Amy Gruzesky

Penn State EcoChallenge 2017

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
235 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

160

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

180

minutes

of additional sleep
UP TO

15

more servings

of fruits and vegetables

Amy's actions

Energy

Heat and Cool Naturally

I will naturally heat and cool my house, office, or dorm room by opening or closing my windows, curtains, and blinds, and by using fans.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Switch to Cold Water

I will switch to washing my clothes in cold water, saving up to 1,600 lbs of C02 over the course of the next year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Buy From a Farmers Market

I will purchase produce and meat from a local farmers market or food co-op.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Turn it off

I will keep lights, electronics, and appliances turned off when not using them.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Healthy Sleep

I will commit to getting 30 more minute(s) of sleep each night to achieve at least 7 hours per night.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

More Fruits and Veggies

I will eat a heart healthy diet by adding 3 cups of fruits and vegetables each day to achieve at least 4 cups per day.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

5-Minute Showers

I will save up to 20 gallons (75 L) of water each day by taking 5-minute showers.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Participant Feed

Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?

Amy Gruzesky 10/23/2017 12:33 PM

Have to say, I'm getting used to taking 5-minute showers and am really enjoying the extra time I now have in the mornings because I've shaved at least 5-7 minutes off my normal shower time. Gives me time to pack a healthy lunch and enjoy an extra cup of coffee before I have to leave for work. I can see this becoming my normal routine.

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Amy Gruzesky 10/17/2017 5:34 AM

Have to say, felt very good about having shopped at a farmer's market yesterday and using the fresh local veggies to make a vegetarian dinner last night -- plus enough for leftovers, so I can have a second vegetarian dinner tonight or tomorrow night. Our farmer's market here goes through to Thanksgiving, and they now have their fall crops -- sweet potatoes, turnips, rutabagas, cabbage, brussel sprouts and more kinds of squashes than I realized existed. Next week, I plan on buying some of those to create another meatless dinner. Hopefully, it will become a lasting habit.

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Amy Gruzesky 10/16/2017 2:08 PM

Visited the local farmer's market on my lunch break today -- and couldn't believe the great buys and great veggies I got -- fresh beets, zucchini, kale, cabbage, broccoli and brussels sprouts, as well as eggplant and a small basket of jalapeno peppers. Thinking of doing up a meatless ratatouie tonight for dinner to make use of some of these yummy veggies and also be more healthy!

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Amy Gruzesky 10/12/2017 6:08 AM

I've always tried to be aware of things like not wasting water, eating healthier and buying organic when I can afford to do so. So, I signed up for this challenge to see what more I could do and also to keep sustainability in mind. Since signing up, one of the things that was easy to do and which has helped, is getting 30 minutes more of sleep each night. Just going to bed that much earlier, without falling asleep in front of the TV, has made me feel better when I wake up each morning and more refreshed. I see this becoming a habit.

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Amy Gruzesky 10/10/2017 12:44 PM

First day, and I went to bed a half hour earlier last night; brushed my teeth without water, and had a healthy, meatless salad for lunch. 3 of my four goals. Will also be trying to conserve water by only flushing when necessary, but I have to admit -- that's a hard one to get used to.

However, not sure how to add my goals as completed for today.

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- Brandon Rothrock 10/11/2017 5:42 AM
  
  Hi Amy! Great job thus far for the challenge! To answer your question, if you click on "dashboard" at the top left, it will take you to a page where you can click "I did this!" for the challenges you complete. It then shows you how much of something you saved for that day! For example, I got 30 more minutes of sleep, and I was able to remove 1 pound of CO2 from the atmosphere by powering down my computer for 2 hours!
  
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