Marilyn Groppe

RIT Sustainable Living Class - Spring 2021

"To be the most ethical consumer capitalism will allow me to be."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
482 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

9.0

pounds of paper

have been saved
UP TO

5.0

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

232

gallons of water

have been saved

Marilyn's actions

Simplicity

Needs Vs. Wants

I will adopt a "Needs Vs. Wants" approach and only buy things I need.

COMPLETED 9
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use Reusable Bags

If at all possible, I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

5-Minute Showers

I will save up to 20 gallons (75 L) of water each day by taking 5-minute showers.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

Brush My Teeth Without Running Water

I will save up to 8 gallons (30 L) of water each day by turning it off while brushing my teeth.

COMPLETED 9
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Choose Two-Sided Printing

I will save up to .21 lbs (.09 kg) of paper per day by switching from one-sided printing to two-sided when I have to print documents.

COMPLETED 9
DAILY ACTIONS

Participant Feed

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
Water 5-Minute Showers

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?

Marilyn Groppe 3/28/2021 7:28 AM

Polluting large bodies of water by dumping things in them. I'm not sure what I can do other than protest the people who dump things into water bodies.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Water Brush My Teeth Without Running Water

What is the main water source in your region? If you don't know, how could you find out?

Marilyn Groppe 3/28/2021 7:27 AM

Lake Ontario. At my home in VT, we have a well.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Use Reusable Bags

What do you do if you find yourself in the situation of needing a bag for items but don't have a reusable one with you or aren't allowed to use the one you brought? Carry things out in your hands? In a cart? Accept a disposable one? If you find yourself in this position often, what system could you put in place to try to create a successful habit of not using plastic bags?

Marilyn Groppe 3/28/2021 7:26 AM

Things are extra weird right now since I don't actually go in person. Instead, since everything is delivered in paper bags, I use those as trash bags around my house. Otherwise, I try to leave my bags in the car I'll be taking or near the door so I don't forget them.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Choose Two-Sided Printing

Choosing two-sided printing can be an easy adjustment on your computer settings. How can you help others make this same switch? Can it be encouraged company wide?

Marilyn Groppe 3/28/2021 7:25 AM

The main way I think we can encourage this is to adjust standards for things like printouts. Much of what I do is online anyways but expecting people to print 2 sided is a good shift.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Simplicity Needs Vs. Wants

How is creativity a necessary ingredient for practicing simplicity?

Marilyn Groppe 3/12/2021 5:19 AM

Being able to use things that I already have in creative ways helps me get the most out of my things. In addition, I find that I'm more inclined to buy more stuff when I'm bored, tired, or in general not feeling creative. Engaging with myself and my mind has been very helpful in keeping me from over consuming.

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Marilyn Groppe 3/10/2021 7:51 PM

As I'm finishing college, I'm looking more closely at how my actions affect the world around me. My freedoms are very limited, but I want to do what I can when I can.

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