No Impact Experiment Conclusion

I have confession: I didn’t blog about Day7 and Day 8 of the No Impact Experiment. This was extremely difficult, because once I start a pattern of any kind, I have a lot of trouble NOT finishing, even if it ends up being a bad idea or a waste of time.

Now, after that little insight into my obsessive compulsive mind, I do want to point out that I didn’t NOT blog about Days 7 & 8 because it was a waste of time. Rather, I didn’t really participate in the final days because of circumstances beyond my control (plus it was my birthday and I took a break from pretty much everything).

Day 7 was supposed to be “Giving Back” day. Right now, I’m at the bottom of the impact pyramid at “Annually: Write a check” (although we give monthly to different causes). Giving money is nice, but it doesn’t fill the need I have inside to make a difference. In fact, I have been trying to get involved with non-profits since last year. I went through volunteer orientation at the Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee and then nothing. I also emailed a soup kitchen in town offering my services. Again, no response. This week, I decided to take care of this once and for all and called the volunteer coordinator at the Waukesha Food Pantry. Unfortunately, it went to voicemail, so I left one. I haven’t heard back. I’m pretty determined to make this one work though, so I have on my list of things to do to call her again today. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Day 8 was called “Eco-Sabbath.” I love the idea (unplug, unwind, don’t drive, don’t buy, chillax). However, I had a 250 mile drive to make from my husband’s apartment in Decorah, IA to our apartment outside of Milwaukee, WI. I also had to go to the Co-op so we would have some food for the week. So, I’ll take my Eco-Sabbath some other day and it will be sweet!

Here are some random thoughts from this experiment:

• I am nowhere near close to living completely sustainably.
• This would have been easier in the summer.
• Living sustainably in this country requires an enormous amount of mindfulness.
• It is harder to live sustainably when your daily routine gets messed up by illness, travel, etc.
• I am definitely more aware of my trash-making. For example, I avoid paper napkins and paper towels now. Just imagine if everybody in the country just cut down on this. It would have a huge impact!
• Living sustainably is all about changing habits. Check out zenhabits.net for great tips on changing habits.
• Next time I move, the presence of public transportation and bike lanes will be a huge deciding factor.
• It shouldn’t be so hard to find local food.
• Everybody should try the No Impact Experiment. It is a challenge!