Change The World Wednesday

Welcome to another Eco-friendly challenge. If you're new here, please read THIS POST for information.

One of the cornerstones of green living is to reduce. The idea is that if we use less, fewer "things" will need to be produced, and that means that fewer natural resources will be used up. One of the easiest ways to use less is to budget ourselves. So that's what we're going to do. Here's your challenge:

This week, spend no more than $25 per person on food. This includes anything which is consumed ... spices, oil, fast food items, soda, etc. Make smart choices and stretch that food dollar as far as it can go. In addition to budgeting your food dollar, please write about how it went. We'd like to know what worked, what didn't and your strategy for staying within the budget.

Or ...

If this is something you're already doing, then please expand the challenge by spending no more than $25 per person on other things (clothes, gas, entertainment, etc.). This should include everything except food and regular monthly bills such as mortgage, utilities, etc. We'd like to hear how you accomplished this feat so, please write about it.

So ... are you up for this challenge? I know that you are!

Last week we tackled plastic produce bags. It is interesting to me that folks, carrying reusable shopping bags, will still grab a plastic produce bag. I think, like many things, it's simply a habit ... one which we can change. Most produce doesn't need a bag. For those items which do, one can use a reusable bag. Find them at Target.com, Esse, and delight.com (thanks to our Twitter friends for these resources). Other ideas ... check second hand stores for small canvas/cloth bags or make your own from old T-shirts.

Let's see how our Honor Society did:

First up, our Twitter friends who tweeted about this challenge using the hashtag #ctww. If you're a Twitter member, swing by and check out these folks (who are definitely worth a follow):

@DPixel
@waylandcook
@GiveTreeGifts
@johnleesandiego
@whopaysthepiper
@LightOnYourPath
@BuyHerBeads
@ByTheWay2
@smilinggreenmom
@Oneadayart
@dezzieh
@mejknowles

Wow ... fabulous to see so many "Change the World Wednesday" tweets flying around the Internet. One note ... Twitter seems to be "ify" about tracking #CTWW posts ... so if you tweeted about the challenge and I've missed you, please let me know and I'll be sure to include you.

Next ... our bloggy friends:

Angela joined us. She gave up plastic produce bags two years ago and shares that she got some raised eyebrows in the beginning when she placed loose veggies on the checkout counter. Now the cashiers are used to it and ... no more funny looks.

Our friend Ann came by. In this POST she talks about green bags and how supermarkets print designs on them to encourage use. Ann uses her green bags some of the time and confesses that at other times she uses plastic which she then lines her garbage bins with.

In this ARTICLE Mrs. Green talks about naked shopping (did you know that she's the Queen of Naked Shopping?). She includes a bunch of alternatives to plastic produce bags and provides a link to The Onya Weigh. Sorry ... no "spoiler" here ... you'll have to read her post to find out what that is.

Two Vegan Boys gave up plastic bags of any kind. Krys brings her own reusable bags from home. She mentioned that Whole Foods has banned plastic shopping bags from their stores but still provide plastic produce bags ... go figure. I happen to know that Whole Foods has a forum called Reduce, Reuse, Recycle ... maybe we'll have to leave a comment or two about this anomaly.

MargoPego joined our challenge. She forgoes the produce bags and simply carries her produce to the checkout counter. She also asked about "green" garbage bags and cat litter bags. Yep ... they make those. Here are a couple of links: Perf Go Green and LetsGoGreen.biz. Here's my caveat ... I've never used these products and can't confirm either their quality or "greeness". Have any of you ever used Eco-friendly bags and if so, can you share your thoughts on them?

Our friend Argentum Vulgaris came by. In this POST he shares that the use of plastic produce bags is often dictated by the shop owner to prevent theft and fraud. We're going to have to "work on" Brazil, AV ... it must be frustrating to want to make the green effort simply to have those efforts thwarted by the law and shop owners.

EcoGrrl joined in the fun. She brought up a situation which I find very irritating ... cashiers who bag frozen items in a plastic bag. I'll add to that ... cashiers who feel everything needs a double bag. EcoGrrl suggests that we "just say no". Great idea! By the way ... EcoGrrl has a brilliant video on her site called "Greenwashing". If you have a minute, stop by ... it would be hilarious if it weren't so true!

Our friend, Ange, came by. She lives in France and says that the only way to avoid plastic produce bags is to avoid buying fruits and veggies in supermarkets. Ahhh ... another country that we're going to have to "work on". Ange is lucky, however, because there is usually a market (I'm assuming something similar to a farmer's market, roadside stand, tailgate market, etc.) somewhere in the area where she can have the produce placed directly into her caddies (wheelie bags) or reusable shopping bags.

Noteasytobegreen stopped in. She has trouble giving up plastic bags completely, mostly because she forgets them. To solve the problem she's going to place a few reusable bags in her car. Great idea ... let us know how it works. By the way, if you've never been to "It's Not Easy To Be Green", check it out ... it's definitely not your typical green site and definitely is a site which will get you thinking. Thanks for coming by Jennifer!

Lawrence visited us and showed his support. Thanks, Lawrence!

Millenniumhealth joins our challenges each week ... she is quietly there, posting about each and every challenge ... and I seem to miss it every week. But even though I miss listing her and her site, she continues to share challenges with her readers. She is one of our true Honorees. I promise to do better, MH! So ... come on everyone ... help me make it up to her by visiting her site HERE and leaving a comment. Thanks!

As always, the Honor Society does a brilliant job. I've Stumbled and Tweeted your articles.

Okay, people ... stand up and in a loud, proud voice say with me:

WE'RE CHANGING THE WORLD ... ONE CHALLENGE AT A TIME!

Thanks Everyone!