Laurena Whitwer

Getting close to the end of the challenge. I feel good about maintaining two of three areas I challenged myself with--just need to continue to work on the reusable bag thing.

I failed miserably again bringing my reusable bags to the grocery store--we used them over the weekend purchasing groceries for my daughter and I forgot to put the bags back in the car. On the other hand, I'm doing well with my other challenges.

I spent time discussing this challenge with my daughter over this past weekend--particularly the topic of needs vs. wants. As a college student in Seattle with limited resources, she's really embraced needs vs. wants. She walks every where and utilizes public transportation for those places too far to walk. And she's taken to carrying a reusable grocery bag in her backpack for picking up groceries on her walk home from the university. She's also recycling!

Looking forward to getting out and visiting a local farm for fall treasures this weekend! Thinking I might can some apple butter.

Simplifying and "de-cluttering" has been a discussion topic over the last year for my husband and I. Having been raised in a military family, moving from place to place, de-cluttering has never been a problem for me, though I do feel guilty about the de-cluttering of things people have given me as gifts over the years. My husband, on the other hand, has lived in this area his whole life and holds considerable sentimental attachment to things--but lately he, too, has chosen to simplify through donation of useful items that have been boxed up in the garage for years. Baby steps but definitely steps in the right direction.

In considering "waste," this year we did a fantastic job planning for and utilizing all the produce from our small garden. Sadly, the last of the most wonderful tasting cherry tomatoes were picked just yesterday.

As I go through my closets, removing clothing I can no longer wear and find the tags still on some of the items, I realize how very much I need to employ the needs vs. wants philosophy. My husband and I will be donating quite a stack of gently used (and in some cases new) clothing, coats, and jackets.

Remembered to bring my grocery bags with me for this weekend's grocery shopping--woo hoo! I also did well practicing needs vs. wants. And all recyclables have been appropriately recycled.

Unsolicited mail was put into the recycling and I did a great job purchasing only what I needed... totally failed on the not using bags, though, because I forgot them at home when I went shopping (again). I have a bit more shopping to do this weekend and I'm determined to remember to bring them with.

I'll admit I have a tendency to forget my reusable bags at home--I need to do better about it so will challenge myself to take the bags back out to my car after I've put the groceries away. I do a fairly good job about recycling but I could do better... for example, putting the "to resident" mail in the recycle bin instead of the conveniently located trash container. And last, I watched a program on the astronomical amount of waste derived from low quality clothing and short-lived fashion trends that even second hand stores don't want to take and that got me thinking about how I select clothing, which made me decide to select the needs vs. wants category here. My goal is to minimize the amount of clothing I have (as much as possible) and ensure I am selecting clothing that will be long-lasting.