Peppers. We pickled peppers for the first time and they have turned out great! Spicy, but great. I definitely want to continue pickling and saving produce that we are able to grow in our backyard.

Bring clothe towels and napkins to work. Everything here is paper towels. To reduce my footprint, I should start packing napkins and hand towels to use here throughout the day.

(I ended up doing this challenge while I am completing the "Trash Audit" challenge. Since my goal was to do the "Trash Audit" throughout the whole EcoChallenge, I figured I might as well get points for carting it to and from work each day.)

I tried to take this challenge one step further. Recently, I played around with turning on and off the water during the showers. Essentially, I am running the water only when I need to rinse off. This drastically reduces the amount of time you are running the water.

For example, tonight my shower was 4 min 34 sec. However, the water was running for only 2 min 48 sec.

Remarkably, I still feel clean after the shower. However, one does have to get over the "cold factor" of being damp without water running. Small price to pay. Alternatively, we could all take bucket showers.

Another potential way to reduce our water footprint is to watch what we eat. For example, much of the meat we consume is incredibly "water intensive" (see image below). Finding other sources of protein (e.g., beans or "impossible" meat) is a great way to reduce our water footprint. I want to say that the Impossible Meat uses 99.9% less water than it takes to create a regular burger patty [heard that on a podcast - Science Friday - but citation needed]. And, honestly, the Impossible taste is better than many burgers that I have had.

It became a lot easier when a friend gifted me a small reusable glass/silicone coffee mug. I think honestly the biggest barrier for doing this is remembering to bring it with me when I go! Convenience is key when making more impactful choices, and I just need to keep it on me (and cleaned) more regularly to make this a sustained (and sustainable) choice. 

I actually had no idea that powering my computer down was an important step, so I'm glad to know that now. I do typically keep power-sucking things unplugged when not in use, but I can always try to be more thoughtful about light switches. I'm going to try to only turn the lights on when daylight is no longer sufficient--at least in the shared spaces at my house! 

In fact, I am new to composting. Thankfully, the home we just bought has the beginning of a compost pile in the backyard, so I have been able to use that. But, I acknowledge that I should do some more research on best practices. 

Also, ever since we began composting in Portland (via city compost), our trash output has plummeted. It was startling actually. (Side note, since moving to IL, I have noticed more packaging (especially, "to-go" restaurant containers) make their way into our garbage - time to fix that!) In the spring, I am excited to use the compost to provide nutrients to the backyard's boxplots and/or flower beds. So much to learn and try!