apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

In this month's issue of Yoga Journal, Brooklyn teach Adi Carter writes about what she dubs the "Mindfulness Challenge" which she undertook to raise awareness about Cambodian children living in extreme poverty.

Her mindset was to plan ahead, by doing things like making lunch the night before and reusing a water bottle. Since she bought foods that didn't use packaging, she winded up eating healthier foods, like fresh produce and bulk grains. While she did cave in and buy the occasional chocolate bar, by the end of three months she had created less than 10 pounds of trash--and half of that was junk mail.

It's sort of like the idea of "pack out what you pack in" when you're camping, and being responsible for the waste that you create. Since we tend to think out of sight, out of mind, simply being aware of how much trash we generate seems like a great lesson, even if it's an experiment you only for a day.

photo: via stock xchang