A few months ago, the Philippi, W.Va., Service Adventure unit felt they needed some new challenges.

So the unit decided that each participant would write down some challenging ways to live simply or generously on slips of paper, and each week they would draw out a different challenge that the house had to complete. Here is a list of the weekly challenges they completed during the year.

Challenges (one per week)

1) Do random yard work for someone in need.

2) No meat.

3) Use only the food already in the house for meals, with only buying staples.

4) No sweets.

5) No electric kitchen appliances.

6) Reduce water usage.

7) Spend only half the grocery budget and donate the rest.

8) Only eating food from West Virginia and bordering states, or fairly traded food.

9) No using the car.

10) No electricity after 7 p.m.

11) No computer use, except for work.