Hi there, Sarah! It's important to discard half of the starter at each feeding because this removes waste and makes room for new yeast cells and good food-fermenting bacteria to grow. You're welcome to start with a smaller amount of flour and water, but you want to keep the 1:1:1 ratio (by weight) the same. Usually, if you have chlorinated water you can smell it as it comes out of the faucet, you could also contact your water supplier and ask. You most certainly can use white whole wheat for the whole process. We hope this helps and happy baking! 

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