June: 20 Minutes of Daily Trash Pick-up

Why work out?

If you look at all the challenges I completed this year, none of them were workout related. Originally for June, I had planned to do some sort of workout challenge. Instead, I ended up picking up trash for 20 minutes every day. There were a few reasons why this challenge came to be.

I already work out five to six days a week and bike to work year-round. If I were to do a physical challenge, I would really need to push myself. That said, I did not know how much I would have gained from a workout challenge.

I had also just listened to a podcast regarding the impacts of climate change. This podcast highlighted different initiatives that we can take to help make a positive impact on the environment. Picking up trash was not explicitly mentioned, but the podcast got me thinking about what I could do for the environment as part of The Challenge Year. I ultimately made the decision to pick up trash for my June challenge. Even if I’m healthy and can live to be 110 years old, it won’t matter if the world is on fire.

I chose 20 minutes as I figured it would take me five minutes to get set up and five minutes to get cleaned up for a total of 30 minutes. You will find that the most time I devoted to any challenge this year was 30 minutes. This was intentional, as The Challenge Year is not meant to burn you out. Any more than 30 minutes and prioritizing the challenges would have been tough for me.

For this challenge, I started right from my front door every day. I live in Uptown in Minneapolis, so there is, unfortunately, plenty of trash to clean up in my neighborhood. The biggest challenge I faced this month was not one I expected. I felt very uncomfortable doing this. I felt as though I was back in my high school psychology class conducting a social experiment.

The more I went out and picked up trash, the more I felt at ease. This was an excellent reminder of the importance of persistence. When I start something new, it is easy for me to feel uncomfortable and overwhelmed. To help get back to solid ground, I remind myself of what I have done before and what my determination will help me accomplish. It is very comforting to find this reminder at the beginning of any new challenge I may face.

As the month continued, my discomfort was replaced with a sense of accomplishment. About every three days, someone would stop me and ask what I was doing. They wanted to know if I was getting paid or if this was a community service punishment. Most people were surprised and thankful when I told them it was just me doing it on my own accord. I got hugs and some offers for help.

I was not only helping my neighborhood be a healthier, more beautiful place, but in a very, very small way, I was also helping the world become cleaner. Eventually, however, this sense of accomplishment changed to disappointment and discouragement. Places I had gone to pick up trash would be absolutely littered just a few days later. What good was I doing if things were just going to be right where they were in a few days?

Regardless, I still highly recommend this challenge. Think about how much cleaner our neighborhoods and this world would be if everyone went and picked up trash for 20 minutes. I don't even mean once a day; I am talking about once a month. This place would be spotless!

The earth has done everything for me, and it deserves for me to do everything I can to help it be healthy.