There’s been a lot of talk on the news lately about the state of the earth’s health, and in all honesty, things are looking pretty scary. We’ve all heard some little “Go Green” tips and tricks here and there, but a lot of them seem expensive and impractical for younger generations like college students, for example composting and buying expensive hybrid cars. Fear not, my friend! There’s actually plenty of easy, practical and cost effective ways you can go green, so here’s 13 ways you can start saving the planet right now!

1. Turn off your faucet while you brush.

You don’t need to keep the faucet running while you’re brushing your teeth. Try turning off the water in between rinses. It may not seem like much, but just picking up this good habit will save around 8 gallons of water a day, that’s 200 gallons of water per month!

2. Ditch the disposable water bottles…

Purchasing a reusable water bottle can help in more ways than one. Plastic bottles make up 90% of the 1.4 billion pounds of garbage floating in the ocean, and it takes 17 million barrels of oil to manufacture water bottles every year. That could be 340 million gallons of gasoline. Not to mention, buying and refilling one bottle every 10 years or so costs a lot less than purchasing cases of water every month.

3. … And the paper coffee cups!

Reusable coffee mugs help reduce paper waste just like reusable water bottles reduce plastic waste. That means more trash out of oceans and landfills, and less cut-down trees! Not to mention, most coffee shops and cafés even offer discounts when you bring your own mug. So go ahead, B.Y.O.M!

For more information about the awesomeness that is reusable coffee mugs, check out Alexandra Meyers' article here!

4. Yet another reusable cup!

If you menstruate, you know the struggle of constantly having to change your pads or tampons on heavier flow days. You also probably know that moment of sinking agony you feel when you realize you have to spend yet another 10+ dollars on sanitary products every month. Menstruators, agonize no more (at least about pad and tampon struggles), for menstrual cups can solve both of those problems, and more! Menstrual cups are reusable devices that catch your flow in silicone rather than absorb it in cotton and plastics. This reduces the risk of toxic shock syndrome to near zero, helps cut down on waste in landfills, causes less leaks, saves natural resources, AND saves you money. How can you go wrong?

Here is a link to the brand I personally use. It’s one of the cheapest deals on Amazon and comes with two cups that can last 10 years a piece.

5. Recycle.

Recycling is a no brainer for helping the planet and is SUPER easy on most college campuses. Instead of dumping all of your trash into one can and forgetting about it, take few extra minutes to separate your cardboard boxes, glass bottles, plastic cups, and cans into the appropriate bins after your party.

6. If it’s walking distance, walk the distance.

If you live in a college town like I do, it’s more than likely that there’s plenty of places within walking distance. Even though it can be really tempting to drive, especially on colder days, walking or biking instead reduces pollution from carbon emissions, saves you some gas, and subsequently saves you money. Consider walking more in these upcoming warmer (hopefully) months.

7. Print less, save more.

I’m sure you’ve heard this one a million times before, so in an effort not to beat a dead horse, I’ll keep this one short. Just print double sided when you can, and print only what you need. It’ll save you precious print money and save the world some trees.

8. Rinse, recycle, repeat!

As a college student, I know how tempting it can be to grab a box of plastic spoons from Walmart to toss after I use them. But in the long run, it’s so much more worth it to buy 3 reusable spoons, forks, knives, plates, and bowls and wash them than to constantly buy plastic wear. I know it’s hard, but ditch the toss-ables and buy some washables instead. (just make sure to turn off the faucet between rinses)

9. Carpool.

Going somewhere? Ask a few friends if they need to go too! Not only can carpooling with a group make shopping trips more fun, but it saves everyone from individually driving themselves and emitting more greenhouse gasses into the ozone. Not to mention, it may even score you a bit of gas money. Also, consider hitting multiple destinations in a row rather than going out more times in a week.

10. Paper, or plastic? Neither!

While you’re out to shop, pick yourself up a few reusable cloth shopping bags to take with you next time you’re out. This cuts down on the use of plastic and paper shopping bags, and can save you that dreaded bag rip on your way home. What sounds better, carrying two cloth bags comfortably on your shoulder, or hiking back to your Res-hall with three plastic bags in each hand- two of which will inevitably bust and spill in the middle of the sidewalk in the time it takes you to walk back?

11. Do Less Laundry!

I know, I know, this one sounds too good to be true. If you’re a college student like me, you’re probably already doing this step, but now, you have an excuse: do laundry less often. Only do laundry when you hamper is full, and fill up the washer. Don’t overfill it, but only doing full loads of laundry helps save water and energy.

12. Eat less meat

I’m not saying you need to go full vegetarian like I did, but eating less meat can have a really positive impact on our planet. Animal farming takes up a lotof land; it takes up 30% of all the earth’s land mass and 80% of all the Amazon that has been deforested is now cattle pasture. That’s 12 times the land, 13 times the fossil fuel and 15 times the water it takes per pound to grow soy protein. Not to mention, meat can get pretty expensive. Like I said though, I’m not necessarily saying everyone needs to go vegan, even I started eating chicken recently in preparation for going abroad, but I’m conscious about how much I eat and where the meat comes from.

13. More bees, please!

Okay people, this one is really, really important. If the bees die out, we die out. Now it may seem difficult as a college students to help save the bees. It’s not like most of us can be part time bee keepers, but one good start is trying not to kill them on purpose. As someone who has a phobia of bees, wasps, and hornets, I understand how startling it can be to have a black and yellow buzzer flying towards you, but just remember; bees mean you no harm. They’re just hard working little friends trying to make to world a better place.

It’s tempting to look at this list and think, “I’m only one person? How can I alone make any difference?” but imagine how many people are going to think that way. Now imagine if all of those people thought “Hey, I could do some of those things!” instead. That’s a lot of people who can make a big difference. I hope this list inspires you to pick up at least a few of these habits yourself, and I hope that you share some of these tips with your family and friends as well. I know I’m off to go shop for some cute reusable lunch containers and put off doing my laundry for a little while!