On one hand, I'm bummed that today was the last day of the EcoChallenge, but on the other hand, I'm excited and inspired by the new habits and momentum that's been generated (worldwide!) by this challenge. Pretty cool to have joined over 12,000 people all around the world to engage in positive actions to improve our environment, our community, and ourselves.  So proud of all the great things that team Inclusion accomplished over the last two weeks!!
 
Lessons I learned:
- It's SO much easier to just sit all day, but it's really not that hard to squeeze a 20-minute walk into my daily routine as long as I make a conscious effort to do so
- I really have way more stuff than I need, and I want to commit to continuing to de-clutter and simplify my life
- Small actions really do build over time and have a big impact
- There are many ways to make a difference
- Sometimes the biggest barrier is thinking that something will be harder to implement than it actually is.  Just try something new, and it might be easier than you think!

Well those 5 years of hippie college finally paid off because I won the dang plant!  And despite whatever rumors Lara's been spreading around the office, I was NOT taking selfies with it in my office!  I was.. um.. just photographing the plant and... uh... the light was too bright and I needed to hold it at a certain angle to get the colors right.  Yeah that's the ticket!

Thanks Inclusion for putting together the challenge!  It was very fun.  I tried to make it to the top 20 to rep us, but I was beat out by some middle-schoolers and a suspiciously prolific team that rallied out of nowhere to drop me out.  Whatever-- at least I have my new bud, Sally Fields, to keep me company while I sit in my office stewing with resentment! 

jk-- eco cred's all well and good, but I got plant and an awesome new thermos/lunch bag, which is all I really wanted to begin with : )
     

Day 15 - Made it to the end! This was a fun challenge and I hope to incorporate some of these things in my daily life moving forward (some - I miss my showers). :-) 

Not much in the mood to keep doing this but will tough it out for the next what one or two days?

OK, I waited till the 11th hour but finally completed my one-time challenge to reduce unwanted mail. I've collected the junk mail that I received during the two-week EcoChallenge and tonight I created an account with CatalogChoice, a sort-of one-stop-shop for managing catalog and junk mail opt-out preferences. (FYI, this website is managed by the fine people at The Story of Stuff Project.)

It was really easy to create an account, and now every time I get an unwanted catalog in the mail, I can log on and opt out. They even give you a dashboard where you can track what you've opted out of, and when. I can't wait to stop getting these dang RedPlum ads!! If anyone else wants to tackle their junk mail, check out the website:
CatalogChoice.org

Finally made it to a proper beach to do some cleaning. Daylight was limited and I had some business to attend to ( insert Shaka emoji here) so I didn't get to clean as much as I would have otherwise.

HOWEVER I found, yet again, a bunch of broken glass on the beach and, yet again, picked up as much as I could. I cannot cannot cannot stand glass on the beach. Even if you're a somewhat decent human being and don't intend to smash your Miller High Life on the rocks (like someone evidently did today) accidents happen and it's really hard to clean up. Freaks me out just thinking about it, so here's a picture of the sunset!

Please no glass on beach. 

Volunteered at the food bank tonight! We packed carrots and pears.

oops. i just threw garbage in another receptacle that is not mine for collecting :0

it's almost over - but i'm gonna keep on keepin' on :)

Day 14 - Almost to the finish line! Not sure if I will continue doing 5 minute showers, but I have been enjoying writing down things I am grateful for every day.