Denise Schus

Have any unforeseen have any challenges arisen or has it been easier than expected?

In my experience with this task, I have had 2 major challenges that have not been very easy for me to overcome. That would be eating organic and supporting local farmers markets. Eating organic is becoming more and more important to me and it seems like the more items I try to convert organic, the harder it is to find the alternative to the every- day brand. I don't live in an area that offers a great variety of brands and different foods or stores, and in order for me to complete an organic food haul I would have to spend all day hopping to different stores to collect the items one store or the other didn't have. About 50% of the food I buy is organic but I continue to look for these types of food. Today I sought out a new organic bread instead of the normal brand. The farmers market by my house is not ideal for me to go to because parking is a nightmare and they don't sell organic fruits and vegetables. Due to the fact that it is in a high population area, the items sold are victim to the air pollutants. Something just doesn't sit well with me about that. I know there are ways to clean them but I just don't fancy the thought of this.

This week, I have recycled, used my reusable water bottle, bought a couple of more re-usable shopping bags, and shopped organic for many of my groceries. I enjoy buying these kinds of products because I love to know what I'm buying is way more sustainable than that of ultra-processed. I have also attempted to eat daily with no waste but I eat with my eyes and end up with a lot of leftovers. Although this is true I try my best to eat all leftovers the next day.

Choices for sustainable living:

1: Buying organic: Like the textbook mentions buying organic reduces the toxic fumes that are released into the environment, is healthier for farmers to work around and even for us to eat. This protects our planets in an important way.
2: I can be more conscious of the amounts of food I buy. Many times, we aren't aware of how much food we are buying and much of it goes to waste. This means that I buy only what is necessary to consume in the moment or make sure that I eat all that I buy regardless of the amount. If I don't eat everything I eat it gets sent to landfills and this creates a toxic gas there called methane, which is one of the toxic gases which cause pollution.
3.Drinking tap water: I will be using a filter when committing to this sustainable choice but in doing this, I will reduce the need for release of pollution when companies manufacture bottles and material to hold water which is then sold in stores.
4."NO" to plastic bags: I will be using sustainably made re-usable bags when purchasing my goods. This will reduce the need for littering, and lessen the need for production of these bags.
5: "NO" to plastic straws: I won't be using the plastic straws offered by many stores. I have already purchased glass reusable straps for my home but I will need to find a silicone/ sustainable straw option to carry around when purchasing my drinks.

Hello all! My name is Denise Schuster. I have taken this class to continue to grow my awareness in sustainability and green living in businesses and my own life. One way I have lead a sustainable life in the long term is recycling. This helps to repurpose material instead of throwing it into landfills or the ocean. I've also changed many if not all of the lights in my house to LED lights which conserves energy way better than filament lights. After recently getting married on August 31st 2023, my husband and I have bought a preowned hybrid Lexus called the CT200. It conserves so much gas and saves us money all at the same time. The last and most fun thing we did was use our friends Tesla as a ride to all places we needed to go to throughout the whole wedding day. This Tesla uses 0 gas and was such a smooth ride as well. The Tesla took us to the church for the ceremony, then to the garden to take pictures, then to the reception and then home which took almost 12 hours. The whole day was sponsored by Tesla!! :)