'...with a little help, from my friends...'

Ooooh, interesting conversations happening already. First thing I've learnt: 'local living' isn't exactly new, but it's new to me/ us, so in seeking advice we may need to get it from new people/ sources..and 'community' becomes self-evidently important! (And a joy!)

Here's the conversation so far from: http://experiment.noimpactproject.org/group/simplesteps/forum/topics/sunday-consumption-69

“hhmmm..i have consciously cut down on buying new stuff already over the last year or so, at first thought, the main new thing i would buy this week is a birthday present for a 5 year old boy's party. now, i don't have a problem making or buying second-hand for him...but will my 7 year old son accept that for his friend, will the birthday boy, and will the birthday boy's family understand? hmmm...the party is next sunday, let's see what i can come up with. apart from that i can't think of anything else apart from food that i'll need. so far :)”

“Vaike, that's an interesting conundrum. I find it easier to give homemade or secondhand gifts to adults rather than to children. Doesn't that seem odd, given children's imaginations and creativity? I'd love to hear what you come up with!

Wendy, thanks for the link to the meetup groups. My old clothing swap ended when the organizer moved out of state, so I can't wait to connect with a new group.”

“Like Wendy, I've been cutting down on consumption for quite awhile now. I was shocked to find that I was still using shopping as a comfort/soother ("retail therapy"), despite becoming more aware of my mindless spending patterns. The hardest part of decreased purchasing for me has been finding new and different coping mechanisms. Initially, I just started shopping at thrift stores, rationalizing that my shopping-as-a-stress-relief was okay because I was buying used stuff. But me, my husband and 2 wee dogs live in less than 500 square feet and there's just only so much room for crap. So, now anytime I find the urge to shop, I have to ask myself why and what I can do to genuinely address the issue. Interestingly enough, this resulted in me getting a new, amazingly (nearly!) stress-free job. Ah, relief!”

“Vaike, I've had great success printing out free paper toys from thetoymaker.com. I print them on white cardstock and place them in a binder with a personalized cover. So far, the kids I've given them to have loved it, particularly because they can work on making the toys with friends and adults. But if he's into war games and what not, this might not work!

Many moons ago, I got one of my teenage nephews used clothes. He was offended when he found out until one of the "popular" kids noted the name brand (a normally expensive brand). After that, he kept asking me to get him more of "those used clothes." Sadly, I didn't use it as an opportunity to talk with him about the perils of brand worshiping, etc. I was just happy he was willing to wear secondhand clothes.”

“I had to wean myself from retail therapy, too. Usually, it takes just a simple question -- "Am I buying this because I need it or because I'm feeling down?" -- to avoid temptation. There's one shopping indulgence I still allow myself, though -- the greenmarket! There's no better pick-me-up than wandering through the stalls, chatting with the vendors, enjoying the sensory overload, and later making a big batch of roasted whatever-looked-good.

The site http://stopbuyingit.com/ intrigues me. Has anyone else kept a tally of the items they didn't buy?”

“Vaike, that is an interesting dilemma. For me, an important part of this challenge is not to be "perfect" but to do what is right in minimizing our impact. I think we do the whole process a disservice when we do things that make the whole green movement seem bizarre and out of touch. Giving a second hand gift could be perceived that way. One suggestion I have for the child's present is to make a purchase but try to but something fun and creative from a local crafts person instead of something from a big corporation. Decreasing consumption is important but I think it's just as important to channel our remaining consumption towards local, socially conscious people and companies.

Please let us know what you come up with. I think we can all learn from these experiences!”

Day Three - Tuesday: TRANSPORTATION

These were my instructions for today via http://noimpactproject.org/experiment/

Day Four - Wednesday: FOOD

These were my instructions for today via http://noimpactproject.org/experiment/

Step 1: Take your food list from yesterday and calculate your carbon “foodprint.” Did you eat anything grown within 250 miles? Click here to find out what’s in season locally. Chose five items from yesterday that were not produced locally and try swapping them out for items that are produced locally.

Step 2: For this week define your own limits. Will you only buy food grown within 100 miles of your home, or food only grown in the U.S.? Will you give up beef or try veganism? Since you aren’t consuming packaged products (which create trash), your choices may be easier than you think.

Step 3: Dig in! Bicycle to a farmers’ market. Learn some new recipes. Invite friends over for a potluck. Keep track of your food choices. Ask yourself throughout the day: what are the most challenging aspects of adjusting your food habits? Blog about your choices, experiments, menus, or other food adventures.

