blame others

No electricity is extremely easy for me in school. I'm used to typing and writing in the darker rooms now, but at home is another story. I have a family who's agendas seem to be "destroy Matt's attempts at all cost" type. I can't solely blame them for my failures at home, but it gets harder when I turn off the lights only to see them left on for hours with nobody in the room. I forget often, but there is no excuse to not turn off the lights. All the switches are located at the of the room, yet I simply walk past them. I guess that is what everybody in my family has been doing. Walking home poses a problem to me. Yesterday I got a ride from Gary instead of walking. The walk probably would take me 45 minutes to my house, but I got there in 15 in the pickup truck. Bad Matt. Recycling poses little problems. My family does it habitually, so it is rare to not recycle everything. So far I think I'm doing well.

faliure

I failed this morning after I had started out so well yesterday. I woke up this morning with my lights on. This means that they have been on all night. I walked into the living room, and light were on there too! Argh! After turning these off in disgust I proceeded to take a 15 minute shower. It felt nice, but afterwords I realized what I had just done. My progress yesterday wiped out by my laziness and blissful ignorance led me to school. I hope I will become better as this fifth day continues on.

Monday - post 4

Today I slept in. I managed to get out of the shower 5 minutes earlier than usual. Halfway to my 10 minutes mark. Huzzah! I made my lunch in a paper bag and re-used plastic baggie things. Pretty good so far. The school day was sleepy in the dark, sun-lit rooms. I failed at my task of walking home instead of taking the bus because I had to get home in time for a dentist appointment, but I probably would have taken the bus anyway. At home I had to chase my 3 year old brother and do homework. I had my lights on when they weren't needed, so I will have to work on that. Recycling wasn't a problem whatsoever as my family is doing it extensively already. All in all, I believe I'm on par with completing this challenge.

the continuation

This project is more challenging to me than I previously thought it would be. I'm surprised on how hard it is for me to take a shorter shower. I've always taken a long, hot shower in the morning, and now I'm trying to lose that addiction. I'm so conditioned to take showers that I sometimes wake up in the shower. How? I don't know. Once I get in the shower it's so hard to get out early. I will have to try harder on this challenge.
After this project is over I will remember how hard it is to lose strong habits. Once those habits are gone, newer, better ones can arise. Recycling was a habit for myself before this project, but now I'm convincing my family to recycle too. It might be a domino effect, but only time will tell if they continue. Once you get started, you feel happy about what you're doing. Instead of telling other people to be better, be better yourself.

Matt B - day 2

Still getting used to this idea of less lights and recycling. Everything recyclable I recycle, so that was not a problem and shouldn't become one. Using less lights seems like a no-brainer, but I constantly caught myself watching TV with the lights on. I don't need those lights on, but I act on impulse every time I enter a room. I need to find a way to keep myself from flipping the switch, hopefully not reaching electrical shock. Showers continue to be a problem. I remembered that I needed o take a shorter shower, but when 5 minutes was up I didn't want to leave the warm shower. I'll try taking progressively shorter showers instead of chopping off the 10 minutes overnight.

Matt B - Day 1

For my low impact challenge I chose to:

• walk home instead of taking the bus
• turn off the lights when not needed
• recycle more items that I would normally throw away
• and take a shorter shower by 10 minutes (I normally take a 15 min shower daily)

Yesterday, the first day of the project, I managed to remember to turn off the lights and open the shades after school. For some reason I have usually gone home and turned on all the lights while keeping the shades shut. Sunlight gave me the same effect. I forgot to take a shorter shower this morning. I haven't talked to my family about this project yet, and I plan to include them eventually. Usually I stay after school to get work done and I don't have a chance to take the bus. On Wednesdays I usually take the bus, so I will try to remember to walk.