Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change: Week Two

Alright well....here's an update on my SMART goal! To be perfectly honest, it's not going to be the most positive post, since I haven't done so well this past week. My SMART goal is to reduce the amount of plastic water bottles I use to one per week, and by the end of ten weeks, be only using a glass water bottle. No more plastic ones! This past week was a little tricky, since I already had plastic water bottles at home that I had purchased. So I wanted to use them and not just toss them out, but that contradicts my goal. Regardless, I ended up using them. On the other hand, I haven't purchased any more plastic water bottles since the start of my goal, so that's progress! I haven't really experienced any other challenges yet. It is difficult though, since it's so simple to just grab a water bottle in the store and not think about it. I felt pretty good about not purchasing any more water bottles, but felt guilty after using the ones I had. Especially since I remembered my goal AFTER I used the bottle. This week I learned that I should recycle the plastic water bottles I have at home and that I need to get to the store to purchase a glass one. I have reusable plastic water bottle at home, but would really like to end up using only glass in the end. My plan for is to purchase a glass water bottle within the next week here, so I can start using it! I plan on sticking with my goal, since I do like it and I think that it will be achievable in the end. Wish me luck!

Eye Opener: Ecological Footprint

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not overly environmentally friendly...something that I'm working on changing! So I wasn't too excited to take the quizzes and find out exactly how NOT eco-friendly I've been. Needless to say, I wasn't surprised at my results. I took the Ecological Footprint quiz, which I actually thought was pretty cool. It showed that if everyone lived like me, we'd need 4.9 planet earths to support our lifestyles. That's not good!

I liked how the quiz broke everything down, so I could see what I needed to focus more on. I think that I could really start purchasing more locally grown food, which would be healthier and more eco-friendly. Also, I could cut back on how often I drive my car. The bus is available to use and is free, so it would be cheaper to use that instead of driving my car everywhere. There's a lot of learn through taking these quizzes...it helped me see that I need to start being more "green" and how to go about it!