasn’t charging my phone or computer. Lights were only on when I was in my room. Bathroom lights were only on when I was in the bathroom. Used laptop for approximately 8 hours to do homework. Did not use the TV and did not use heat or air - had the windows open. Had the shades open during the morning when I was home instead of turning on the lights. Did not use any heat products for my hair.
Water: I took a 10-minute shower. Used water refill stations 4 times on campus. Turned off the water while brushing my teeth. Yellow let it mellow. Did two loads of laundry in the washer, and combined loads in the dryer. Hung dry some clothing. Used cold water for both washer loads.
Food: Composted wrapping from bagel bought on campus. Ate dinner at Cava and composted container, napkins, and utensils. This was a meatless day!
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Day - 2 (4/2)
Energy: I used the switch on my power strip to reduce energy use when I wasn’t charging my phone or computer. Lights were only on when I was in my room. Bathroom lights were only on when I was in the bathroom. Used laptop for 1 hour to do homework. Did not use the TV and did not use heat or air - had the windows open. Had the shades open during the morning when I was home instead of turning on the lights. Took 4 ubers around DC. Watched half of a movie on a desktop computer.
Water: Filled a reusable water 3 times using a water refill station on campus. Took a 5-minute shower in the morning. Turned off the water while brushing my teeth. Yellow let it mellow.
Food: Ate out at Chipotle and composted leftover food and container. Had a vegetarian bowl from chipotle. Got a salad from campus and composted the container, fork and knife, and leftover food. This was a meatless day.
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Day - 1 (4/1)
Energy: I used the switch on my power strip to reduce energy use when I wasn’t charging my phone or computer. Lights were only on when I was in my room. Bathroom lights were only on when I was in the bathroom. Let my hair air dry instead of using the blow dryer. Used laptop for 4 hours to write a paper. Did not use the TV and did not use heat or air - had the windows open.
Water: Showered for less than 5 minutes and used water from the shower to brush teeth because there happened to be a water main breakage on campus. Yellow let it mellow. Drank water using water refill stations
Food: Had organic yogurt with organic granola from Whole Foods for breakfast and composted the yogurt container and spoon. Recycled a plastic container bought with food in it. Went out to dinner at a restaurant and had beef and drank tap water.
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