Reuse, Reduce, Recycle~ HEEEEEEEEE

I've been reading so much about the triple R's these days and that I had to write a post.

So apparently, the US's so called "throw-away culture" is from the post WWII era. The government trying to improve the economy so they promoted use, throw, buy, type of consumerism. HOWEVER, it's not post WWII people! Don't be so old fashioned~

So typical throw away items for a typical umich student and replacements?

-Coffee cups : duh~ reusable mugs guys. Most cafés will give you a discount for bringing a mug anyways so in time, it'll pay for itself too.

-Paper towels : after you wash your hands... I mean... I just wipe the water off on my clothes... It's just water girls, we'll live. And when you're cleaning or something, buy a rag. It's easier to clean with too.

-Clothes : shop at salvation army, take up sewing, GO THROUGH YOUR PARENTS STUFF. I swear, my mother's olds clothes ROCK. Aren't you guys sick of seeing everyone with the same clothes as you? Stay away from Uggs, they're so ugly.

-Utensils : plastic knives, forks, spoons. I like to carry around my own actually. I have these cute Donald Duck spoon and chopstick set from when I was a kid.

-Plastic bags : canvas bags! Remember that paper bags are harmful to the environment too.

-Technological products : Keep using until it is no longer usable. Why buy the new iPod or phone when you already have one right?

-Water : don't flush after a pee. Flush after a poooooooooooooooooo. No, really. Do you know that every time you flush your toilet about five gallons of water goes to waste.

-Drinking water/bottled water : don't waste a dollar or more on water, silly! Go to the drinking fountain or buy a reusable water bottle. Some of your tax money is paying for the water to be cleaned anyways~

-Sandwich bags : I like to use containers that I get from buying other products (e.g. tomato sauce bottles or yogurt containers). If you need to use a sandwich bag reuse it. They're pretty durable especially the Ziploc® ones.

Most of these actions are so effortless. The only problem I have with some of this is that I forget to do it. Just post a note on your door or something and you'll remember every time. So tomorrow morning, don't forget your coffee mug and other necessities kids.

Happy humpday,

Seohee

Decorating the new place / welcome week!

So everything is decorated at the new apartment! I'll post pictures later. I managed to keep the list of thing I bought pretty short :).

-hammer

-screw driver

-command strips

-cork board

Everything else I have at my apartment = reused :). Gosh, I saved so much money.

One thing I've noticed is that hammers + pin nails together makes just the best decorating tool EVER. Instead of using curtain rods the window curtains and shower curtains, I just nailed them to the wall. It's functional, looks the same, cheaper, uses less metal, and quick.

Anyways, I think my apartment looks nice... quite cozy!

Okay umich... WELCOME WEEK 2010! Who's excited?!

hee hee hee

Hope everyone has a safe and fun welcome week and recycle your beer cans!

I'm Moving Back To Ann Arbor!

I'm back to my blog! I hope to blog regularly this time :)

So, I move back tomorrow! I have a new place - a hole of a studio apartment. It's... tiny, but I do have my own bathroom and kitchenette :). OH side note- I'm thinking of getting a kitty since I'm living alone~ hee hee hee hee hee.

WELL ANYWAYS, there are some changes made by Recycle Ann Arbor (I will be referring to them as RAA since... well, I'm lazy) that may be helpful for all ya'll moving back in...

1) Plastics - Last year RAA only took #1 and #2 plastics, but this year they take 4, 5, 6, and 7. Here's the link to the new curbside recycling guide from the RAA.

2) Composting - The City of Ann Arbor (CAA) is now offering composting services! If you want the CAA to pick up your compost for you, you can pay a one-time fee of $50 for a compost cart and they will pick up your compost. Call 734)994-2807 to buy a cart. If you want to drop off your compost, you can do so at The Wheeler Service Center located at 4150 Platt Rd, Ann Arbor MI 48108. They're open Monday - Friday, 8:30 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. Here's a link from the CAA about the composting program and acceptable composting material.

Just a disclaimer though (for now), I actually haven't been able to try out the composting services yet (duh~), but it really shouldn't be all that difficult. If you're renting a place in Ann Arbor and you're not sure about getting a cart because of your leasers, just call and ask them about getting a cart. I'm with Cappo Management and they were really cool and I'm sure other companies will be too. Maybe I'm a weirdo but I was nervous they weren't going to be cool with it. :P

So, my goal for this week: try not to buy anything new for my apartment unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. I do love IKEA though. I love going over there, I love their products... I just love them. Decorating is going to be hard meh~ I'LL POST PICTURES of my 'green' apartment decorations to motivate myself. HEE HEE HEE

I'M SO EXCITED TO MOVE IN TOMORROW! ARE YOUUUU? Can't wait till everyone is back on campus.

Go Blue!

Day 1 and 2

DAY 1 Sunday, April 4th 2010

Day one was pretty good. Since I work all day on Sundays as a waitress and don't have much time to eat, it was pretty easy.

So I got up pretty late so all I really had time for was toast for breakfast. Kind of had a thought about toast today though. Since making toast takes energy and all. I think I'm going to have to give up toast. Settle on just bread.

