Carnegie Mellon University

Several times a day, I walk my dog down to the end of my driveway and back, usually twice at a time. It's a 650-foot driveway through the woods, here in the City of Pittsburgh. It's gorgeous. I can't help but breathe in (the air at the top of the hill is usually better than that by the Mon River that I can see down below), At first, my mind is...

I found a pretty pitcher at home from my mom and brought it to work.  I fill it daily to get my daily water intake and avoid using single use water bottles - I keep a pretty mug on my desk as well 

I think I now have about 30 reusable bags!   I keep some in every car and at both our cottage and at home - I even keep a few at work for emergencies!   Plus they have such cute bags

I love composting food - what a great way to enrich the soil and not feel as guilty if something goes bad in my fridge.   Can't wait to share some of the compost with my garden area - I feel so good doing this

I regularly use coffee cups for tea, but instead, I can use my own thermos and bring it to the drink shops which accept these containers.

We went on a wonderful bike ride from Burgettstown to West Virginia on Sunday to finish up the Panhandle Bike Trail. It was perfect fall day with crisp cool air, warm in the sun, and fall smells from the woods & fields.  There is a cute store, Cherry Valley Organics in a renovated train station in Burgettstown that you can get a good...

this challenge is reminding me to be aware of what I purchase, how I use items, to look at trash before I throw it away to see if I can recycle, repurpose, use in my composting, etc.  No more plastic disposable water bottles, no more throw away straws and switching to compostable dishes for picnics and parties

Reduce - I try to find ways to reuse or repurpose as much as possible each day.  There is a sense of accomplishment every time I find a way to do this, from cleaning and stacking cans for my granddaughters to bowl over, practice dropping clothes pins into, spraying them for silverware holders during parties, so many great ideas!

I try to keep disposable bags in my car or purse at all times but occasionally I find myself without a bag and so I just bundle everything in my arms and pray I don't drop anything along the way or if I purchase too much to carry, I buy another reusable bag - you can't have too many - right?!? I also purchased reusable vegetable and fruit bags...

I am so excited about learning to compost.  I've been wanting to do this for years and just saw a great youtube post about easy composting.  I've started already and can't wait to see the effects on my garden next summer not to mention so much waste not going into the trash!   I feel like I'm saving just a tiny part of the earth for my...