"woah, the end of my last week got busy! so my postings are all late, but i feel i must complete. i am already vegetarian and eat organically as much as i can. i have begun bringing no or low packaging into the equation when choosing food now. but eating local stumped me. i am willing to shift but can see i need to really research more - i have no idea really what is grown locally and where to buy it from! have just joined a vegie co-op so all my fruit and vegies will be coming boxed each week (and i will be in contact with the farms and farmers - nice!) but as for the other bits...beans, pastas, rices, etc.....will have to research and/or learn how to make from scratch. so my biggest lesson here has been mindfulness :)"

Day Five - Thursday: ENERGY

These were my instructions for today via http://noimpactproject.org/experiment/

Step 1: Assess current energy consumption habits. Walk from room to room in your home. List everything in each room that uses energy to operate (i.e.,electricity, oil, gas, batteries). Put a star next to any item that you would ordinarily use in the remaining four days of your No Impact Experiment.

Step 2: Next to each starred item, indicate if you are going to ELIMINATE or MITIGATE your usage of that item. Not sure how to live without your fill in the blank? Brainstorm and spark a conversation with others online.

Step 3: Unplug! Turn it off. Power down. Go off the grid. For the truly adventurous, turn off your electricity completely and see what happens.

Ask yourself throughout the day: What is the hardest part about reducing the amount of energy you use?

"this later part of the week has turned tricky for me as i live with my parents at the moment. not that they aren't environmentally interested, just that i don't really have the autonomy to do all-encompassing experiments. with this one, i have again used it as an exercise in mindfulness (ie some leftovers are fine cold! no need to warm them if i think about it! ...small things like this). i am about to move in to a new apartment with my boyfriend and son, i know we plan to have no tv already anyway...it will be refreshing to start from scratch and be as eco as we can :)"

Day Six - Friday: WATER

These were my instructions for today via http://noimpactproject.org/experiment/

Step 1: Assess your current water habits from the moment you hit the snooze button until bedtime. Calculate your approximate water footprint and figure out the water footprint of your food.

Step 2: Create a list of the water you will likely consume today (not exact measurements, just general usage).

Think about where you use water: at home, at work, church or school, on the go, and eating out. This will help you think about how you use water.

Step 3: BEGIN! Turn off the faucet. Run the water gently when needed. Soak the dishes. Sponge-bathe.

Ask yourself throughout the day: What is the hardest part about reducing the amount of water you use?

Are you doing something particularly novel or fun to reduce your water consumption?

"yeah...apart from the 4 min shower timer that i already use and saving all the day's dishes to do at once, i was a bit stuck here. will definitely start placing a bucket in the shower to use for flushing. and get the water save shower head when we move in a week or so. here's a teeny tiny thing that i do: when i cook a batch of pasta, i drain the pasta water into a sink that is plugged, then use that as the washing up water. also, in winter, i use the water that's been in our hot water bottles overnight in the sink to wash the breakfast dishes. (incidentally, i also use a hot water bottle on my lap instead of having a heater on whilst working on the computer at home in winter.) (incidentally to that, i've wondered whether a cloth bag filled with rice was better than a hot water bottle in terms of manufacture...but then you need to use microwave to heat the rice...hhmmmm?)"

Day Seven - Saturday: GIVING BACK

These were my instructions for today via http://noimpactproject.org/experiment/

Step 1: Make a list of all the ways you contribute to your community now. Do you watch your neighbor’s kids for free? When’s the last time you held open a door for a stranger? Do you write checks to charity or volunteer on occasion? How can you step up what you’re already doing and do more?

Step 2: Make a list with three columns: 1) all the charities you’d love to help out, 2) why you feel you can’t, and 3) how you can address and remove those barriers. Do your barriers — as legitimate as they may seem to you — outweigh the importance of participating? Remember: you needn’t become an “activist” or even a leader to be active in your community! Simply participating in an ongoing project is giving back and living your values.

Step 3: Practice what you preach. Give. Do. Help. Change. In other words, sign up today to volunteer for a local environmental cause.

"i wasn't able to schedule volunteering in this week. but i have committed to being a garden assistant for my son's school vegie patch. and i am helping a friend run a screening of 'the age of stupid' (my partner and I have already held 2 screenings ourselves). as i have mentioned, i am about to move house, it's an apartment building that i'm moving in to; my plan is to hold an 'open afternoon tea' one afternoon when we've settled where we say we have cakes and tea and the door is open and invite our new neighbours to drop by...i'm hoping this will be a cool way to meet them and start conversations that could lead to 'community'!

lastly, my boyfriend is waiting to hear back from our local government member, we have asked for an appointment to come in and let her know what our views and concerns are in terms of environment (we are in australia and used this tool: http://www.acfonline.org.au/default.asp?section_id=270"