I believe I have experienced almost every form of college housing: the lovely freshman dorm, apartment living with friends, a brief time in a sorority house with sisters and finally, I will be commuting to my new school, Oakland University. From each one of these housing environments , I have discovered different ways to save both money and the planet!
Here are six easy steps to help you start off this school year on a eco-friendly foot!
1. Be a green shopper
- Carpool with roommates to the grocery store.
- Bring reusable canvas bags to the market.- Aim to buy foods in glass packaging like pasta sauces or soups ( you can wash and reuse those glass jars later).
- Check ahead of time with your local bulk foods store to see if they have a program that allows you to bring your own containers. Not only will you end up making fewer trips to the store, you will also save money!
- Buy local whenever possible. Farmers' markets rule (as they often allow you to buy foods without packaging). Also, a lot of colleges (especially during the beginning of the year) will have farmers' markets right on campus for your shopping needs!
2. Be a green washer
- Try to only wash full loads of laundry.
- Make your own laundry detergent (here are some easy natural recipes) and some more!
- Wash your clothes in cold water
-Hang things to dry when possible.
3. Go green in school
- Instead of flash cards, use online study tools such as Quizlet
- Ditch notebooks and use refillable binders or take notes on your laptop.
- Reuse your old school supplies if you can (binders,pens,pencils, etc).
4. Go green with electricity
-Unplug all appliances and electronics when not in use.
-Use natural light whenever possible.
-Set your refrigerator temperature between 30 and 42°F(use the power-save switch if you have one).
- Keep your freezer full -- it uses less energy than an empty one. To save even more, consider filling your freezer with gallon-size containers of water.
- Plug electronics into a power strip, then turn the strip off when not in use to save in energy costs.
5. Go green with your transportation
- WALK. Seriously, it is that easy and you will be burning calories instead of gas.
- Bike! (Many campuses even offer good rates for bike rentals for a semester.)
- Take public transportation when possible.
6. Reduce waste the green way
- If you are living on campus, most likely your trash and recycling will be included. Take advantage of this. At my old school, there were compost and recycling bins near every food court and it was awesome!
Find out how your dorm or apartment handles recycling and trash before you move in!
- Don’t know what can and cannot be recycled? Here’s a nice guide!
That is all I got ! Wohoo cheers to you and wish y'all a great (and green) first semester!
