January - Drink Enough Water
I did fairly well with this one during January. Since then, I haven't been as strict about keeping track, but I'm certainly drinking more water than I used to drink, and I feel better for it. I'm more conscious about how much water I'm drinking, and as a result it has ended up being a substitute for soda.
What did I learn? I wasn't getting enough water. I feel better now that I am. And I pee more.
In-month grade: A
Long-term grade: A-
February - Get Enough Exercise
I thought this one would be fairly easy for me, but it turns out it has been quite a challenge to meet the minimum requirements. Technically, I met them during the month, but barely. I did fine during the summer, but to be honest, I'm a bit disappointed with my overall performance in this area throughout the year. One thing that has picked up, though, is if I don't have time for an actual workout during the day, I'll try to walk to lunch. Also, the August challenge, which I'll get to later, really helped this one out.
What did I learn? It's easy to exercise in the summer. It's tougher in the winter, especially once we had kids. In order to get enough, I will need to set a schedule I can stick to rather than try to fit exercise in the cracks.
In-month grade: B+
Long-term grade: C+
March - No soda
This is an easy one to grade since I didn't have any soda during the month of March. I've slipped up for a few weeks at a time during the rest of the year, but overall I've done pretty well. I'm OK with having one once in awhile, but I don't want to start getting one every day. It's tough since it is free at work, but drinking enough water helps.
What did I learn? Drink enough water, and you don't crave soda anymore.
In-month grade: A
Long-term grade: B
April - No more than one alcoholic drink a day
I decided that this one was not a fun one to do. I should have said only one drink Sunday-Thursday and a higher limit on the weekends. Technically, I succeeded on this challenge, but I had to consider a 22 oz bottle of beer or a very full glass of wine to be one drink. What did come out of it though, is I make a conscious effort to not grab that second beer if I have to go to work the next day, and it does make me feel better.
What did I learn? I like beer.
In-month grade: B+
Long-term grade: C-
May - Floss every day
I did this every day in May, but I've had a hard time making it a habit. It seems to go in spurts. We have, however, actually purchased dental floss for the first time after using up what the dentist gives out for free.
What did I learn? It didn't take long to get my gums nice and healthy, but for some reason it's hard to make flossing as much of a routine as brushing teeth.
In-month grade: A
Long-term grade: C
June - Minimize your environmental impact
Trash - I think we've really well in this arena, but there is still more we can do. The original challenge was to minimize your trash, but we stepped it up to include a lot of other things. On trash, we did very well and are keeping it up. We compost all vegetable and grain kitchen scraps, we sort out all metal, plastic, paper, and glass for recycling. If it isn't recycled curbside, we store it up until I have a full load to take to the recycling center. We've started using cloth napkins...sometimes. Once we get rid of diapers, we'll average less than one kitchen-sized bag of trash a week. Not too shabby!
Water Usage - We don't let the water run when it isn't being used (like soaping up hands or brushing teeth), and we didn't water the lawn all summer with the exception of when it was 100 degrees for four days. I stopped putting grass clippings in the yard waste bin and leave them on the lawn now. The next step is to install some rain barrels for use in watering the lawn and putting water in the pond to keep the fish alive. I' also plan to investigate a point-of-use hot water heater for our master-bath shower. It's the farthest point in the house you can get from the hot water heater, and it takes a long time to get the water hot for a shower. I think we can cut down a lot of wasted water by doing this.
Electricity and Natural Gas - To be honest, I didn't do much here other than check the electrical usage of all the things we plug in. I did learn a bit about what we SHOULD do, but I didn't put much effort into doing it other than trying to turn off lights in rooms that are unoccupied and shutting down the computer each night when we go to bed. I simply don't want to get rid of my keg fridge. (Having beer in a keg rather than in bottles cuts down on having to recycle bottles.) We did replace every burned out bulb with a CFL, though. As for gas, we turned down our thermostat a few degrees, I fixed some air leaks in our house, and I hung up a sleeping bag in the entryway to our living room, which is converted from a garage and I'm pretty sure is not insulated. The next step here is to investigate having solar panels installed on the roof and see what the return on investment would be. There are a lot of state and federal tax benefits I'd like to take advantage of. I also need to hire a contractor to make sure all my heating ducts aren't leaking. I know there are a few.
What did I learn? There is a lot to learn.
In-month grade: A-
Long-term grade: B+
July - Don't watch any television all month
Easy. Done. I do watch TV now, but if I'm not enjoying it, I turn it off. I don't just watch it to watch it. Also, I give a new show 2-3 episodes and decide to dump it or keep watching. Sometimes it's obvious after 1 show.
What did I learn? Watching TV for enjoyment is fine, but there is a lot of crap on. If you're not enjoying yourself, do something else. TV shows don't deserve loyalty.
In-month grade: A
Long-term grade: B+
August - Don't drive alone in your car to work
I did fairly well on this one. I rode my bike most days, which was great! I got my exercise and my commute done at the same time. I tried various public transportation routes using the bus and the train, but I didn't like it. It took longer than biking. And, it took me 4 times as long as driving and cost me twice as much. I never actually found a carpool buddy. The only two days I drove were one day when I had to go to Lake Oswego for work and one day when Janell and I had to get somebody from the airport.
What did I learn? Taking public transportation from my house to my work simply isn't worth it because due to scheduling it takes me anywhere from 45 minutes to 65 minutes to get to work. I can drive it in about 12 minutes. It adds over an hour of commuting time to my day. Carpooling requires compromise on somebody's part, and that's hard to do. Driving alone is easy and costs half as much as riding public transportation, but it's not very environmentally friendly. Biking is easily the best way to get to work. I am, however, a fair weather rider, so as soon as it started raining the biking stopped.
In-month grade: A-
Long-term grade: C
September - 5 servings of fruits and vegetables
I consider myself to be a meat eater, but this was actually easier than I thought it would be. I grabbed a natural juice (Naked, Odwalla, etc.) for breakfast, picked something with vegetables for lunch, ate a piece of fruit for a snack, and made sure to get vegetables for dinner. And I still got my meat.
What did I learn? Eating vegetables wasn't too tough after all.
In-month grade: A
Long-term grade: A-
October - Eat one of the 14 top "superfoods"
This one was actually easier than I thought it would be, so I bumped it up to two a day. And I even tried several recipes using pumpkin!
What did I learn? Eating the "superfoods" isn't that hard. It just takes a little effort.
In-month grade: A
Long-term grade: B+
November - No fast food
This was another easy one. Simply avoid those places. Although, I think once in awhile is OK as long as it isn't a major source of your meals.
What did I learn? It's not that hard to avoid fast food. And you feel better when you eat better.
In-month grade: A
Long-term grade: A-
December - Write down something you are grateful for
I'll admit that while I had something written down for every day in the month, I didn't actually write it down on that specific day. I noticed that this exercise helped me feel better about some work-related issues. They suddenly seemed to be less important.
What did I learn? It's good to remind yourself of the positive aspects in your life. It makes the negative stuff seem like not as big of a deal.
In-month grade: B
Long-term grade: D+
