Kelly Schwenk

PCC SOC 228 Intro to Environmental Sociology

"Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children- walt disney"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
721 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

64

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

90

minutes

of additional sleep
UP TO

60

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

20

minutes

being mindful
UP TO

5.0

pounds

waste composted

Kelly's actions

Health

Healthy Sleep

Do at Home

Effectively working for sustainability requires self care! I will commit to getting 30 more minute(s) of sleep each night to achieve at least 7 hours per night.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Personal Waste Audit

Do at Home

I will collect all of my unrecyclable, non-compostable trash to raise my awareness of how much I send to the landfill.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Simplicity

Meditate

Do at Home

I will meditate or create a moment of silence for 10 minute(s) each day to reflect on things important to me.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Compost Food Waste

Do at Home

I will avoid sending up to .69 lbs (.31 kg) of food waste to the landfill each day by composting my food or learning how to.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

Conserve Toilet Water

Do at Home

I will save up to 8 gallons (30 L) of water a day by flushing only when necessary.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Track My Purchases

Do at Home

I will spend 10 minutes each day maintaining a record of all my purchases and learning about my spending habits.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Find Local Recycling Depots

Do at Home

I will find out where to recycle the recyclable items that I can't put in recycling dumpsters or my curbside bin.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Learn About & Practice Sustainable Fashion

Do at Home

I will spend 30 minutes learning about sustainable fashion and begin trying to practice it in my own life.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Health Healthy Sleep

Consider how many hours of sleep you get now. How would you like to shift your sleep patterns? What are you finding works for you to be successful in this action?

Kelly Schwenk 10/26/2021 4:24 PM

I like this challenge because I love to sleep in, but sometimes can't so it makes me go to bed earlier. I think it makes me focus and be more productive during the day if I know I have a sleep schedule that I need to stick to. I recently started a new job and have had to wake up several hours earlier. As I adjust to the new schedule, my body is not used to changes but I'm sure it'll make the rest of my day more productive to be waking up sooner.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Simplicity Meditate

What would you like to invest more time in reflecting on?

Kelly Schwenk 10/26/2021 4:21 PM

This meditation topic has been my most neglected and I think it's because I don't prioritize this action in my life, and wish I would. Each time I came across the check in for this question, I wished I had done more and thought it would be such as easy thing to do. It's difficult to take time for something that doesn't feel like it makes a difference. I tend to get distracted or anxious that I'm not doing more. So I think this is one piece I'll take away from this challenge that I want to continue to try since it was difficult.

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Kelly Schwenk 10/19/2021 10:34 PM

I'm realizing that I'm not having much success with all the actions I selected so I'm going through and changing to new ones that may be more practical. I'm frustrated that my composting didn't go well, but am still motivated to learn more about it so I can use the composting baggies I bought, and not throw out as much food. The good news is that I realized I was throwing out less food than I had originally thought, so that was good food for thought!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Simplicity Track My Purchases

What have you noticed about your purchases? Where are you inclined to make shifts, if any?

Kelly Schwenk 10/12/2021 9:21 PM

This question and topic is challenging because while of course we want to be mindful, sometimes life throws something at you and you have an unexpected cost. I recently moved and have been making more purchases than I would have preferred, but hopefully they are one-time purchases that will last.
However, when you know you will need to report and think about your purchases, it's helpful for being more mindful and that has kept me from making not needed extras.

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Kelly Schwenk 10/09/2021 9:33 PM

I found that today was easier to remember the habits that I selected, though I haven't accomplished doing all of them in one day. I find that the mindful habits are more challenging because they require me to slow down and take some time to myself. I'm afraid that usually when I do that, I reach for my phone or get distracted and want to google a question. It's evident how important this task is, by seeing how challenging it is. I hope to be more intentional with these check ins.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Water Conserve Toilet Water

What would a sustainable water future in your region look like? What needs to change?

Kelly Schwenk 10/08/2021 7:33 PM

I love when public restrooms have the option to flush up vs down for the amount of water needed to dispose of the waste. I think it's a great solution to using less water, and would love to see that be a more universal practice in all toilets!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Compost Food Waste

New to composting? Be sure to check out the action resource links to learn tips and more about it. As you transition from throwing food away to composting, what do you notice about how much you are tossing? How will you use your compost once it is ready?

Kelly Schwenk 10/08/2021 7:32 PM

I am brand new to composting this week and am learning how to keep things clean and not smelly. I purchased a biodegradable composting baggy, and am hopeful that it will do it's job until I can fill it, however I'm realizing I have less food waste than I thought, which is a nice surprise!

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- Kelly Schwenk 10/17/2021 9:43 PM
  
  ashley, I have to follow up because I definitely failed in this project. I threw out my baggy because it got slimy and I didn't know what to do. I started finding a couple little fruit flies... though not near the compost. So I'm bummed about this and need to do some research and try again. let me know if you have any success or learn anything! :)
  
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- Kelly Schwenk 10/10/2021 3:01 PM
  
  Hi Ashley! I'm hoping I'm responding correctly, but not sure if I'm responding directly to you....
  Thanks for the good luck, I'm sure I will need it! So far, I haven't had any issues with smell or flies, though I haven't filled the bag all the way yet and it's only been a few days. I will let you know if anything significant happens worth reporting!
  
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- Ashley Schultz 10/10/2021 11:18 AM
  
  I want to start composting but I have horrible fruit flies in my home! Any suggestions? Good luck on your composting journey!
  
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Kelly Schwenk 10/02/2021 10:02 PM

Looking forward to having a resource for holding myself accountable and taking actions towards a healthier lifestyle for both myself and the environment!

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