Since Low Impact Week, we've been doing pretty well when it comes to eating locally and saving energy. I have also — unintentionally — decreased my consumerism significantly. Well, it's not exactly unintentional, but it was undesired, at least at first. You see, I am about to incur serious expenses in fixing my teeth. I don't want to do it (for both financial and aesthetic reasons) but it is becoming more and more clear that I shouldn't put it off any further. In the mean time, I am going to be moving in a few months and there is nothing I would love to do more than buy new stuff for my new apartment. I have improved a little bit here, because I want to replace some of my old crappy household items with things that are easier on the earth. I no longer want to buy a million cheap plastic things that were made in China, but I still want to buy things. And I want to buy things I can't afford. I have to be honest: I enjoy consuming. I am trying to think a lot harder about the whats/wheres/whens/hows and whys of my consumption. And that is a start.

The good part is that I'm kind of a minimalist and therefore constantly giving away (or trying to give away) stuff. So, sometimes when I start fantasizing about sleeping on organic sheets, I immediately think of something I can give away that will make my house less cluttered and might make someone else happy — and it seems to trigger the same pleasant feelings. I have also done some organizing of other people's stuff which satisfies this same desire in a weird way. This is partly because I am generally feeling quite antsy as I am in limbo for the next two months, waiting for the new apartment and new job to start. It's a fresh start in many ways, and it is taking place right at the same time as I am ready to take more steps in leading a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle. It's tempting to just go crazy buying composting, energy-saving, low-flowing, organic, natural thingamahoovers . . . but I can't. Not right now.