Chris Odeen

Okay, *maybe* it's cheating, but I'm counting the window upgrade because, even though they're not in yet, I ordered them! We had two that absolutely needed replacement before winter, and with Menards sale, plus some "credit" slips we had from other returns, etc., we were able to go on and purchase two, to replace the worst of them. It is our goal to have them all upgraded within the next year, but two is a start! I'll take it!

The other thing I am counting, is that the water pressure pump in our house was extremely old and outdated, never mind that it was leaking water into its diaphragm, which was a waste of water. We had a local plumber replace it (to the tune of $792!! Ouch!!!). BUT, it is energy-efficient, and won't waste water, moving forward. Score TWO for the environment!!! :)

I've got someone coming out on the 30th to connect my wind turbine to the grid! WHOO-HOO!!! I guess, technically, I haven't "completed" it yet, I *HAVE* purchased the equipment and made the appointment, so I'm counting it! Looking very forward to watching the electricity meter roll backwards! YAY!!! Harness what God gives us, and make it work!!!

My why was fairly simple: 1. I had been VERY motivated for some of these activities, back in the Spring and early summer, when we first bought our house. I was ALL about declutter, simplify, reduce footprint (our new place is out in the country), increase energy efficiency, and install a wind turbine. They were all on the list. The weekend we got the keys, my husband had a heart attack and required surgery. The summer we intended to absolutely blow through the house and move Labor Day weekend was spent with him in cardiac rehab and my doing demo alone (I clock in at about 100 pounds... even with the help of a young man we hired, we didn't make *nearly* the progress to be able to actually move)... so now, we're months away from moving, and I got completely off-track with the projects. 

This Ecochallenge was the perfect opportunity to kick-start my motivation once again! I picked some of the actions (i.e., windows, renewable energy source) specifically because they were on the "list" from the start! Now it's time to make it happen, before winter, before the ground freezes (when it can benefit Western's team! lol). 

I was pleasantly surprised by how many of the "challenges" I already do, which was encouraging, because I really do try to be mindful about our environment, reducing our carbon footprint, recycling wherever possible (even in things like refinishing or reupholstering furniture rather than trash it). I have incorporated that into our business model as well, over the years: recycle, repurpose, reuse. It will be nice to apply it to our new (OLD) house, also, and let her be the embodiment of the things in which we believe.

Well, I've got another bag started, now, for Savers. At this rate, I could have a large bag of donations a week - how great would that be?! Then, I could start in the shop, before winter officially begins. We needed to move out of our rented storage lockers and we ran out of time to "go through" everything but we were implementing a 50% rule until my husband had a heart attack and time just ran out on us. It truly was helpful to have three boxes going and for every tote we opened, items were sorted into keep/donate/get rid of (either donate or sell), and trash/burn. We were motoring through when life got in the way. I'm looking forward to keeping the momentum from this Ecochallenge going and taking on the shop after I finish packing up the house! I have set the goal that, by this Christmas, 1. we will be moved in and 2. by next Christmas, the house will be 90% finished and the shop organized/offloaded. I don't think I would be so ruthless about either my keep-offload ratio or my deadlines were it not for this challenge. 

I wish that I had seen that Western was doing this challenge, because I would have been completing tasks from the beginning; instead, I only joined the challenge yesterday! But, it is encouraging me! I have an appointment for Western Dairyland to come out and do an Energy Audit at the house we are remodeling (and, ultimately, into which we are going to be moving) to check on the windows. And, yesterday evening, I priced out a personal wind turbine; we are committed to having that up and running before the end of the month, which is exciting. I went out to the property today, since it was so windy, to try to see where is the best place to put it, to take full advantage of wind exposure! A gal in my Human Services cohort mentioned about a local CSA; I intend to get the information from her on Tuesday, and I be joining it this coming week.

I find myself further-motivated, with the challenges. These are already things we'd discussed doing but, with the challenge, I'm, like, "All right! All right! Let's DO this!!!" I committed to myself that we are *NOT* moving everything to the house, from where we are renting, so it's been very exciting to look around and, suddenly, I'm, like, "That doesn't need to come. Not bring that. Not that, either." I am challenging myself, personally, to find 10 things a day, minimum, to donate to Savers, sell, or otherwise find a new home for them. I donated shoes for our local Animal Shelter, as part of their ongoing fundraising. I took two large kitchen bags to Savers, yesterday, when I went to Menards to price out personal wind turbines. No single thing I do may make a huge impact but, collectively? As a group? As a school? As a nation? We can save our planet! It is, truly, up to us!!!