No Impact Week Eve

'Twas the night before No Impact Week and all through the house...

I could come up with some little rhyme about it being No Impact Week Eve, but instead, let me just fill you in on what we are about to do.

As I mentioned in this post, August 29, 2010, marks Sierra Club No Impact Week, "a one week carbon cleanse" inspired by Colin Beavan's No Impact Man.

After signing up here (You can still sign up and do this with us!), I was sent a link to the week's Manual, an inspiring directive and resource guide to reducing any family's waste (and that is not just waste in the form of packaging).

The week maps out different topics to examine on each day. Here is the basic outline of what you will be reading over the next seven days on A Mom Writing. The topics and quotes are straight from the No Impact Experiment Manual (They are not my ideas!).

Sunday: CONSUMPTION
"Living a fuller and happier life by buying less stuff."
In other words, we will be examining what our family really needs and where our family gets these items.

Monday: TRASH
"Discover how wasting less improves your life."
We will be getting an eye-opener on our everyday trash heap, and from there, we will take action on limiting our family's consumption on packaging and disposable products.

Tuesday: TRANSPORTATION
"Burn calories, not fossil fuels."
This one I already know will be a challenge-- I'm not sure how we can examine public transportation as a viable option while living in the 'burbs of Philly. Just thinking about Tuesday is making me yearn to move back to NYC.

Wednesday: FOOD
"Healthy eating can also lessen your footprint."
Well, we already have tackled this one in the past, and this week, I have already planned locavore (as in eating local and in season) meals. We've got a lot of room for improvement, though. I can't wait for Wednesday's post.

Thursday: ENERGY
"Replace kilowatts with ingenuity-- explore no-energy alternatives to accomplish your daily tasks."
As a cloth diaper-lovin' Mama, I am scared of Thursday (I mean, really, am I really going to not use the washer for Gabriel's diapers?). I've been inspired by some less frightening ideas, too.

Friday: WATER
"Soak up the personal benefits of using less water."
A precious resource, water is definitely something worth conserving. We already only drink tap water in our home, but I'm looking forward to more drastic improvements.

Saturday: GIVING BACK
"Pay it forward. Feel the benefits of service."
Love the earth? A big step in eco-friendly living is giving this world a hug in many forms, such as volunteering. I'll be looking at some options for our family, and I will list some resources for you to find opportunities, too.


So, there's the Table of Contents to our little week ahead. I haven't heard of any A Mom Writing readers doing this challenge, and if someone is, please speak up! Comment or just tweet me @amomwriting. I'd love to hear what you are doing with your family.

Cheers! Let the week begin . . .