Laura Fugate

""Saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty, advancing economic growth... these are one and the same fight. We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, global health, food security and women's empowerment. Solutions to one problem must be solutions for all." ~Ban Ki-moon"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
856 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

community event

hosted or attended
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

90

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

100

pieces of litter

picked up
UP TO

46

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill

Laura's actions

Lifestyle

Watch a Documentary

I will watch a documentary film about waste with family and friends and talk about what we learned.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Use Reusable Containers

I will only use reusable containers instead of single-use plastic storage items (such as plastic wrap, single-use sandwich bags).

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Use Reusable Bags

I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases, including produce bags.

COMPLETED 25
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Join a Cleanup Effort

I will host or participate in a beach, highway, river, or other cleanup effort in my community.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Keep My Community Clean

I will pick up 5 piece(s) of litter each day.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Minimize Packaging

I will purchase food items with the least amount of packaging.

COMPLETED 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Lifestyle

Homemade Cleaners

I will make my own cleaning products at home.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Personal Care

Lather Up

I will replace my soaps, shampoos, and conditions with either a bar or refillable option.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Buy Unpackaged Produce

I will purchase produce items without plastic packaging.

COMPLETED 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Participant Feed

Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?

Laura Fugate 7/31/2019 11:45 AM

Today is the last day of the official challenge, but I hope we all agree that we will keep this up! I have learned a great deal about living with intention and monitoring the consequences of my choices. It IS hard sometimes - just today I ordered takeout for lunch without even thinking about the fact that it would come in Styrofoam :( . BUT - some action, however small and sometimes flawed, is always better than no action at all. It's been great engaging in this project with you all. Best wishes!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Lifestyle Watch a Documentary

Which documentary did you choose to watch? What did you learn?

Laura Fugate 7/29/2019 10:24 AM

I watched Waste Land about contemporary artist Vik Muniz and his project working with the "pickers" at Jardim Gramacho, the world's largest landfill on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I highly recommend viewing! Tears will likely flow...

https://youtu.be/sNlwh8vT2NU

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Keep My Community Clean

How does the act of picking up litter connect you more to your community?

Laura Fugate 7/29/2019 10:21 AM

I have felt a much stronger sense of shared responsibility for the conditions of my community sense setting the goal to pick up litter everyday. Can you imagine what an impact we could make if everyone did this everyday? It is so simple and adds virtually no time to your day (because unfortunately, rarely do we have to really SEARCH for litter).
Doing the large-scale clean-up on 53rd Ave this past Saturday truly proved how much a little trash adds up! 5 full bags + several bulky items in less than mile stretch of roadway - yikes!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Join a Cleanup Effort

How does working with others to clean up your community make you feel?

Laura Fugate 7/29/2019 9:22 AM

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Laura Fugate 7/24/2019 11:34 AM

I have been home sick with a kidney infection the past two days, so I have not been able to meet most of my daily challenges. However, today I am working on student resumes and watching an environmental documentary (which was one of my one-time challenges). We do what we can, right? :)

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- Julie Falt 7/25/2019 5:54 AM
  
  You're using your time wisely. I hope you are starting to feel better!
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Lifestyle Homemade Cleaners

What did you learn by making your own cleaning products? What is the biggest difference in making vs buying?

Laura Fugate 7/22/2019 11:31 AM

Making cleaning solutions was pretty fun! I made shower spray, citrus soft scrub, and toilet bowl cleaner. All work surprisingly well. I reused some plastic containers I had been saving. For example, I put my soft scrub in an old feta cheese tub and my bowl cleaner in a salad dressing squirt bottle. I feel great about the effort I put into this project. Here is the link to the recipes I used - all from the Zero Waste Gainesville website:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/599a05d7d2b857d71beb318e/t/5c75bb729b747a71797cc98c/1551219571517/Resource+Sheet_Zero+Waste+Cleaning.pdf

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- Julie Falt 7/24/2019 8:01 AM
  
  Nice job! Sounds like fun, Laura. I followed your lead of "repurposing" and reused some old hard plastic containers that body lotion came in (not recyclable) to organize my sewing box. Pretty, organized, (and still a residual fragrance :-))
  
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Laura Fugate 7/10/2019 10:37 AM

2 things to share:
1.) I contacted Keep Alachua County Beautiful and requested a volunteer opportunity for Saturday 7/27. I will let you all know when I confirm. I will take care of picking up the supplies the Thursday before, assuming it is a go.
2.) Some plastic containers have been difficult to avoid completely (see Julie's comment about clamshells). I found what I am calling "a compromise for humanitarian reasons" (it is actually my daughter's idea). We refill any plastic we have with leftovers and take them to homeless people on the streets downtown. I know not everyone lives downtown, or even sees homelessness daily; but if you have containers, I would love to take them off your hands for this purpose.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Use Reusable Containers

How can you think outside the box (or bag!) when it comes to disposables?

Laura Fugate 7/03/2019 10:34 AM

Encouraging news: Today I was able to use my glass food container to order lunch from the deli at Fresh Market. The meal is one price so it doesn't matter, but they are able to weigh your personal container and zero the scale for any items they carry. I got a ton of food for $8 - two meals for sure! Zero Waste!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Personal Care Lather Up

What are the economic and personal benefits of switching to bar soap/shampoo/conditioner or refillable bottle options?

Laura Fugate 7/01/2019 12:07 PM

I already use refillable shampoo & conditioner - Davines - from my salon. I purchased a cloth soap-saver bag and bar soap from Life Unplastic last week. Not only is it zero waste, but I love the extra exfoliation. I have a plastic bottle of body oil purchased several months ago, but I have committed to refill it with almond oil from Life Unplastic when I run out! We also switched to bamboo tooth brushes and toothpaste in a glass jar. Initial purchases might have felt a little painful, but doing the calculations of costs for disposable items over time quickly changed my perspective. We are saving money for sure! Both my body and my conscious are feeling cleaner already!

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Laura Fugate 6/19/2019 11:30 AM

Greetings, teammates! I have been paying closer attention to how many plastic containers I am going through because of eating out for lunch (lots of Fresh Market pre-packaged meals). I feel good about making healthy dietary choices, but waste is another level to consider. I am challenging myself to make healthy lunches in glass containers for July - and hopefully beyond. Best of luck, everyone!

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