Chloe Reese

A few years ago I began thinking about my wardrobe and how my choices regarding clothing influence the environment. Purchasing clothes from thrift stores or other second-hand stores has allowed me to find unique pieces of clothing without participating in fast fashion. Although you do not always find what you are looking for regarding size, style, or quality, there are many pros to purchasing clothing from second-hand stores. Instead of unwanted clothing ending up in landfills, you are giving it a new home. Certain second-hand stores raise money for charities and the community such as the Salvation Army Thrift Store and Assistance League Thrift Shop. I have also been trying to be more mindful of the clothes that I already own and I try to take good care of them in order to extend their life as much as possible. This includes sewing up any holes or snags, hemming pants that are too big, and washing them in cold water. I also repurpose old t-shirts into rags to clean my apartment. Through these small changes in how I approach my wardrobe, I am able to keep additional clothing from entering landfills and support my community at the same time. Moving forward I want to learn how to use a sewing machine so I can turn old clothing into new pieces to further limit my contribution to landfills and use the clothes that I typically do not wear.

Through adopting good habits we are able to make a larger change in our life as well as in the resources we use and the impact we have on the environment. Growing up my mom always told me to turn off my light when I left a room or to unplug items that I was not using. I saw this as just another one of my mom's rules but it was not until I had my own apartment that I realized the direct impact my habits had on electricity usage. The first electricity bill I received shocked me as it was way more than I ever expected it to be. I thought I was barely using any electricity, it even crossed my mind that maybe I was paying for more than one apartment, but once I changed my habits my bill decreased significantly. I began thinking about only using what I needed and developing habits that support this. Habits such as unplugging items after using them, turning off lights when I leave the room and taking shorter colder showers. Instead of taking a 15 minute hot shower, taking a 5 minute colder shower decreases water usage and utilizes less electricity to warm the water. Small changes in one's daily routine can make a large impact on one's influence on the environment. I hope to build more habits in my daily life that decreases my impact on the environment.

Growing up I was connected to my mom and grandma through food. For every holiday, we would be in the kitchen together listening to music and cooking our favorite Mexican dishes such as tamales or pozole. Since living on my own in college I struggle to find the time to cook which makes me rely on either prepared meals or eating out. This habit produces a large amount of waste as each meal is packaged with single-use plastic. To combat this I recently began cooking with my friend continuing the tradition of listening to music and preparing Mexican dishes. Every couple of days we meet together and cook a few dishes then package the food into multi-use containers. We plan what meals we are going to cook together a few days prior so when we go to the grocery store we only purchase what we are going to use. I hope to continue this practice as it allows me to consume fresh produce as well as reduce plastic and food waste. I plan to be more mindful of how I consume my food and the plastic waste I produce.