October 2nd, 2009
Mike
Here are some ideas that will save you money and help the planet at the same time!
- Don’t buy bottled water (or bottled drinks in general). So many bottles add up in landfills, and your wallet doesn’t appreciate forking out $30 a case every couple of weeks. That’s a lot of money! If you really can’t stand tap water, just get a filter. Although it still creates waste, it’s a lot better for the environment than bottles.
- Actually, don’t buy disposable things in general. While there are exceptions to this rule, for the most part, buying something more permanent is easier on your checking account and better for the earth. I’m thinking about things like styrofoam cups and plates (don’t get me started on styrofoam…), paper plates, those one-use tupperware containers (what’s the point? just buy a real container!), plastic utensils, etc. You’ll save money and won’t create as much trash.
- Don’t waste paper. Print double sided and see if your teacher will let you single space your essays. This saves a lot of paper. Find out if printers in your school can do double sided, and if so, use that option. Also, use the “fast” or “quick” print setting, and you’ll use less ink!
- Only buy food you know you’ll eat in a reasonable amount of time. Don’t get three pounds of potatoes if you only eat one potato every two weeks…the rest of them will start growing eyes and you’ll get freaked out and throw them away. Wasting food is a bad thing. For one, think about how much work went into producing the food in the first place, all the people who traveled to the food production site, and then getting the food from the site to the store you bought it at. That could potentionally add up to a big carbon footprint (for instance, bananas or oranges from Brazil). Then think about how much money you wasted by not actually eating the food you bought. You could have used that money for either other food you would have eaten, or could be saving it, or you could be using it for textbooks, etc.
- Also, buy local. If you have a farmer’s market, go to it and use it! It’ll probably be cheaper and the food will be super healthy. (At least around here, I know the people I’m buying from don’t use any pesticides or hormones or anything. It’s so awesome!) If you have local shops, like gift shops or locally-owned restaurants, go to them. It’ll help the local economy and it’s usually a pretty good quality, so you’ll get definitely get your money’s worth.
Do you have any other tips? Share them in the comments! I hope these help you to save a little more money — and help you think about what you’re buying and the consequences it might have before you buy it!
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.
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September 25th, 2009
Mike
One of the easiest things to take up in the effort to be more sustainable is to recycle. Most college campuses now offer at least somewhere to take your recyclable materials. My college actually provides several bins for recyclables in each living unit and academic building and collects everything at least once a week. Find out where on campus you can take your recyclable items and then do so!
Never throw away aluminum cans, plastic or glass bottles, newspapers, paper from class, cardboard from your cereal boxes, or any plastic that can be recycled.
This is a fairly easy, effective concept that can be overlooked. The place I worked over the summer did not have one recycling bin on the whole campus. The apartment building I lived in did not have any recycling available, and the person I lived with simply didn’t recycle. We can save landfill space and reuse materials just by recycling all that we can.
If you live in a state with a recycling program that gives you back some cash for turning in bottles, take advantage of it! Although it’s technically not that much money, it’s still money you didn’t have before.
Some other ways to save money – albeit indirectly from recycling – is simply to cut back on what you purchase. Get a reusable water bottle so you don’t buy so much bottled water. Think twice about buying that can of soda – your wallet, your health, and the world will thank you for it. Think about your purchases before you make one, and you will be helping not only yourself but also the planet.
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.
Thanks for reading! If you found this post to be useful please tell your friends and then please: Subscribe | Follow Me on Twitter | Like Me on Facebook
September 20th, 2009
Mike
Don’t you just love when you’re cleaning your apartment or dorm room and you manage to find all kinds of stuff under the couch cushions? It could be money, pens, keys, or maybe even that credit card you’d been looking all over the place for. No matter what, it brightens your day just a bit. That’s the essence of what this weekly post will be about. It will just be a collection of links to posts and articles that will be coming from my favorite college-geared websites that I try to read at least a couple times a week. Take a look and see what I’ve found!
That’s it for this week. Be sure to follow those sites on twitter and subscribe to their feeds! Also, leave a comment here and tell me what you think!
Thanks for reading! If you found this post to be useful please tell your friends and then please: Subscribe | Follow Me on Twitter | Like Me on Facebook
September 18th, 2009
Mike
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.
Thanks for reading! If you found this post to be useful please tell your friends and then please: Subscribe | Follow Me on Twitter | Like Me on Facebook