Had some broccoli and rice for lunch. I'm not actually sure where the rice comes from though. I work at a Japanese restaurant so I'm thinking it was probably imported. I have a broccoli story later... :)

No dinner. Crazy dinner shift. We always get some food to go at the end of Sunday dinner shift but I had to give it up because of all the packaging. Heard it was yummy :(

DAY 2 Monday, April 5th 2010

So, bought groceries today. Drove to the nearest supermarket. I REALLY didn't want to walk, but next time I think it'll be wise to do so.

My adventure at the grocery store was interesting. At first it was easy to find Michigan products. I found granola with dried blueberries and some guacamole. But then I came home and thought about it and I decided that I was fooled by the food industry. Why? Well because things can be made in Michigan but where the hell are they grown HMM? Avocados for the "Michigan" guac is not from Michigan... I'm not sure about the granola though... I'm not even sure what granola is made of... I was hoping at least the blueberries were from Michigan.

The produce section was a HUGE disappointment. All I found was a beefsteak tomato from Canada and broccoli that I thought was from Michigan that was actually grown in California. Major fail.

The reason why I thought the broccoli was grown in MI though was because I've been searching for Michigan grown produce and I read for April it's primarily broccoli and asparagus and greens. AND written on the packaging was a Michigan address. Thus, THAT'S WHY I ATE ONLY BROCCOLI FOR LUNCH YESTERDAY + some rice. Turns out, Michigan supermarkets only sell broccoli grown in California. I asked the checkout lady and she confirmed. I bought it though. Although I'm an environmentalist, I'm still a human being living in a social world and didn't want to look like a complete nut...

So I came home with guacamole and granola grown in who knows where but made in Michigan, broccoli grown in California, and a tomato from Canada but no plastic bag :). I mean, I still have food to eat from before but damn. I never realized how much carbon just our food intake releases. And compared to all the other foods in that store, I did extremely well. Almost all of the produce was from Mexico and California. crazycrazycrazy

Anyways, I'm heading to the farmer's market on Saturday so hopefully they'll have some real local foods!

So to finish this post I'll just include some tips for environmentally sustainable grocery shopping/eating and some info about the Ann Arbor farmer's market wheeeee

SUSTAINABLE FOOD/GROCERIES

1. Look at where your food is from. Most produce will have this information on those little stickers they have on them and all other packaged foods will have that information on the boxes/bag. However, packaged foods only say where their product was made, so keep that in mind. Think about what goes into that product and you'll have a better idea of how sustainable it is.

2. Buy more produce. The problem with packaged foods is that... it's packaged. Packaging produces SO MUCH WASTE!!! So if you do go for packaged foods, make sure you buy stuff that isn't individually packaged. I'm going to put pre-washed greens with the packaged foods too. Just buy the regular stuff! It's cheaper anyways.

3. Stay away from the frozen section. Frozen foods are shipped in a huge freezer that uses a lot of energy. If you do buy frozen, go for things that don't have to travel long to get to your store. International frozen foods are a big nono!

4. Stay away from animal products. Animals eat a ton but they don't give as much calories as they consume (only 10%). They also produce a lot of methane, a 25X stronger greenhouse gas than CO2, from their poo. Cows also produce methane from farting.

5. Eat local! Try to find a farmer's market or a local farm around your town. Chances are, there is one around you. And summer is coming up! That means a variety of local foods everywhere! whee get excited! I am... hee

ANN ARBOR FARMERS MARKET

http://www.a2gov.org/government/communityservices/ParksandRecreation/FarmersMarket/Pages/Farmers'%20Market.aspx

In April, the farmers market is open 7am t0 3pm on saturdays.

Well, good night!

PS... no pictures as of now.. I'm hoping to buy a SLR soon. Soon meaning before Saturday. Maybe I'll go for low quality pictures for now.

My Sustainable Eating Project

Today I start eating differently.

I'm going to eat more sustainable food. That means I have to eat more locally grown foods and avoid animal products as much as I possibly can. Oh man. This is going to be intensely difficult. I eat so much turkey and chicken and milk products...

I'm not sure how long I'm going to do this... hopefully a long long long time... like forever... but who knows.

first blog :)

hmm... my first entry for my first blog.

I'm hoping that somebody is going to stumble upon this... so, I'll start with an introduction then!

Hello, my name is Seohee (pronounced so-he) and I am a PitE (Program in the Environment) student at the University of Michigan. I'm a typical PitE student. I try to lead a life that is sustainable. I recycle, I use reusable mugs, I try to limit my use of energy and water but I feel like I need to do a bit more than just that. Sure, my actions will have a little bit of an impact but I want make a bigger impact through other people. My goal with this blog is to promote sustainable behavior. So I hope starting a blog might influence a few?... :)

So what I really want to do with this blog is to show people how to make changes. I'm going to give myself a goal every so often, write about it (obvi~), take pictures, give tips, and show fellow bloggers how much of a change I have made with numbers and pictures.

WHEEEE I'm excited

So what to start with????????? hmmmmmmmmmmmm??