E133 Sheila Webster Adapting to Help Environment
Let’s Be Well Together Podcast - Episode 133
Date: August 13, 2024
Participants: Elise Seifert, Julie Wilson, John Webster and Stephen Seifert
Guest: Our very own Sheila Webster
Start Times and Segments:
[0:00:16] What’s On Your Mind: Chatting about Au Pairs, including Elise’s experiences in Germany and England after her first year at uni.
[0:09:31] Expanding Minds Interview: [Environmental Wellness] Sheila Webster describes how she’s adapting in everyday life to help the environment. Examples include: going from a 2-car couple to a 1-car couple; using laundry strips instead of liquid detergent; reusable mop pads; silicone bake mats instead of parchment paper; refillable hand soap and dish soap containers, instead of single-use versions; not washing all clothes on single use; reducing the garbage and recycling we create; finding spots in the garden for perennials where they do well without being watered; getting high efficiency appliances; and cooking our own food most of the time, rather than going out or delivery/take out. When you start asking, “What will this do to the environment?”, you start making positive changes in your life. Real people like us start doing things that make a difference, especially if all of us are doing it together. Plus, it makes us feel great.
[0:28:21] Flipside of the Coin: Elise and Stephen are going through a first pregnancy. They came up with tun things to call the baby before knowing whether it’s a boy or girl, and before picking a name. Poppyseed? Raspberry? Peach?
Quotes and Take-Aways:
Sheila – I think the Let’s Be Well Together podcast has inspired me personally to think more about the environment, especially Tova Davidson’s interviews.
Sheila – My number one change is the car. We worked hard for six months to decide whether we could go down to one car and we finally di that.
John – A lot of the environmentally-friendly changes we’ll talk about today are not that hard, but they require a focus: thinking about how to help the environment.
Sheila – I think about ways to avoid using the car everyday: do I need the car? Can I bike to the grocery store or the gym? Can I walk to the grocery store? I bike to work everyday, as long as it’s not raining when I leave the house.
Sheila – I find laundry strips much easier to travel with. Powder or liquid are hard to travel with. I cut strips into smaller squares for small loads.
John – I’m glad we’re making all of these environmentally-friendly changes. They’re making a difference and it makes me feel good.
Sheila – Cooking meals at home is more energy efficient than eating out, or take-out/ delivery meals. Food used in restaurants is often processed, not fresh food. It takes more energy to process the food. It takes staff and resources to prepare the meals. Whether you drive there or they deliver it to you, a vehicle creates carbon emissions.
John – We’re enjoying a really great feeling by helping the environment. Everyone can do it. When you start asking, “What will this do to the environment?”, you start making positive changes in your life. Real people like us start doing things that make a difference, especially if all of us are doing it together. Plus, it makes us feel great.
Guest Information: Sheila Webster is one of the hosts of our podcast.
Connect with Let’s Be Well Together Podcast:
website: https://letsbewelltogether.com
Follow our Instagram account: @lets.be.well.together use hashtag #letsbewelltogetherpodcast
Provide input on Instagram using hashtag #letsbewelltogetherinput
Thanks for joining us,
(-(-_(-_-)_-)-) Your wellness check-in team
John, Sammy, Cameron, Sheila, Elise, Isabelle, Noura, Julie and Riley