Change The World Wednesday

Welcome to Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW). If you're new to our challenges, please click HERE for more information.

Last week our challenge asked us to save water by not using the garbage disposal. To meet this challenge, it was necessary to reduce food waste and find alternate, Eco-friendly ways to "dispose" of food scraps. In our house, clean veggie peelings and scraps are saved in the freezer for use later to make vegetable stock. For those bits and pieces not appropriate for stock, the compost bin turns them into rich, nutritious soil. That leaves food waste ... which, when we have it, gets tossed into the garbage. However, we try to minimize the amount of trash that will be sent to the landfill so we are very conscious of food waste and plan meals so that we only make what we'll actually eat.

This challenge affects more than saving water ... it reduces stress on overburdened water treatment plants and helps to reduce the occurrence of algae blooms in waterways. It also benefits us on a purely financial level because food tossed down the disposal is money wasted. Let's check in with our Honor Society and see how they tackled this activity:

Mrs. Green not only doesn't use a disposal, she's passionate about eliminating food waste ... actually, she's passionate about eliminating all waste. So much so that she has an entire blog dedicated to exactly that (check it out HERE). In this POST, Mrs. Green offers a very creative idea for saving water. It's one of those things that will have you slapping your forehead and saying "Why didn't I think of that??".

Argentum Vulgaris took the challenge. In this POST he lists all kinds of ways to save water. Here's a riddle ... what does having little or no hair have to do with water conservation? You'll have to head over to "his place" to find the answer. AV also gave us another great driving tip (from a previous challenge). He shares that we can save gas by not breaking too hard or accelerating too fast. Great tip!

From our challenge on driving, Denise Nicole wrote this POST. Her article starts off with one of her original illustrations (she's so talented) ... it jumps right to the heart of her preferred method of transportation.

Our friend, EcoGrrl, suggested that we head over to a fine blog called "Pays To Live Green" and check out this POST. It's an excellent article on what happens to the food that gets sent down the drain. EcoGrrl doesn't use her disposal ... and while she says it's because she accidentally ran a quarter through it ... and the disposal broke ... I have a feeling that her "green" conscience wouldn't let her use it too much anyway. So, how's EcoGrrl savings water? Well ... she says that she's excited to receive her tax refund this year because she's giving herself a gift ... a super sexy, 500 gallon, water cistern. Sexy? Hehe ... you go girl!

Jenn left us a comment saying she has no food waste. Wow!! How does she accomplish that? She has pigs, chickens and a hungry guard dog. Oh ... and she also has worms (vermicomposting) and a composting bin. Nothing goes to waste at Jenn's place! Great job, Jenn!!

Kristina found us through the Wednesday Blog Hop which is in the side bar. She doesn't have a disposal and shares that her city has a great composting program. She has two bins ... one takes recyclables and the other takes food scraps, coffee grounds and even pet waste. Thanks for joining us, Kristina ... hope to see you again!

Sim Only Contracts says that disposals aren't the "norm" in the UK. So "Sim" plans to share a top tip for creative reuse of water. Thanks, "Sim" ... be sure to come back and let us know where to find your tip, okay?

...M... (from Require Life) found us through the Think Green Blog Hop (you'll find that one is in the side bar). She doesn't use a disposal ... instead she uses meat & veggie scraps to make broth/stock. She also composts. Yay! ...M... suggests saving water by running a dishwasher efficiently. For example, rather than pre-rinse, she saves water by simply scrapping off any food and then letting the dishwasher work. By the way, ...M... is hosting a wonderful blog hop for the month of March. It's called Spring Green and is a link-up of green tips, ideas, crafts and, of course, blogs. So ... if you have anything green to share, or if you're interested in finding new articles/blogs on green living ... check it out. You'll find the link in my side bar or ... click HERE.

NotEasyToBeGreen took the challenge. She's using veggie scraps to make stock and shares that the homemade version is much richer than the store-bought variety. She also shares a clever water saving tip: "Put an empty bucket in the shower and let it catch some of the cold and gray water from your shower. Then use it to flush the toilet as needed." And if that water contains a little soap/shampoo ... well maybe it'll help clean the toilet. Did you happen to read the wonderful post that Jennifer shared with us on Monday? If not, don't miss it ... it's thought provoking (read it HERE).

My favorite publication, The Shopping Charity, mentioned our challenge HERE. Other topics covered include A Green Wedding Guide, using coupons & gift codes to support your favorite charitable cause, the estimated dollar value of volunteering, and the recall of the Baby Jogger Jump Seat. Lots of up-to-the-minute news ... check it out!

Nicole B. doesn't use a garbage disposal so she shared a very clever water saving tip with us: "I keep one or two empty milk jugs under my sink and when I need to let the water run for any reason (waiting for it to heat up, etc.) I fill the milk jugs instead of wasting the water. I use the saved water to give to my dogs and water my plants." Great idea, Nicole! Nicole also tweeted our challenge so stay tuned for the #CTWW Gang ... she's listed there, too! Can you guess which twitter ID is hers?

Eemilla doesn't use a disposal so she shared a bunch of water saving tips in this POST. Of her tips, my favorites are #4 and #9. Which is your favorite?

Once again our friend, Rewinn, gets the award for creativity. In this POST he shares his water saving idea ... Water Farming. No, he's not talking about growing water or even implementing a large-scale water management system. He's suggesting something easy to do ... something with a huge impact. So go check it out. It's brilliant!

Jen accepted the challenge and in this POST, she talks about the ways in which her family conserves water. Topics include rain barrels, washing cars, water filters & using a steam mop. Oh ... and Jen doesn't have a garbage disposal. WhooHoo!

The #CTWW Gang was busy, this week, tweeting about our challenge using the hashtag #CTWW. If you're on twitter, be sure to follow these folks:

@cjrthemommyblog
@waylandcook
@whopaysthepiper
@ribloodcenter
@pennyritson
@myzerowaste
@shoppingcharity
@skipbang
@rewinn
@jnjgogreen

Thanks to everyone who participated this week. If you wrote an article, I've STUMBLED, TWEETED and FACEBOOKED it.

Okay ... as promised, we're going to begin daily challenges today. Our friend, Rewinn, suggested that we participate in the Ecumenical Lenten Carbon Fast which is an initiative of the New England Regional Environmental Ministries of the United Church of Christ. Even though many of us are not Christian and don't observe Lent, we are interested in living a "green" life so ... I thought it might be fun to post their daily challenges and see if we can accomplish them. So here's how it'll work. Every day, I'll post the challenge. On Wednesdays, throughout this event which ends on Easter, I'll do a little recap of our efforts in accomplishing the various tasks. The same rules will apply, here, as with our weekly challenges ... if you write a post about the challenges, or tweet about them, you'll be listed in our Honor Society or #CTWW Gang accordingly.

So what do you think ... ready to be challenged on a daily basis? Here's our first challenge:

Consider and discuss the actions we might undertake to lessen the impact of Global Warming and learn about the impact our life choices have on the lives of future generations. Find out what we can do to ensure a sustainable and healthy future for generations to come.

Until tomorrow ...

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