The Impact of No Impact Man

I started reading a book called No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process. The author, Colin Beavan, and his family (wife and toddler) start out on the “adventure” to make no impact on the environment for one year.

That means no cars, no plane rides, no elevators, no take-out, no disposable diapers, no tissues, no TOILET PAPER. This was a commitment.

It made me think about my own commitments. I am committed to (the loony bin) living an eco-conscious lifestyle, but definitely not as committed as Colin and his family. It is something I definitely strive for but have not made it.

I thought I would list a few ways in which I work to less my impact in different areas of my life and hopefully I will get some feed back from you all about how you cut back or change your ways, too.

Today, I will start with my personal habits.

1. I only bathe every other day. No exceptions. I might wait an extra day in between showers, but never shower two days in a row. I have noticed that I use less water and my hair is actually less greasy each day because I’m not stripping its natural oils daily.
2. I use eco-friendly shampoo and soap.
3. I use a recycled/recyclable Preserve toothbrush and recyclable Tom’s of Maine toothpaste container.
4. I use Tom’s of Maine deodorant.
5. I cut my hair off so that I can air dry it and not have to use a blow dryer.
6. My bathroom is equipped with a fan that is on a timer so I set the timer when I shower and when it quits my shower is done. I am working to lower the time each week to get my shower time down a bit to save more water.
7. I don’t use nail polish because it is full of chemicals.
8. I use mostly eco-friendly makeup and lotions.
9. I use a reusable razor.
10. I use and love the Diva Cup.
11. I use recycled toilet paper. (No, the toilet paper has not been used already. Eww. You are gross for even thinking that.)
12. I don’t use any “product” in my hair because it is wasteful and makes it more difficult to go two days in between showers.

So here are few of things that I do to better myself and my impact. None of them are too difficult or require a total life change. Just a conscious effort. I will be back with more ways to less your impact.

What are some ways you less your daily impact of the Earth?