Leah Welch

So far my challenges are going decent. Some are easier than others, giving me a slight challenge. The ones that are easier for me are taking 5-minute showers, reusing reusable bags, and turning off things when they aren't in use. The shower challenge is easier because I already took generally shorter showers, but 5-minutes still required a cutback. The reusing reusable bags isn't necessarily hard but it just something that I have to remember to do. A lot of times, stores don't even ask and just start bagging your things in plastic bags and before I know it it is too late. The turning off electronics has been easier, but there are still times when I forget. Living in a house without people,  I sometimes leave lights on knowing that they will use them eventually, but in some cases it is is an hour later. The two challenges that are really making me work are shutting down my computer and doing zero-waste meals. I do not like to shut off my computer because I know it will get used again in less than 24 hours, but that still means that I am using unnecessary energy for that 24 hours. Out of these first few days of the challenge, I would say I remembered to turn off my computer about 60% of the time, showing this is something I need to continue to work at. Lastly, zero-waste meals. This one has been a struggle for me. I originally planned on doing 2 meals a day, but this isn't always the case depending on my schedule. Since this challenge has started I have done about 5 meals of cooking where I could try and do zero-waste. I have been decently successful at this because I do like to save my leftovers, so not much goes to waste besides maybe a few scraps. With me not making myself as many meals though means that I am using prepackage or to-go containers which are creating plastic waste. Therefore I need to work on making my own meals with the least amount of waste possible.