This is the absolute final entry in my series on the No Impact Project Experiment. Two gracious bloggers, Karo and Mandy, offered to share their thoughts and experiences on the experiment. If you enjoyed the interview, visit Karo and Mandy at their home bases, Breathe Happy and Seeking Out Simplicity.
Have you tried to reduce your impact before this experiment?
Mandy: I’d say we started reducing our impact on the environment within the past 6 months – this has been a fairly new challenge for our little family!
Prior to this experiment we had just started to buy organic food, eat less meat (hardly any beef), and eliminate corn syrup from our diet.
Karo: Yes, but definitely in ways that were most convenient. I already tried to shop locally for food, used reusable shopping bags, and tried to get to places by bike or foot when I could.
I also adopted a minimalist lifestyle earlier this year, and shopping less has definitely made the biggest difference.
Many people who begin experimenting with reducing their impact generally stick to it in the long run. Do you think you’ll live low impact, or at least try to, from now on?
Mandy: I’m not quite ready to stomp out my clothes in the bathtub or go to bed when the sun goes down. But I’m excited to really make an effort in a lot of the areas that I hadn’t been previously - especially waste, transportation (which, although difficult with a 2 year old, can be done better), and electricity.
Karo: Definitely. What this experiment does really well is force you to think about small actions and the impact they have. I might not give up some things, but having to rethink every decision makes it hard to go back to doing everything the way I used to. I want to try harder, and I plan to.
What would you tell someone who has never done anything like this?
Mandy: I would encourage anyone to try this experiment, and to not let themselves be intimidated by the suggestions.
Initially I thought some of the suggestions of things Colin did were far too extreme for me and became intimidated by the whole challenge. When I took it step by step, like stepping out of my comfort zone while also granting myself some grace, I learned so much and truly felt encouraged to go deeper.
Karo: It’s OK that this scares you, and it’s OK that it might change you.
You could go on doing what you do without ever questioning it, or you could try something new and feel like you’re taking charge of your life and doing something positive for the world. What’s so bad about that?
I’ve personally learned a great deal about myself and gained an entirely new perspective on things. What have you learned from this experience?
Mandy: I’ve learned that I have so far to go, but that once I start taking steps to get out of my comfort zone and really push myself, I can do more than I originally thought.
The experiment definitely made me more mindful of all the waste we accumulate! I had previously thought we were doing okay on this, composting all that we could, starting a worm bin, bringing our own grocery and produce bags to the store, etc… But I didn’t realize how much packaging waste our family generates!
The whole week has been such a perspective shift in each area. It’s forced me to be more mindful of all the garbage we produce, water and electricity we use, how often we use our car when we could avoid it, etc.
Karo: I’ve learned just how spoiled I am and how easy it is to revert to bad habits when I am tired or stressed out. Better planning is a way to work against that.
Fortunately, I’m pretty open to doing things differently. I’m also more motivated to do things that have a direct impact on my home, community, and health. I think if more people look at living greener from that standpoint, it might be easier for them to try it.
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It sounds like these two ladies had a good experience with this project!
Simply questioning their resource consumption and taking one small step at a time towards conservation lead to immense personal transformation. Where could these ladies go with their experience? Convincing other people might be tough, but they’ve discovered that there are no limits to what they can do.
Check out other No Impact Week posts:
- The No Impact Project Experiment, A One Week Carbon Cleanse
- Day 3 Update
- Day 5 Update
- But Will It Make You Happy? The No Impact Project Experiment: The Finale
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