Profile: Morris P. (Resident)

Morris P.
General Information

• 66, female. Married, separated. Two daughters, Morgan, 33, and Felicia, 28
• Lives alone with cat, has visitors multiple times per week.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree, Liberal Arts,
  
• Occupation: Independently wealthy, volunteer chair of local historical society
• Interests: Entertaining, gardening (mostly ornamental), working out three times a week, drinking

Decisions in Purchasing

• Recent purchase: Stove and hood
• Motivations: Old stove was too big, new stove is functional and available at Sears. She does not shop online or perform much research before purchasing. Morris values functionality, availability, serviceability, and durability at an appropriate price.
• Gets decision-making information from TV sometimes, rarely from the Internet. Doesn’t go shopping often, only when she has a specific need. Is not particularly interested in acquiring new things.
• Not into gadgets! Doesn’t care about them.

Routines

• Water-related routines: Washes face, showers using military on/off shower head to conserve water, washes clothes with washing machine, washes dishes with dishwasher, rarely by hand, waters garden
• Does not multitask when performing these routines. Does not listen to music because she has trouble hearing it over water.
• Her morning routine has a specific order and takes over an hour. She does not like being rushed through this routine. Her daily routines were not a conscious effort; they evolved over time. She has never really tried to change her routines. She believes many routines and attitudes are established by the age of four.

Conservation Efforts

• She guessed that she used around 750 gallons of water per month in her home. Her monthly bill revealed that she had used 2200 gallons that month. She was interested in the bar graphs depicting her water usage history on her bill, but she didn’t think this information would affect her behavior.
• Morris makes efforts to conserve energy, gas, and water. She turns off lights when leaving a room, uses energy-efficient products, often wears a sweater rather than turning the heat up, and conserves water during her showers. When her dryer’s heating element broke, she started hanging her clothes to dry instead of replacing the part. She also washes and reuses foil and plastic wrap, composts food waste, reuses eggshells and coffee grounds for her garden, and sorts and recycles or reuses containers.
• She is not familiar with many of the conservation gizmos available, but she is open to purchasing efficient products if they are offered to her while she is replacing an item. She believes that rationing water is the best way to change America’s water consumption habits.