Reflection: Weeks 7 & 8

Week 7.
*watched the video "Green"... this video was a documentary done by a grad student about certain 'cancer alleys' and how the people feel about these companies that have came in and taken over
*4th week of our lifestyle change
*2nd quarter of Read n Seed book
*Environmental working group... learned about the hazards of ingredients in our make-up

Week 8.
*watched the movie "Thirst"... this video was about the privitization of water and the affect it has on the countries being abused by manufacturers to bottle water
*we did an eye-opener called "junk on the brain" where I was made aware of some 'junk' terms and some cute ways to make some junk I had into great pieces of art around the house
*week 5 of our lifestyle change

Things i learned..
I learned quite a few new things throughout these weeks. Not only did I find new ways to recycle or upcycle my junk, but my eyes were once again opened to some of the negatives in other people's lives.. such as 3rd world countries whose water is currently privitized and some people who live right here in the US in so-called cancer alleys. I am also learning through my lifestyle change that the more I challenge myself with it, the more interest I keep regarding the goal.

Blogging has become a part of life at this point, haha. I always feel like there is something I can post about in share and voice's, there just always seems to be something to rant or rave about, or even pose a question about.

Just wanted to give a shout-out to my group member Ashley, who received a blog award this week. Go Ashley!     


Seriously people, check out this video!!!

Happy blogging and have a good weekend everyone!

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5: Weekly Update

SMART GOAL. 3 minute showers. 7 minutes if i have to shave.

Successes & Challenges. I feel that this week was a pretty big success. I stayed well within my range and I managed to make my 'shaving' showers around five minutes.

Feelings. I am very happy about this week. I definitely have improved and it just seems to get easier and easier. I hardly even think about it anymore!
 

What i learned. I learned that the more you make something a habit, the easier it is to do. I will certainly be keeping this after this class is over.

Plans for next week. I am going to try to shorten them a little bit more even. I figure if it is this easy to keep them short, why not challenge myself a little bit more.

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5 hosted by Amy@Eco-Chic with Amy

Eye Opener: Junk on the Brain

According to Google Dictionary:


antique- made in or typical of earlier times and valued for its age

junk/junking- trash: dispose of (something useless or old

flea market- an open-air street market for inexpensive or secondhand articles

thrift shop- a shop which sells used goods (especially clothes) at low prices

upcycling- the repurposing of a material into a product of higher quality. An example would be a purse made out of woven candy wrappers

resale shop- a reseller is a company or individual that purchases goods or services with the intention of reselling them rather than consuming or using them


What do these items have to do with environmental health?
     These terms bring to light recycling and various ways to re-use items that are already in circulation. It encourages consumers to buy locally or buy recycled materials. It can also be cheaper to shop in a thrift shop or resale shop. Instead of always looking to buy new it introduces buying used.

Identify local resources for the terms above.
     Antiques: Canal Park Antique Center, 310 South Lake Avenue, Duluth, MN, (218) 720-3940
     Junk/Junking: not sure how local this one is, but they say they will pick up in Duluth, Donate Junk Car, (866) 770-5463
     Flea Market: Studebaker Drivers Club Swap Meet Flea Market & Classic Car Show. Lake Superior College, 2101 Trinity Rd, 2 mi S of Miller Hill Mall. Annually 2nd Sunday in August. (218) 722-8533, Email: stude.one@usfamily.net
     Thrift Shop: Goodwill, 700 Garfield Avenue, Duluth, MN, (218) 722-6351
     Upcycling: I couldn't find any specific upcycling places to go in Duluth, but I did find this website for Annual Green Gifts Fair in Minneapolis, and it looks very neat! Not only was it 'green' themed, but there were lots of different sub-categories for a variety of interests.
     Resale shop: Plato's Closet, 5115 Burning Tree Road, Suite 315C, (218) 733-9455


I want to rave about Plato's Closet for a minute. Although I haven't tried any of these other stores I listed, I have been to Plato's on numerous occasions. Not only is it nice to clean out your closet of old clothes you never wear anymore, but it is awesome to get money back for them. It comes in handy for a little extra spending money and as college students we know money is tight. And you may not think it would be a very trendy place to shop, I stopped there before school started this year and got some lightly worn jeans and a few name brand tee shirts for cheap. You can't tell where I bought them so why not save a few bucks? I recommend you try them out if you haven't already.

On JunkMarketStyle.com, these were my three favorite things.

1. Milk Strainer "vase" - I like the way vintage flower pots look and the use of these weed like plants is very in right now. It can dress up a plain wall or just decorate a boring corner. Very creative!

2. Hem Marker Memo Holder - I thought this one was cool because I always have 'to do' notes lying around and am very forgetful without them. This is kind of a cool way to make remembering things a little less uncluttered!

3. Barnyard Tealight Display -  I like mood lighting a lot and right when I saw this one it made me think of putting them in a bathroom or bedroom to make the usual light fixtures a little less harsh. Makes me want to try and make some!

 

Share & Voice: The 10 Healthiest Cities for Women

1. Burlington, Vermont.

2. Bethesda, Maryland.

3. Portland, Maine.

4.Cambridge, Massachusetts. 
5. San Francisco, California.

6. Honolulu, Hawaii.

7. Stamford, Connecticut.

8. Madison, Wisconsin.

9. Santa Barbara, California.

10. Fargo, North Dakota.

...click on the links to discover more about each city.

 According to MSNBC.com, this is the 10 healthiest cities for women in 2009.

"Women everywhere are making healthy changes. Now we’ve found the people doing it best: With the help of an expert panel and BestPlaces.net, we crunched 7,700 bits of data from 100 metro areas to find the 10 top spots for women. Not lucky enough to live in one? We asked gals in bottom-ranked cities to share how they create the good life absolutely anywhere. Because change happens one smart woman at a time." -SELF magazine

Would you ever move to any of these.. or visit? Have you already been to any of these cities? What do you think?