Gone Green...The Results

So I lived green. I did so for three days, but I did some other green activities throughout the weekend as time allowed. First off, it was easy to be greener, but it wasn't necessarily easy. Riding the Sun Tran bus everywhere came natural to me, because I ride the bus to school and back everyday, but riding the bus to school, then riding it home, then riding it again to work was exhausting. To top it off, I couldn't ride it home because I get off work late each evening, so I carpooled home. Carpooling is a little more fun than riding the bus, and it's still doing something positive for the environment. So transportation was as simple as that.

Around the house, I unplugged all the appliances that I was not using. That meant my entire entertainment center was unplugged all day. That meant no clock on the stereo either. I kept the laptop unplugged except to recharge, and kept the phone charger out of the wall except when in use. I opened all the window blinds during the day instead of using indoor lights. My apartment doesn't have the best window placement, but when I thought about it, I don't need it to be bright in my house to do my daily activities, like homework, or cleaning the kitchen, or cleaning up my room.

Two habits I quickly had to break was turning on a light as soon as I enter a room, regardless of the need for a light, and not turning the light off when I walk away. I have a habit of flipping on a light, even if I'm in the room for just a second, and then not turning that light off when I walk away. I feel like the majority of my personal energy conservation came from breaking this habit.

For water, I did a couple different things. Firstly, I did those two minute showers to save water use. It really surprised me how much concentration and focus it took to shower in two minutes. I guess I hadn't paid attention to how much time I lose in the shower, and how much of that time the water is running. I guess that's because I usually shower to wake up in the morning, and I'm just not coherent enough that early in my day. I also followed expert advice and didn't run the dishwasher until it was completely full, and I didn't rinse dishes before they went in the dishwasher. This saves a ton of water, and using the dishwasher meant I didn't need to stand in the kitchen and use up a light to see what I'm cleaning. I also had to shave during my experiment, so to save water there I filled up a cup with water for rinsing my razor, rather than filling the sink, more than once, and then rinsing out the sink with running water. The cup contained all my clippings and that poured down the drain and there was minimal sink rising to do. I found that I saved a ton of water using this method and I will continue to practice from here on out.

I purchased some Green Works all purpose cleaner at Wal-Mart. This product is made by Clorox, but it is environmentally safe and friendly. It worked great on my messy kitchen, and I plan to continue using this product well after this story is written.

For food, being organic was difficult, but the first thing I did was avoid fast food for three days. Eating organic can't be done at any major fast food chain. I had to rely on Wal-Mart for organic choices, and they were limited. The best things I found were pesticide-free tomatoes, and organic cookies and milk. The cookies, made by Back to Nature, and the milk, made by Shamrock Farms, were both tasty, even if they were a little more expensive. I found that eating organic can be pricey at your major chain stores, so shopping around for a good deal is important if you have a limited budget like myself.

So overall the project was a success and I learned a few things that will carry over into my regular life. I have a bus to catch, and the laptop battery is dying, so until later, be green when you can, because even a little bit adds up over time.