Condo Blues: 10 Ways for College Students to Go Green on the Cheap

Monday, August 3, 2009

10 Ways for College Students to Go Green on the Cheap

I learned a lot of my own green and thrifty ways during college, mostly due to thrift because I was responsible for paying my way through college. I quickly learned that by changing habits and reusing things I could save money in order to pay for the more expensive items in my budget: rent, books, tuition, and food, while still reducing waste.



That’s why I try to present options for green living and money saving tips. I’ve been doing the green and simple living thing long before it was fashionable and before many environmentally friendly items were available or affordable for the average working adult, let alone the average starving college student.

Here’s a list of 10 tips for college students who want to go green and save money doing it.



1. Buy and sell used books. I still take college classes from time to time for professional development. I always buy my books used. I have better luck getting them used if I buy them online. I do a search for my books as soon as I am registered for class, that way I can buy my book and have it shipped to me in time for class. My biggest piece of advice is to sell your books at the end of the quarter/semester either online or to the local bookstore. Really. Unless you are in law or med school, you won’t use those old text books, especially when you can look up current information on the Internet. The old marketing books I saved and thought I was going to use as reference quickly became outdated doorstops a short time after I took the class. I should have sold them back when I had the chance.

2. If you have an all you can eat cafeteria make sure you eat all you take. Chances are your school cafeteria isn’t going to compost that food you left on your plate. Eat it. Don’t throw food away. If your school cafeteria doesn’t compost food waste, consider working with them, your university’s landscaping office and start one! It’s a great idea for service project for an on campus group and can be a resume builder for you.

3. Unplug electronics when you’re finished with them and turn off the lights as you leave a room. These little things really do add up. I didn’t think this was a big deal either until I did the 20% Energy Reduction Challenge Project. Once I started keep track of my electric usage I quickly found that if I made it a habit like putting my TV on a power strip and turning it off after I was finished made a big difference in my electric use and lowered my bill.

4. Use a book bag/backpack for small purchases instead of using a disposable plastic bag. Consider carrying a reusable bag for bigger purchases in your backpack. It can be a nifty fold up bag like a Chico bag (I have one and I love it. You can learn more about it here) or just reuse a plastic grocery bag you already have.

5. Use last year’s/quarter’s/semester’s school supplies. Backpacks/book bags are pretty sturdy and can be used from one year to the next. If it’s ripped – see if someone can fix it for you if you can’t. I like to buy the big notebooks so I get two classes/quarters worth of notes from them. Yes, taking notes on a laptop would be even greener, but I don’t type that fast and the information seems to stick in my head better if I write it out long hand (your mileage may vary.) There are more environmentally friendly paper/pens/folders/notebooks, etc for sale now and if you can afford them, you may consider purchasing them. I can do that now when I take classes for professional development for my job or for fun (yes, I’m that crazy. I like to learn things for fun.) But in my starving student days, since it was all on my own dime, I leaned towards reusable but not as environmentally friendly as they could be school supplies – and I sometimes still do. (Hi Recession!)

6. Upgrade/repair electronics like computers, laptops, etc. first before buying new. Ask the store/service person if they can recycle the ewaste (spent video cards, laptop batteries, cell phones, etc) from the repair/upgrade for you. If they can’t, they may know someone who can.

7. Drink lower waste drinks. Try a glass of tap water, make a pitcher of drinks from powder/concentrate, or buy soda in 2 liter bottles instead of a six pack of cans or bottles. You can always put these items in a reusable water bottle so you have your favorite beverage in on the go low waste form while on campus. Many may say to ditch the soda altogether but let’s be realistic, some folks get their daily caffeine buzz from soda, not coffee or tea, especially during finals. If that’s the case, be a little more sensitive as to how many bottles/cans you are buying and recycle the empties, OK?

8. Recycle paper, glass, metal cans, plastic, ewaste, etc. through local programs. Don’t have a campus recycling program? Consider working with your college or university and starting one! It’s good for the environment, an excellent service project if you belong to a campus club or student organization, and an excellent resume builder.


9. Ditch the disposables. Try using rechargeable batteries, cleaning sponges/micro fiber cloths/rags instead of paper towels, bring your own travel mug to get coffee/tea at the campus coffee shop (some shops may even give you a discount!), etc.

10. Donate clothing, furniture, etc. when you move out of your dorm/house/apartment at the end of year instead of leaving it behind or tossing it in a dumpster. Some charities will pickup contributions if they are sizable. In that case, get together with friends and donate your items as a group. Your school may have a program that allows students to donate items before they move out, like Ohio State University. If you don’t have something like this at your school – start one! Again, it’s a wonderful idea for a service project and resume builder.

I admit some of these items involve spending some money such as buying a reusable coffee mug, rechargeable batteries, or water bottle. You might consider asking for these items as holiday or birthday gifts (that’s when and how I got my filtered water pitcher, which I still use long after college.) You may be able to get some of these items through campus freebies. I still have a stack of cleaning rags that were once upon a time free college t-shirts.

These are some of the ways I tried to green my college experience and save money during college. What are your tips?


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This is Condo Blues’ submission for the August Green Moms Carnival where our topic is Back to School/Green Schools. The Carnival will be held at OrganicMania. Please check it out after Monday, August 10th!

19 comments :

Mold Remediation Howard County, MD said...

Great post!

