Week One

This is my record of a project I started for a school project. For this project, we are supposed to find a way to make an impact on the environment and hopefully get others involved. For my project I decided to attempt to change my lifestyle. "We must be the change we wish to see in the world" Gandhi said. In experimenting with changing my lifestyle I hope to inspire people to attempt the same. I don't intend to do anything too drastic, small steps are sometimes more effective than large leaps. In my blog I want to record my ups and downs, triumphs and failures. I have kept a journal for the last five weeks. This is week one.

I decided to take the bus whenever possible. Since UWM provides a bus pass, I may as well use it. I do not own a fuel efficient car and my motorcycle is not the most reliable. I may also ride my bike, but I will admit, I am not in the best of shape and motivation is difficult to find in bad weather.

I decided to only buy the necessities and cut down on shopping. Hopefully my carbon footprint will be reduced. I own way more stuff than I really need and I don't use it all. The fact that I own multiple vehicles seems a bit excessive but unfortunately I can't ride a motorcycle in the winter.
How many pairs of shoes does one girl need anyway? At last count I have 24 pairs of shoes. I only have two feet.

In an attempt to help the local economy, my grocery shopping will be done at farmer's markets and locally owned businesses. I am going to try not to buy anything that isn't from within a 50 mile radius of my home. To me it doesn't make sense to transport produce from across the country when we grow perfectly tasty food here. Also, this is the dairy state. Why the hell would I want cheese from California. Also, I am going to try to learn to preserve food. As in canning, freezing, pickling, etc. This may prove a bit to challenging for me but I'll try anything once.

More fun to come soon!!