U.S. Bank

I learned to try to be eco conscious throughout the year and small contributions can make a big difference.

Another successful clean-up ♻️

We never buy a water in a bottle. My family keeps a large water filter dispenser at home. Take the water to school/ work in a thermos bottle. We try to buy refillable products for household items.

I always look for at least one trash when I have a morning run on the trail every day.

I took the opportunity provided by this challenge to learn about what the national organization, Ducks Unlimited, is doing in my state. I read several fliers, newsletters, and publications and now know that it's much more than just improving the duck population in the Prairie Potholes region. Ducks Unlimited is working toward grassland...

"...not even produce bags." This got me thinking. Why do we have to put our fruit in produce bags? Bananas are self-contained; there is no need for bagging. What else can we do without? It takes planning but can be done.

Being outside more, seeing the green grass, the blooming flowers, watching the birds visit my birdfeeder are just a few things that I have absolutely enjoyed about spending more time outside. This has also encouraged me to pick up my love of taking care of flower gardens and potted plants.

I use more cooking oil that I really realized. In paying attention to this habit, I have begun more baking and air frying without the use of oil.

I honestly thought that handwashing my dishes was less wasteful than using a dishwasher. It takes less time to load the dishwasher than it does to stand at the sink and wash. I will be loading the dishwasher going forward and only handwashing when absolutely unavoidable.

Throughout this challenge I have made intentional efforts to not use straws whenever I am eating outside of my home. It has been eye opening to me to see that this change of habit alone has reduced 56 straws in the landfill. I will continue to not use plastic straws as much as possible.