I love to take loooooooong leisurely showers in piping hot water. Even as a child my father's rants that I was running up his water bill and threatening me with bodily harm when I turned on the water heater fell on deaf ears. I continued to take long, hot showers...that was until a few days ago when I caught part of a documentary about a village in Africa. I saw the "community" stream where people were drinking water that I wouldn't even wash my dirty shoes in, and I was ashamed of myself.
Sometimes we take the privileges that we've grown up with for granted, and every once in a while, it's good to make a little personal sacrifice to remind us just how much we have.
The Idea: Commit to taking shorter showers every day, and once a week try to take a cold shower.
The Cost: $0...just a little personal sacrifice.
The Benefit: By taking a shorter shower, you're conserving both water and energy. A cold shower minimizes the demand for energy to heat the water. You will be doing your own little part in conserving energy (and lowering your bills!). And for the vainer ones among us, cold water actually revitalises the skin and gives it a great glow!
Just imagine if each of us could get 10 people to implement this idea.
Mar 23, 2007
#12: BYOB and Change The World! (Friday, March 23)
This week's idea is so easy, that it would take more effort NOT to do it.
The Cost: Nuthin'. Nada. Zilch. Zip. Zero.
The Benefit: You'll be taking an active role in improving your environment and reducing your impact on environmental waste.
(P.S. After I wrote this entry, I found an article on how IKEA is becoming even more environmentally responsible, by charging customers $0.05 for each plastic bag they take from the store. Kudos to them!)
Tell me what you think of this idea!
- Over a billion plastic bags are given away free each day.
- Millions of these bags end up as trash in our rivers and streams, and on our beaches and coasts.
- Scientists estimate that it can take up to 1000 years for a plastic bag to fully degrade.
- They are also a threat to animal life.
- Producing these plastic bags also relies on energy.
The Cost: Nuthin'. Nada. Zilch. Zip. Zero.
The Benefit: You'll be taking an active role in improving your environment and reducing your impact on environmental waste.
(P.S. After I wrote this entry, I found an article on how IKEA is becoming even more environmentally responsible, by charging customers $0.05 for each plastic bag they take from the store. Kudos to them!)
Tell me what you think of this idea!
Mar 16, 2007
#11: Contact A Teacher (Friday, March 16)
I was speaking to a teacher and she told me about some of the hardships she has to go through on a daily basis. Teachers keep the children we love safe during the day, and have a vital impact on their development. Yet a lot of them go unappreciated until the PTA meeting, or Christmas.
When I was younger, my dad would regularly give me flowers and produce to take for various teachers at my schools. Each time I graduated from a school, the teachers always told me how much they appreciated the gesture. I'm sure it also made the difference between a teacher doing the bare minimum and taking an interest in my growth as a student.
The Idea: Send a teacher an appreciation card. You can send it anonymously or you can leave your contact information. You can choose one of your old teachers who've helped you, a teacher of a child you know, a teacher that you've come in contact with, or even a generic card to the principal of a school in your neighborhood.
The Cost: the cost of a card and postage
The Benefit: You can let someone - who is often underappreciated - know that you thought of them, and that you are thankful for the work that they do.
When I was younger, my dad would regularly give me flowers and produce to take for various teachers at my schools. Each time I graduated from a school, the teachers always told me how much they appreciated the gesture. I'm sure it also made the difference between a teacher doing the bare minimum and taking an interest in my growth as a student.
The Idea: Send a teacher an appreciation card. You can send it anonymously or you can leave your contact information. You can choose one of your old teachers who've helped you, a teacher of a child you know, a teacher that you've come in contact with, or even a generic card to the principal of a school in your neighborhood.
The Cost: the cost of a card and postage
The Benefit: You can let someone - who is often underappreciated - know that you thought of them, and that you are thankful for the work that they do.
Mar 9, 2007
#10: Say No To Technology (Friday, March 9)
If you're like me, life without 24-hour internet and TV is a distant, hazy memory. So dependent have we become on these things. I recently had my internet and phone service go out at home and I almost disconnected the entire service because of the length of time it took to get it fixed (as a matter of fact, it's still not fixed and disconnection is still a possibility).
The Idea: Choose one day a month (gotta start off slow) when you will not use the two technological items you rely on most. (For me, it'll be the computer/internet and the television.) Instead, use the day to catch up on reading, (the lost art of) letter writing, chores, volunteering, or just enjoying a beautiful day outside.
The Cost: Nothing. In fact, you'll be saving money.
The Benefit: The energy you'll save by turning those things off for one day could probably light and heat a small village. Besides, it's another opportunity for you to focus on other things that might have fallen by the wayside.
Saturday, March 24th will be my day this month when I say no to technology.
Tell me what you think of this idea...
The Idea: Choose one day a month (gotta start off slow) when you will not use the two technological items you rely on most. (For me, it'll be the computer/internet and the television.) Instead, use the day to catch up on reading, (the lost art of) letter writing, chores, volunteering, or just enjoying a beautiful day outside.
The Cost: Nothing. In fact, you'll be saving money.
The Benefit: The energy you'll save by turning those things off for one day could probably light and heat a small village. Besides, it's another opportunity for you to focus on other things that might have fallen by the wayside.
Saturday, March 24th will be my day this month when I say no to technology.
Tell me what you think of this idea...
Mar 2, 2007
#9: Feeding The Box (Friday, March 2)
I originally got this idea from a fellow blogger, who'd heard of married couples using it to improve their love life.
You should do and say positive things just because you want to improve yourself. But what if there was a way you could track the positive impressions you leave on others and reward yourself at the same time?
The Idea: Keep a box under your bed (or set up a separate ING account online, so you can earn interest on your good work). Everytime you do or say something positive to another person, deposit a fixed sum ($1 - $10) into the box/account. When you've amassed enough, used the money to take a trip somewhere, go for a massage, or to treat yourself to something nice. Keep reinvesting in the box/account each time you deplete the funds.
The Cost: $1 - $10 each time you make a positive impact on someone else's life.
The Benefit: You'll be sharing your positive outlook with others, and also rewarding yourself for being more positive and reaching out to folks. In addition, you'll have the ability to track your "Positivity Progress". And if nothing else, you'll be able to save some money that you'd have probably spent on some frivolous thing you could probably do without (coffee, cigarettes, candy, etc.).
I'm starting this idea today. I'll contribute $2 each time I do or say something positive to someone else (the people I greet Hello Day and my Good Friday emails count too, so I've already gotten $2 just by writing this).
Tell me what you think of this idea...
You should do and say positive things just because you want to improve yourself. But what if there was a way you could track the positive impressions you leave on others and reward yourself at the same time?
The Idea: Keep a box under your bed (or set up a separate ING account online, so you can earn interest on your good work). Everytime you do or say something positive to another person, deposit a fixed sum ($1 - $10) into the box/account. When you've amassed enough, used the money to take a trip somewhere, go for a massage, or to treat yourself to something nice. Keep reinvesting in the box/account each time you deplete the funds.
The Cost: $1 - $10 each time you make a positive impact on someone else's life.
The Benefit: You'll be sharing your positive outlook with others, and also rewarding yourself for being more positive and reaching out to folks. In addition, you'll have the ability to track your "Positivity Progress". And if nothing else, you'll be able to save some money that you'd have probably spent on some frivolous thing you could probably do without (coffee, cigarettes, candy, etc.).
I'm starting this idea today. I'll contribute $2 each time I do or say something positive to someone else (the people I greet Hello Day and my Good Friday emails count too, so I've already gotten $2 just by writing this).
Tell me what you think of this idea...
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