Take Your Notes Electronically

You have seen many movies and television shows where students are busy writing down their notes on paper. While some turn to computers, many seem to feel that they need paper and writing utensils; otherwise, they don’t fully get the college experience. The truth is that no matter how you take your notes, you’ll gain the knowledge and understanding to build your sustainable living and look to your laptop or iPad to take your notes. 

This method will help you save money when it comes to buying school supplies as you won’t need to spend your dollars on paper, but you will also stop wasting paper. Think of it this way – what will you do with the notes when you’re done with a class? Throw them away? Instead, you can simply delete them from your device. 

Don’t Forget to Recycle

Fortunately, recycling is easier on many college campuses than you might think. Several have turned to make sure they have different bins where you can put your paper, cans, and glass. However, this doesn’t mean that you’ll be in an area with recycling bins. You might need to find some nearby or even create your own and find a place to bring them within your community. 

Other ways to recycle are to donate your clothes or shop at a thrift store. It’s estimated that up to 60% of all clothing made within a year is thrown out. This notion means that all the energy and water used to make these items are wasted. By recycling your apparel, you can build your sustainable living during your college years. 

Get Political

There are many tips that you can follow to live a most sustainable lifestyle. However, many people think that changing your behavior is enough because you should also get politically active. You can do this by joining political groups at the university or even in your community. You can also take part by joining specific strikes, such as the Fridays for Future climate strike. 

You can take action to vote for a green politician or support the green party and participate in a global or national climate march. It’s also possible to join a massive act of civil disobedience, for example, Extinction Rebellion in the United Kingdom or Code Rood in the Netherlands. 

Buy a Reusable Water Bottle

One of the easiest ways that you can live more sustainably is by purchasing at least one reusable water bottle that you can take with you around the university. This change will help you save money because you won’t need to purchase plastic water bottles every day. At the same time, you can help keep the planet cleaner. 

There are many ways to find reusable bottles. You can even design your own on certain websites. While hard plastic ones are great, you can also purchase stainless steel as they tend to last a bit longer and keep your water colder for a more extended period. 

Stop Using Plastic Straws

Instead of asking for plastic straws at a local restaurant or buying them to use at home, you can look to purchase reusable straws. They’re just as easy to find, and you can easily use them at home or carry a few when you go to restaurants to use. 

While it is a small problem in the big scheme of things, it’s essential to think of the more minor issues. Plastic straws can’t be recycled, so they are left to find their way into oceans or across the lands where they can hurt animals or marine life. 

Use Your Own Shopping Bags

Some stores have already started to go this route, but you can begin before a store requires you to use reusable shopping bags. All you need to do is purchase a couple of bags that you can bring with you to the stores for your items. 

One of the biggest challenges, once you have your bags, is remembering them when you go shopping. One way to help you do this is by keeping them in your car. Once you’ve put your groceries and other items away, bring the bags back out to your vehicle. Another way is setting a reminder or placing the bags by the door, so you will have a better time remembering. You might also have roommates to help you remember. 

Unplug and Power Down Devices

There might be a lot of electronics and appliances that you use daily. It’s not just the computer or iPad that you should think about. Instead, you need to look at your television, toaster, microwave, and other appliances. 

Unplugging your appliances when you’re not using them is the same as shutting off lights when you’re not in the room – it will save on electricity. Even when appliances aren’t in use, if they’re plugged in, they are connected to the outlet and still using energy, which can take some more money out of your pocketbook. 

Go Meatless For a Day

If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, you already have this tip covered. If you enjoy eating meat with nearly every meal, this tip might be harder for you than you think, but it can also help live you a more sustainable life. 

The key is that if every United States citizen skipped one meal of meat every week and ate more vegetables, fruits, and grains instead it’s like taking over half a million cars off of U.S. roads in terms of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. This idea means following meatless Mondays good for you, but it’s also good for the environment and can save you anywhere from $60 to $80 a month, more if you have a family to feed.

Share on Social Media

One of the best ways to get information to other people about recycling is through social media. Whether you have a Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or another account (or all of them), you can use it to tell people to look at sustainable living. 

You could give them pointers on how they can take steps to recycle in their life or even find sustainable success, such as second-hand stores and plastic-free supermarkets. You can join social media groups that are filled with like-minded people and share their posts on your page. 

Note What You’re Buying at the Grocery Store

You already know that bringing reusable bags can help save the planet because plastic bags take thousands of years to break down. They also tend to kill thousands of animals every year. But there is another step that you can take to improve your sustainable living, and that is to buy produce that has less packaging.

When you purchase items in less cardboard or plastic than other things, you are cutting down on the overall waste. Another way you can boost your sustainable living is by getting digital coupons instead of cutting them out. 

Go Green on Your Feminine Supplies

Most women don’t think much about this, but there is much waste when it comes to your menstrual cycle. While much of this can’t be helped, you can take a step in the more influential sustainable living column by knowing what products are the best to use during this time. For instance, between 11 to 30 tampons are used every cycle. It’s estimated that you will throw away 250 to 300 pounds of pads, plugs, and applicators within your lifetime.

You can start bringing this waste down by opting for reusable cotton pads instead of ones you dispose of. You can also switch to tampons that don’t have plastic applicators or try using menstrual cups.

Plan Your Meals

Who knew that taking time every week to plan your meals would be helpful to the environment? It will help because you’re less likely to purchase food that you won’t use or that will go bad before you can use it. Meal planning allows you to know exactly what you need to buy at the store because you know what you will make every week. 

