Two weeks have gone by since I last updated. Two weekends ago, we did 5 loads of wash and 3 loads of drying. However, last weekend, we finally got down to 4 washer loads and 2 dryer loads! We even gave the dog a bath and had room to wash his dog bed and towels!
The one down side to hanging clothes on the line is that if we don't use a little bit of fabric softener in the wash, the material gets scratchy and uncomfortable to wear. It does loosen up after wearing for a few hours, but the clothes are not very comfortable during that time.
One thing has been lurking in the back of my mind. The clothes that I've hung back up in the closet after only wearing them for 4-5 hours will have to be washed at some point. I've tried to spread out when that happens, but this week, I feel like there are several outfits I'm wearing for the second time that need to get in the wash. So, we may end back up at 5 and 3 again this weekend.
I figure that as long as I keep pushing myself toward the goal of 4 and 2, I might average out at like 4.5 and 2.5 over time. Compared to our 8 loads of wash and dry every week before embarking on this conservation mission, that's not too bad!
The reason I believe we have generally been somewhat successful in making this change is because I set what I learned in high school to be called a S.M.A.R.T. goal: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Out of all of those, I think setting a measurable goal has contributed most to our success. It's like the theory of planned behavior and the compatibility principle; if your attitude toward a specific behavior is favorable, you will likely engage in that specific behavior. So, yes, I have a favorable attitude toward conserving energy and being an environmentalist, but, I had to lay out a favorable attitude toward the specific conservation behavior (reducing the amount of laundry we do). I had to be even more specific and say that I am fond of doing only 4 loads of wash, 2 loads of dry and using a clothesline to dry my clothes every weekend. These were highly specific tasks that I can measure easily. Thus, my attitude toward the behavior predicted my behavioral intent (setting the goal) and subsequent behavior. It wasn't going to be enough for me to experience cognitive dissonance, a sense of responsibility, tap into my biospheric values, or guilt. For me, those principles helped me set a goal and motivated me at the on-set, but were not going to be enough for me to sustain the change. They just weren't strong enough or tangible enough.
Also, I verbally and writtenly (hmm, not a word, but oh well) committed to this goal, which, is generally predictive of a higher likelihood to engage in said behavior. There is some theory or model that supports this, but I can't think of it off the top of my head.
Originally, I thought it would take more research and expert sources to convince me that I don't need to wash fabrics as much as I do to be clean. However, I must be more of an early majority kind of person (see Rogers Diffusion of Innovations) because I am much more reliant on interpersonal communication to make and support my decision-making process in adopting this behavior. Although, I certainly don't expect there to be a widespread adoption of the clothesline in favor or dryers! It's hard to give up technology once it's so engrained in our lives, but frankly, I kind of enjoy getting some fresh air and subshine while I hang my clothes to dry.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Rationalizing against the change; Identifying culprits
Yet again we did 5 loads of wash and 3 loads of dry. I did about half of the laundry this past weekend and found hanging the clothes to be a bit of a nuisance. I nearly fainted when a perfectly clean sheet brushed on the ground and got dirt on it. The only reason I let it go is because these sheets were being demoted from our bed to the guest bed.
Last week I said I realized it is all the little things rather than the clothes that are hindering our success. And last week it was the cleaning rags and rugs. This week it was the dog's bath towels. My professor recommended to hang dry the dog's towels and re-use them. All-in-all, it makes sense and I had never considered it due to the amount of dog hair on the towels. I excitedly shared the idea with my husband and he is suspect of this idea; he thinks getting the dog hair and wet dog smell off the towels will take more than a hang dry. I'm willing to try to though, so, so is he!I know the size of our washing machine is also a problem. It's a top-loading, large washer, but the capacity is not nearly as good as our previous washer. Since we rent our house, we don't have much of a choice. Although, the landlords do own another house on the property, which they are renovating. Brian mentioned the possibility of trying to get them to move our W/D to that house and get a front-loading, energy-efficient set for our house. Odds are slim of this actually happening, but I guess you never know.
These issues (amount of stuff to wash and the machines) are all part of my beginning stages of rationalizing why my original goal of 4 washes and 2 drys was too ambitious. I have yet to concede and thinking about posting my progress in this blog helps me to keep striving for that goal!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Week One: Are We Gonna Make It?
Saturday arrived as a hot, sunny, and humid Gainesville day. Brian (my husband) decides to put up the clothes line. Not as easy as one would think! When I did help, we basically bickered and even yelled at each other. We both stepped in a somehow hidden pile of dog poop. Things were not looking up. We finally got it hung to a point of mild satisfaction.Brian typically does most of the laundry. I'm lucky, I know. We both kept count and ended up doing five loads in the washer and three in the dryer. Only 1 load on each side to get it down. Although, it will definitely be difficult.
