Did anyone read that story in People about the family of four that only produces a jar full of garbage a year? Really? Come on, that can't be real.

For those of us who aren't able to go without the occassional bag of chips or case of Diet Coke for the safety of the planet, I have some great tips to go green in 2014.

1. Recycle (duh): Pretty basic, but pretty powerful.  Every fraternity or sorority house should have an officer position for regulating the recycling. When there is a house with more than 50 people living in, the waste output can get out of control.  If your house doesn't have one of these officers suggest the idea to your house manager, or better yet, take on the duties yourself.  It will be rewarding, informative and your work will definitely not go unnoticed. 

2. Buy a reusable water bottle: Twenty-two billion water bottles are thrown away each year, filling our Earth with harmful plastic at the cost of easy disposal.  It is a simple switch that is easy to throw in your bag for class, not to mention you'll get a lot more bang for your buck.  Living in a sorority house, I don't want to lug a huge 24-pack of water bottles up a flight of stairs. I use a water bottle with a filter that I fill up in the bathroom before I head off to class.  If you want to learn more, see The Story of Bottled Water, a short film about our overuse of water bottles.

3. Only use your lights when necessary: Leave your curtains open and let the natural light shine in. It's great for your electric bill and let's be honest, everyone looks prettier in natural light.  If you're feeling super ambitious, try going a whole day without turning on one light.  You could read by candlelight and pretend you're Jane Austen or George Washington. What? No, I don't do that. That would be weird... 

4. Make a list of all your errands and get them done in one trip: It's my understanding that our biggest carbon footprint comes from our cars. This is one of my favorite tips – I am literally the queen of making lists. What books do I need for class? List. What do I need from Walmart? List. Different kinds of oreos I love? List. Gather your lists and make the trip on a Sunday afternoon because Sunday was invented to get done everything we procrastinated.  This will cut down on your gas cost and your carbon footprint.

5. Before you buy anything new, check Craigslist: Don't worry the Craigslist killer has been caught, so ladies stop watching that Lifetime original movie (even though it's so good).  There are plenty of struggling students in college towns trying to get rid of stuff – take advantage of it. It's super easy, and you can get anything from a new apartment to free puppies.  Who doesn't want a free puppy? Someone who doesn't love the planet, thats who.

6. Watch an environmental documentary and expand your knowledge of the world: Whether it's An Inconvenient Truth or The Cove, documentaries can have a huge influence on how you think of our environmental impact.  I would suggest Food, Inc., which is a film that goes behind the scenes of how food in America is made.  Just to warn you, it will make you want to stop eating food – yay spring break 2012 body! The documentary helps you understand how the food industry works from the farm, to the factory, to the grocery store, to your table.  This understanding will help you make smarter choices at the store, and if we start demanding wholesome, unprocessed food the farmers will deliver. 

I think the narrator of Food, Inc. said it best: "The way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000."