One reason this helps is that you will save food from waste and create CO2 in landfills. Another benefit is that you will save money and it also helps decrease the stress you feel because you don’t need to worry about what you’ll make for dinner after a busy day at work. 

Turn to Borrow or Buy Less 

You live in a consumer culture, which makes it easy to buy more items than you need. It’s easy to fall victim to know what you need and grab what you want when you’re in the stores – or shopping online. For instance, when searching for an item on Amazon, you might run into several other products that you don’t need but decide to buy because they’re cool or might come in handy. 

Another challenge is knowing when to buy or rent. For example, the next time you want to see that new movie on DVD, you should look into renting it instead of buying it. The same goes for music; you can download the songs instead of buying all new CDs. 

Think About Your Toothbrush

One way to help decrease the number of toothbrushes in the dump is to purchase a bamboo toothbrush instead of the plastic ones. Take a moment to think about this – it takes about 400 years for a toothbrush to decompose completely, and they haven’t been around that long. This number means that every toothbrush made is still lying around in some landfill, waiting to decompose completely. When you decide to choose the bamboo toothbrush, you will help cut down on plastic pollution. 

While bamboo is usually more than the plastic ones you can buy, it’s worth choosing the more expensive to live sustainably. Plus, you can purchase a set of four of them for under $20 at Amazon. 

Find Sustainable Shops

It seems like there are new stores to visit every day, which only leads you to purchase more items than you need. However, it also creates a challenge of knowing when and where to shop to live a sustainable life. One way to help improve the environment is to know the best places to shop for sustainable shops. 

While some cities will have more of these types of shops than others, there are many places to look, such as second-hand stores, plastic-free supermarkets, repair cafes, vegan and vegetarian restaurants, local farmer’s markets, and organic supermarkets. 

Don’t Waste Your Food

It happens to everyone – you make a meal for your family, and it seems that it’s barely touched. Your children aren’t hungry. You pack the food away in the fridge or freezer with the thought of making it later, but then realize you’ve waited too long, and you just need to toss the food out. 

While it’s not always easy to only make enough food that people will eat in one sitting, you want to do everything you can to try. However, you can try to help ease the tons of food wasted every year by making smaller portions or setting a night where you will warm up the leftovers for your family. 

Purchase LED Light Bulbs

LED light bulbs are a newer phenomenon in the world, but they are also great energy savers. Many people have turned to LED lights not only because they can save a few dollars on their electric bill but also because they don’t have to change light bulbs as often as LEDs are known to last longer than regular bulbs. 

Another great benefit is that these lights range when it comes to brightness. You can tailor your home according to how much light you want in a corner or the whole room. For instance, you might have your bedroom darker than your living room or kitchen. 

Fix Items Instead of Throwing Them

Sometimes items break by accident, and other times it happens because they are old and worn out. While you can always fix what’s broken, you should always take the chance and look at it as a possibility. You might not be able to fix it yourself, but other people could help you, whether they’re friends, family, or professionals. 

Fixing items instead of throwing them away will decrease the garbage in the waste dumps and help you save money because you won’t need to go out and buy a new one. If you’re not sure how to fix it, turn to Google as the Internet can help you learn how to repair most items. 

Turn to Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products

One of the most significant factors that the current crisis helped produce for people worldwide is how to make eco-friendly cleaning products and hand sanitizer. There are usually harsh chemicals in the cleaning products. While alcohol won’t hurt the environment as much, you can help boost the world around you from creating an alcohol-free hand sanitizer. 

There are dozens of recipes you can find online and make at home. All you need to do is ensure you can gather all the supplies at the store. They usually consist of some type of essential oils, which you can have your pick. For instance, if you want to make cleaning products that smell like lavender, you know which type of essential oil to choose. 

Microwave Over Conventional Oven

You might not need a big push to follow this tip. You might already follow it and not realize that you’re living more sustainably, especially when you’re living in a college dorm room. After all, not all dorms have kitchens or large appliances like ovens that you can use. 

You can make a lot of food in the microwave, including baked potatoes. The key is to ensure that you take all the safety measures and watch the meal, so it doesn’t explode or cause a big mess. Using the microwave over the oven can help you live more sustainably because it uses less energy than the oven. 

If You Don’t Have to Fly, Don’t Do It

While you probably think that you can’t fly for a while because of the current crisis, you always want to think of staying closer to home, so you don’t need to fly anywhere – even when the current crisis ends. 

When you turn to the airplane, you’re damaging the environment worse than using your vehicle or taking a bus. Flying from Bristol to Edinburgh produces 0.15 metric tons of carbon. You might not think there are many sights to see close to home, but if you can take the bus, train, or car, you can see it. Therefore, enjoy your drive across the country. 

Start a Big Garden

Even if you feel you don’t have much room to start a garden, you can find a small corner in your yard to get yourself a little start. Maybe you can start a community garden where people from your area will grow their food and share with other members of the community. 

Gardens are a great way to eat healthily, save money, and cut down your carbon footprint and be eco-friendly. You can always invest in windowsill boxes if you don’t have a yard to help grow your garden. 

Sources:

“5 Tips for Being a Sustainable College Student.” Lily Iler, Spoon University.

“The Ultimate 20 Step Guide to Eco-friendly Living.” Good Energy. August 2017.

“15 Tips for Green Living in College.” The Princeton Review.

“Green guide: 15 tips for a more sustainable lifestyle.” Green Office Movement.