One of the easiest ways to start incorporating sustainable living into your own life is to acquire a plant or two – which means you are literally going green. By making a couple of informed decisions, taking care of plants in your college room will be easy as pie. You can find plants very inexpensively (check out a farmer’s market, ask for a cutting of a neighbor’s plant, borrow one from your mom, find one on sale) and depending on what you get could save you money as well, like if you bought a food-producing plant.

Benefits of having plants:

• Brightens up any room
• Cleans your air
• Depending on your plant, you could have flowers!
• Depending on your plant, you could have food!
• If you’ve studied any Feng Shui, you know that plants will add life energy to a room and, strategically placed, will absorb negative energy

Before running to the landscaping place, there are a few things to think about before getting a plant:

• Are you allergic to anything? (Certain flowers, for instance?)
• Do you want a plant that simply looks nice, or would you like it to help produce some kind of food?
• How much light do you have in your room?
• How much space do you have to give up to a plant?
• Will you remember to water your plant?
• What sort of climate do you live in?

Here are a few ideas to get you started. Before investing in any plant, make sure to do some research to get exactly what you want and are able take care of!

• Desert plants like aloe don’t need much attention and they are easy to care for. Aloe adds the benefit of having an instant skin soother at your disposal as well!
• Flowering plants can really brighten up a space, but make sure you’re not allergic to them.
• Greenery like ivy or spider plants are fun and look nice.
• Herbs like thyme and basil taste so much better fresh!
• Small vegetables like peas or cherry tomatoes can also be grown easily in a dorm room.

Enjoy! Let me know how your plants are doing!

About this Contributor: Maria Schwartzman is a senior computer science major with a Spanish minor at a small liberal arts school in Indiana. She’ll be writing a lot about how to save money by living a sustainable lifestyle! Check out her website and then follow her on Twitter.