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February 27 - March 20, 2019
Lauren  Delorenze 's avatar

Lauren Delorenze

Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

"I will do my best to set an example to others by doing my best to live a sustainable life, reduce waste and inspire change in my community. "

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 682 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    40
    minutes
    spent learning

Lauren 's actions

Waste

Visit a Waste Management Facility

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning about the waste stream by visiting a local dump/transfer station, material recovery facility, and/or landfill.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Needs vs. Wants

I will adopt a 'Needs Vs. Wants' approach and only buy things I need.

COMPLETED 15
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Buy in Bulk

I will only purchase bulk food items and avoid all single-package items.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Personal Waste Audit

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

COMPLETED 11
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Happiness

I will write down three things every day for two weeks that I am grateful for, or send one email every day thanking or praising someone.

COMPLETED 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Audit Toxic Cleaning Products in my Home

I will spend at least 20 minutes researching toxic chemicals found in cleaning supplies and personal care products and remove them from my home.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Sign Up for Air Quality Alerts

I will sign up to receive local Air Quality Alerts via EnviroFlash email notification

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Find Local Recycling Depots

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Avoid Disposables

I will not use any disposable straws, plates, cups, or cutlery.

COMPLETED 16
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Reduce Unwanted Mail

I will reduce the amount of unwanted mail I receive (catalogs, phone books, etc.).

COMPLETED
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?


  • Lauren  Delorenze 's avatar
    Lauren Delorenze 3/20/2019 6:07 AM
    last day!! This has been really great, i definitely realized that i need to do better in all aspects of my life to make the way i live align with my beliefs. However, i also realized that i have the will and the ability to change my habits!  

  • Lauren  Delorenze 's avatar
    Lauren Delorenze 3/19/2019 6:06 AM
    Garden Center going strong with our under desk elliptical, thank you Meghan for getting the squeak out or Gabe would have gone mad. 

  • Lauren  Delorenze 's avatar
    Lauren Delorenze 3/18/2019 10:48 AM
    Just a reminder to rinse your eggshells well when putting them in the compost... very stinky mistake

  • Lauren  Delorenze 's avatar
    Lauren Delorenze 3/15/2019 12:19 PM
    If anyone is every at the garden center, check out the witch hazel in the front planter. MIND BLOWING! RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE

  • Lauren  Delorenze 's avatar
    Lauren Delorenze 3/12/2019 12:51 PM
    Some tips for reducing plastic!
    • Just don't buy it - This has been, hands down, the hardest part. I have been trying to ask myself, do you really need this when I purchase things... there is a fine line sometimes. 
    • Buy in bulk, the food co-op is wonderful, you can bring your own containers and fill up! They even have greens and sprouts in bulk. Whole foods also has a great bulk section and you can find most of the produce unpackaged. Whole foods and the co-op are expensive if you buy premade/prepackaged items. I try to just buy the veg there.
    • Saving my wrappers - as part of this challenge I did save up a few days worth of plastic and it is staggering...
    • I purchased stash bags, bees wrap, glass jars and use cloth bags when I shop. The bees wraps are great!!
    • switched from sponges to reusable dish cloth
    • I carry bamboo utensils in my purse just in case I need them, I also carry around a straw
    • This one was weird to get used to... I went out to eat the other night and I brought my own to go container... you get weird looks BUT it is a great teaching opportunity as you explain yourself. 
    • Next level up - my goal is to get some boxes from terracycle for the plastic that I do use and items like toothpaste tubes, dog food bags and other packaging that sometimes you just cant get away from.



    • Meghan Scanlon's avatar
      Meghan Scanlon 3/13/2019 9:49 AM
      These are great tips, Lauren. I've got some more ideas to incorporate now!

    • Jerry Crockett's avatar
      Jerry Crockett 3/13/2019 7:35 AM
      Okay so now I have new goals with the take out container sitch, I keep utensils with me in my vehicle if I'm going somewhere that doesn't offer non-disposable options. Single-use is the hard stuff to avoid though for sure, especially for things like tofu! I'm trying to figure out some alternatives, like making my own seitan or just avoiding tofu entirely but it's rough. 

    • Michelle Allworth's avatar
      Michelle Allworth 3/12/2019 3:44 PM
      ❤️

  • Lauren  Delorenze 's avatar
    Lauren Delorenze 3/12/2019 5:39 AM
    This challenge has given me the push i needed to try and go single use plastic free! I have been slowly reducing for a while but am finally making the effort to eliminate the nasty stuff from my life! has been a difficult journey finding acceptable alternatives for the things i use the most. It has also been eye opening to see how far we need to go and how much more I personally need to advocate to businesses, grocery stores, and manufacturers to eliminate excessive packaging and plastic. I need to raise my voice to let companies know that there are consumers who are ready for plastic free options and hopefully, once these products are more widely available, more people will make the transition. I gotta say, I MISS CAULIFLOWER! You can not find it loose, you better believe i will be planting my own this spring!! 

    • Hayden Sloan's avatar
      Hayden Sloan 3/13/2019 6:19 AM
      I miss cauliflower, too. It's funny you mention it because I asked about it loose/plastic-free when I was at the store just this past weekend. 

    • Meghan Scanlon's avatar
      Meghan Scanlon 3/12/2019 12:16 PM
      I'd love to hear some of your tips, Lauren! 

    • Jerry Crockett's avatar
      Jerry Crockett 3/12/2019 6:06 AM
      I am so proud (and jealous). It's hard to avoid them, especially if your diet is mostly vegetables. I'm not sure what part of town you live in, but there is a farmer's market in East Liberty on Saturdays from 5AM - 12PM located next to the Home Depot - I've seen the farmers there have cauliflower before!