I've realized that the problem isn't so much the amount of clothes. It's all those little things, like dish towels, cleaning rags, dog bath towels, sheets, Brian's sweaty soccer clothes, and small rugs. Those are what add at least 2 loads per week. In general, neither of us were put off by the amount of work required (unless Brian feels otherwise). I feel like we achieved a small victory this weekend, but we still have some conserving to do to seriously achieve the goal.
Changing to Conserve: Picking a Behavior to Change and its Barriers and Motivators
Originally, I thought I would make a change regarding food and considered starting an organic garden in the University’s plots on campus. Thinking about this personal change project as I went about this weekend’s routine caused me to reconsider the food-related change. My husband and I already make a lot regularly consumed food from scratch, try to buy local, and, although meat-eaters, love our vegan cookbooks for most meals. I began to believe my original intentions to make a change in the food-realm were motivated by my belief that I would likely do it any way. I wanted to change a behavior that is certainly necessary, but may be more challenging.
In the back of my mind, I have always known eight loads of laundry a week between two people and one large dog is a bit exorbitant, to say the least. With conservation and sustainability on the brain, I decided to turn my attention to a change in the realm of energy consumption and will attempt to change my laundry habits. The reason this is a more important change to make is because I believe we are using too much energy to support an unnecessary comfort. I simply like a clean (washed and disinfected) home environment. My general cleaning habits cause me to use a lot of water as it is, but starting by changing the amount of laundry I do is where I believe I can make the biggest impact without compromising too much of my sanity.
The reason I have not changed up until this point was because I see (saw) doing laundry this often as absolutely necessary to maintaining my comfort and cleanliness. The routine that has now developed into eight loads of laundry each week is a result of my logic that this is just what is necessary for me to achieve that. The question for myself now becomes “Can I change this behavior and maintain my sanity?” I believe my success will rest on reading scientific research about the cleanliness of laundry.
My proposed change to my laundry habits will include the following:
1) Reduce the number of wash cycles to four per week
2) Reduce the number of dry cycles to two per week by using a clothes line
3) Wear (reuse) certain clothes two to three times before laundering such as business outfits and pajamas
4) Use a more environmentally-friendly detergent
5) Reduce the length of the wash cycle to the minimum necessary
6) Start putting dryer lint in the compost bin (thank goodness we already have one)
I have several motivations for changing this behavior. For my own ease of reading later, I will list them below in order from most to least motivating.
1) The most obvious extrinsic motivator is the requirement for this class. Even though I don’t know the ins and outs of the reinforcement theory mentioned in Aronson (1997), the grading system reinforces the start of this behavior.
2) I possess an internal desire to be an environmentalist. This is significantly reinforced by my husband who, as an environmental engineer, is more dedicated to that identification than I probably ever will be. Identifying myself (ourselves) in this way guides much of my behavior. In short, having my husband entirely supportive and enthusiastic about making this change really helps!
3) Currently, I am mildly disgusted by the amount of laundry we do each week, so, I have negative attitudes toward the behavior. I believe we are consuming too much water and energy, while polluting with cleaning chemicals and increasing garbage/recycling from packaging.
4) I want to save money on energy, water, costs to purchase soap, fabric softener, and dryer sheets. Additionally, over-washing decreases the life of our clothing; thus, we should save more money on clothing in the long-run.
5) I want to save time by doing less laundry on the weekend and taking fewer trips to the store to buy soap, etc. and clothing.
Where there is motivation to change a behavior, there inevitably exists barriers; otherwise, the change may already have been done. The following are my perceived barriers to making this change.
1) I do eight loads of laundry a week for a reason: I am what my friends call “a clean freak.” I feel very uncomfortable wearing clothes more than once, using bed sheets more than a week, towels more than 3-4 times, and thoroughly enjoy freshly laundered items. In short, I do not want to feel uncomfortable by sacrificing this “luxury.”
2) It will take time and energy for me to research what would be improved laundry habits in terms of conservation and sustainability. I must do the research to feel more comfortable about wearing clothes more than once, washing for shorter cycles, using different detergents, and eliminating fabric softeners.
3) I will have to purchase and set up a clothes line, both involving time, money, and energy. I will have to expend more time and energy hanging clothes, as opposed to throwing them in the dryer, and schedule laundry around rain. Part of me believes I will actually have to expend more of my resources into the laundry trying to use the dryer less.
4) I know we can afford to do laundry as often as we do now, because we have been doing it this way for three years. As such, we do not need to save money on energy and clothing.
5) I am certainly a creature of habit and laundry has had its place as it is now for many years. Re-inventing my routine to accommodate the desired change will take some adjustment.
6) “Environmentally-friendly” products have become a big business and often cost $1--$5 more than their conventional counterparts. I will have to pay more money for this type of detergent and I’m not convinced it will work as good as the kind I usually buy or necessarily be better for the environment.
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