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October 3 - October 24, 2018

Northwest Housing Alternatives Feed

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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
    Waste Reduce Single-Use Disposables
    Bringing your own bags and containers to the grocery store, and even to restaurants for leftovers, are a couple of ways to reduce your waste. What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What could be substituted instead?

    Reese Neufeld's avatar
    Reese Neufeld 10/24/2018 10:46 AM
    Plastic bags are everywhere, and I use a lot of them.  I do reuse Ziploc bags, but I never think to take my own containers when buying in bulk.  Now that I've started noticing how many bags I use, though, I will work to find reusable containers I can take instead.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health Exercise Daily
    How can you incorporate other personal values (like quality time with friends or spending time in nature) into your exercise routine?

    Reese Neufeld's avatar
    Reese Neufeld 10/24/2018 10:42 AM
    Taking a hike with my husband or a friend, meeting at a park instead of a cafe or pub, walking to nearby locations rather than driving.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health Avoid refined sugar
    Before you started this challenge, did you think you were 'addicted' to sugar? How do you feel now?

    Reese Neufeld's avatar
    Reese Neufeld 10/24/2018 10:41 AM
    I wondered if I was addicted to sugar but didn't know for sure.  The answer is "probably."  I do a good job of avoiding sneaky added sugars in general, but I love dessert and eat it every single day.  There have been some cravings.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Water Install a Toilet Tank Bank
    Name some of the human activities impacting the health of water systems, both locally (your watershed) and globally (freshwater and oceans). What can you do to improve the health of water systems?

    Julia Doty's avatar
    Julia Doty 10/24/2018 8:51 AM
    Rather than buying an existing product, I filled two old water bottles and put them in the back of the toilet tank, saving water each time we flush at home. We also abide by the "if it's yellow, let it mellow" rule, reducing water consumption further. Kind of gross but effective!

  • Reese Neufeld's avatar
    Reese Neufeld 10/24/2018 8:28 AM
    Maybe it's because I know that this is the last week of the challenge, but the whole no-sugar thing suddenly got a lot easier this week.  I'm not even craving chocolate!  I don't think avoiding all refined sugar is practical in the long term--it just takes too much planning and life gets in the way--but eating less of it certainly seems feasible.

  • Vickie Flinchum's avatar
    Vickie Flinchum 10/22/2018 2:01 PM
    Whoo hooo! Almost there!!!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health Take Control
    How do environmental health, community health, and your personal health intersect?

    Julia Doty's avatar
    Julia Doty 10/22/2018 12:55 PM
    Being a type 1 diabetic, I always have to be careful to think about my overall health. A lot of the activities I must engage in to maintain my personal health have a side benefit of being environmentally friendly, like walking and biking instead of driving places. Some other parts are more difficult and less environmentally friendly; meat is a very easy snack or meal option for me since there are no carbohydrates involved, and my life is all about carbohydrate counting, but the negative effect on the environment causes me some cognitive dissonance. However, there are lots of protein-rich food options that are not meat, so I am trying to incorporate those into my diet more along with increased fruits and veggies.

  • Reese Neufeld's avatar
    Reese Neufeld 10/22/2018 8:32 AM
    My one-time goal was to learn about a new food prep technique.  Since I'm avoiding refined sugar as one of my daily goals, I decided to learn about cooking without sugar.  I've made pasta sauce using carrots and red bell peppers to add a touch of sweetness, soy-and-fruit smoothies, and potato-rosemary bread.  Have also experimented with using raisins in oatmeal and fruit dishes as a sweetener, which works really well.  I still miss sugar (I mean, REALLY miss it), but the things I've learned have helped.

  • Vickie Flinchum's avatar
    Vickie Flinchum 10/19/2018 10:43 AM
    I am really enjoying this!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Energy Turn it off
    How is electricity generated where you live? How does it impact the environment, animals, and humans?

    Julia Doty's avatar
    Julia Doty 10/17/2018 3:20 PM
    It is so much easier for me to turn my computer off each night when I leave work now that I have a new one! Turning it on and opening Outlook previously took over 7-8 minutes each morning, time which I did not want to take each day. Now that my computer turns on and opens programs quickly, it's so much easier for me to be environmentally friendly!