Reflections Week 7 and 8

                               Week 7

The Environmental Working Group was a huge eye opener to me. I thought it was crazy how products we use on a daily basis can be so toxic. It is scary to me that we are putting those products on our face, it does not seem safe at all. We watched the movie "Green" which was an excellent film. I thought it was really cool how a grad student made the documentary. It was really sad to watch because showed how pollutants in the United States are causing diseases and are harmful to some places in the United States. It is so unreal to me that this is happening and the chemical plants seem to have a huge part in this problem. 

Week 8

We started the week with an eye opener called Junk on the Brain. I was really facinated with what I found out. We defined terms such as upcycling, which I thought was really cool because it showed different objects that have been re-used and made into fun objects. I also looked up where shops such as thrift shops, flea markets, and antique shops are located in Duluth. This was a huge eye opener for me because I have thrown out a lot of "junk" that someone could have used. 

We watched the movie "Thirst" which was about privatizing water in certain towns and people having to pay to use it. I thought this was crazy because water is a neccessity and you need it to live. You can't just not take that away from people.  After the movie we talked about our blogs and what we can do to make them look better which was very helpful :).

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5: Weekly Update

                         
                 SMART GOAL

My SMART goal is to stop drinking pop and start drinking healthier fluids out of a re-usable water bottle. 

      Successes and Challenges

The good news is I used my water bottle all week long and brought it to every class. The bad news is that I splurged this weekend and had two pops. It had not been too difficult for me the following weeks, but my friends all had a pop and so I gave in. :(

                           How I feel
I will admit, I am a little disappointed in myself. I had been doing very well and felt very healthy. When I think about it though, I used to drink pop all the time and me having 2 pops in about 4 weeks is actually very good for me.

                             What I Learned

After drinking two cokes it made me realize I am just fine without drinking pop, and I love how I feel drinking water. I have felt a lot healthier these past 4 weeks. I have been working out a lot and drinking lots of healthy fluids. I used to think I needed a pop every time I felt a little sluggish to wake me up. I have learned that is definitely not the case and there are other healthier drinks that will have the same affect.

              Plans for Next Week 
Next week I plan to not "give in" to any temptations and stay committed with my SMART goal. Overall I am proud of myself. I love how I feel when I do not drink pop and I want to stick with the original plan :). 

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5 hosted by Amy@Eco-Chic with Amy.

Eye Opender: Junk on the Brain

Part 1: Definitions


Antiques: a work of art, piece of furniture, or decorative object made at an earlier period, and according to many customs laws, at least 100 years ago. According to http://antiques.about.com/od/resourcesforbeginners/g/bldefantique.htm


According to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/junk, Junk/Junking is any old or discarded material, as metal, paper, or rags.

A Flea Market according to http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-flea-market.htm , A flea market is a large, traditionally open-air market where people sell a wide range of goods, typically used.

Thrift Shop: A shop that sells used articles, especially clothing, as to benefit a charitable organization.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/thrift+shop

Wikipedia defines Upcycling as: Upcycling involves processing used materials into new products, or the re-use of a product with crippled functionality for alternative purposes, to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfilling) by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virgin production, with the intent of creating a product of higher quality design and artistic value.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upcycle


Resale: the act of selling a second time.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/resale

Part 2: The words defined above all relate to environmental health. All of these places above make it so that articles of clothing, and other materials can be re-used instead of throwing them away. Some people throw clothes away because they do not fit, or throw away some sort of decoration they are not longer interested in. The environmentally friendly thing to do would be to bring those belongings to a shop that will take them and sell them for you so someone else can use them.

Local Resources:

Antique store: Canal Park Antique Mall
Address: Located in Canal Park. 310 Lake Ave. S.
Phone: 218-525-2596


Junk/Junking:There is a Junk Yard called Jadco Special Haulers
Located: 4011 Rehbein Rd, Duluth, MN
Phone: (218) 724-5538‎
E-mail: N/A, better to call

Flea Market:
I couldn't find one in Duluth but I found this website that showed a few locations in Minnesota that had them. The closest one I found is in Blaine MN

Address: 10980 Central Avenue NE, Highway 65, downtown
Phone: (612) 757-9906


Resale Shop: Plato's Closet
www.platoscloset.com
5115 Burning Tree Rd
Duluth, MN 55811-1876
(218) 733-9455

Thrift Shop: Goodwill
www.goodwill.org
Address:700 Garfield Ave
Duluth, MN 55802-2695
Phone:(218) 722-6351

Upcycling: I couldnt find anything about upcyling in Duluth, but here is an example and a fun idea :) http://www.moonbattery.com/upcycled-garbage.jpg



I have donated some of my clothes to the Salvation Army and Goodwill. I have also gone to rag stock to find things such as halloween costumes. I really like the idea of upcyling, it allows you to be creative. All of these stores help out the environment and I feel that it is important to use these stores more often :).

Part 3: http://www.junkmarketstyle.com/item/16914/button-necklace I thought this picture of the necklace was really cool. They used old buttons to make it, which was a smart idea and it looked pretty sweet! This is a great example of finding a certain object and putting it to use!

http://www.junkmarketstyle.com/item/16524/gas-lamp-to-candlestick-quick-easy-and-pretty-too

This was a pretty sweet idea. They used an old gas lamp and used buttons and an old necklace to decorate it. I thought it was a really fun idea. It's fun to see what you can put together :).

http://www.junkmarketstyle.com/item/16559/time-to-hit-the-sack

I thought this was an awesome idea! They used burlap sacks as door mats, signs, and poseters. Great for the environment, and different/creative thing!