<3 Lindsay

Morgan said...

These are fantastic tips! I would recommend planning your meals ahead when you can. The money you spend on groceries supplies you with so much more food than if you were to eat out every meal. Having said that, making a big bowl of granola and bringing it with me to class saved me money on snacks and also kept me from gaining all of that Freshmen 15. Yikes!

Also- they have recycled computer paper, notebooks, and post-its. You can also recycle your printer ink or get the cartridges refilled.

Great tips! :)
-M.

P.s.: You need to write a book. Your personality is awesome!

Linda A said...

These are great ideas. I hope lots of college students use them. I enjoyed meeting you at Blogher 09. Too bad you did not get to sing on Sat. night!

Linda A of Citizen Green

Unknown said...

It's funny, I'm a college student, and I did most of this stuff purely because I was cheap. In addition to giving my clothing and items that I didn't need anymore away, I also bought used whenever I could. Buffalo Exchange became my favorite store. This one doesn't save money but it's really cute. If you forget your mug, always have a sewn cup cozy in your bag so you don't have to use the cardboard ones. Also, Sunflower market is much cheaper and usually organic.

Thanks!
Lindsey
http://www.Greenjoyment.com

Robj98168 said...

What? No pic of Blitzkreig in an Ohio State Shirt??? What gives?
We Want Blitzkrieg!!!

Endangered Species Chocolate said...

Whoa, great tips! It's funny because I'm a college student as well, and I quickly picked up on things to do that would save me money as well as save the our planet. I did/do most of the things you list, which is great! I work for an eco-friendly chocolate company, and I'm learning even MORE ways to help the planet.. especially ways to lower my carbon footprint! This is awesome! Great post!

Amanda Chau
Endangered Species Chocolate

Anonymous said...

Man, you should see the overflowing dumpsters around the Berkeley campus each semester when the students leave. So much useful stuff just tossed out. It makes me sad. Thanks for this post.

ChefDruck said...

These are great tips! In college, I always bought used computers to save money. Of course, that was in the dark ages, but it worked fine then!

Lisa Nelsen-Woods said...

Morgan - I'd love to write a book, know of any publishers? :)

Green - exactly! That's one of the reasons I started this blog. To show that you don't have to bulldoze your house or buy a bunch of new eco stuff to replace the stuff you already have use and like to live an environmentally friendly life!

Rob - No way. Can't do it on principal. OSU isn't my alma mater nor husband's.

Fake Plastic Fish - That's why Ohio State started their program. Most of the stuff being dumped was from non university off campus housing and most of it was usable. It cost the city a chunk of change to do extra bulk pickups in the area in the spring. Now if the other 5 residential colleges in the city would do the same thing...

'Becca said...

Great tips! I also picked up a lot of my green and/or frugal habits during college.

For note-taking, I used only paper that was blank on one side and would otherwise have been discarded: class handouts I didn't need anymore, junkmail, etc. Just designate a desktop stacking bin for reusable paper and stash it in there as it comes to you.

About lower-waste drinks: The EPA says aluminum recycling is far more efficient than plastic recycling--it saves more energy compared to using raw material, and aluminum cans can be recycled into new aluminum cans whereas plastic bottles have to be turned into textiles or boards because used plastic won't make a new bottle. So when the price is comparable, choose aluminum over plastic.

Line-drying laundry cuts coin-op laundry costs in half and saves energy, too! I strung clotheslines across my dorm room tied to the door hinge, posts of the bunk bed, etc.

I saved a lot of money by cooking one meal a day in my dorm room in an electric hot-pot. I didn't have a refrigerator but could make quick oatmeal, mac&cheese with powdered milk, canned foods, etc. Also ate a lot of peanut butter and honey sandwiches and fresh fruit.

After moving off-campus, I would bring my lunch and heat it up (if necessary) in the department lounge microwave. The lounge also had an instant hot-water tap which I used to make tea with a teabag from home and a reusable mug--much cheaper than buying a drink!

Steph at Problem Solvin' Mom said...

Great tips and gift ideas for the soon to start college man in my life!

Green Bean said...

Great list of ideas for off to school college kids. I'm going to forward this to my sitter who's leaving for college in a few weeks, sniff sniff, and very interested in living eco.

Lisa said...

Great tips! You don't see a lot of posts about going green while at college!!

Savings With Sadie said...

Hello -

Your carnival submission has been posted. Don't forget to grab the post permalink to link your post back to the carnival for the convenience of readers and to continue to participate in The Carnival of Savings.

Next month, we will be setting a theme around holiday savings.

Thanks for participating.

Lisa

Anonymous said...

This post is part of the Carnival of Savings 3rd Edition http://www.savingswithsadie.com/2009/09/carnival-of-savings-3rd-edition.html

Term Papers said...

Great info. We posted a link to it. Thanks for pulling this together and sharing!

Unknown said...

These are some really great tips on how to go green. I printed this off for my daughter and hung it on her fridge. They are really easy things, that would take no time at all to do.

And by the way, I agree with Morgan. I would 100% read your book!

Michael said...

Superb job I'll be promoting this in my campus too. thanks fro sharing with us

Nancy Schimmel said...

At UC Berkeley, a campus group rents a truck, picks up abandoned furniture off the curb, takes it to the farmers' market, sells as much as they can, trucks the rest to goodwill and keeps the money to rent a truck next semester.

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