This is new for me, too. I am learning, and I want to take you on my journey.
My fist baby steps into sustainability:
JARS. JARS. JARS.
I bought a pack of mason jars (the type you use for making jam) from a local store. You can get these at any big box store, hobby store, and many grocery stores. Or if you are an A+ kind of student you can avoid the plastic wrapping and hunt at thrift stores. (There is also your neighbors recycling bin, if you're more of a mission impossible type.)
Why are they awesome?
1. The wonderful thing about glass is that there is almost nothing hot water and soap can't fix. Trust me. I have left some NASY ish in jars over the years and some steamy suds will fix anything. ANYTHING.
2. In addition to being far more sustainable than throw-away packaging jars are a wonderful aesthetic addition to your kitchen.
3. You are now able to buy bulk food and have a hardy, easy, container to store it in and a great alternative to the standard what-chemical-is-poisoning-me-plastic storage for your own creations.
BULK FOOD:
Speaking of bulk food... almost every grocery store has some amount of bulk food (and no, not just candy!) "Health" and "natural" stores like whole foods will have a larger selection but spend a few minutes calling around and see who has the biggest selection. If there isn't a store around you that has a huge bulk section, that's OKAY. Generally you can find at least some staple bulk foods at every store. Rice, beans, couscous, and nuts are pretty typical finds. Many stores are even starting to have peanut butter machines you can use! (Although if you have 10 minutes, a jar, and a food processor you can make your own. And it's amazing.)
Why is bulk food awesome?
1. Think of all the packaging you won't use in a year if you don't buy planters containers, plastic bags of rice and beans, and peanut butter jars.
2. THIS IS (probably) ALREADY RIGHT WHERE YOU BUY YOUR GROCERIES!
3. Listen to me for a second, here. It costs less! $6 for a tiny container of quinoa or cous cous? Not in bulk foods! You can get a pound for that price.
My problem with bulk food. :(
My only problem with bulk food is all the plastic bags! Since they weigh the bulk food to determine cost you can't be dragging along your own containers. I'm working on a solution for this this, so I'll let you know. In the mean time toss the bags you used previously into your reusable shopping bag and reuse them the next time!
REUSING OLD CONTAINERS
When it's unavoidable to buy non-prepackaged foods try to lean towards packaging that is glass or (less good) but plastic that has a top and can be washed and reused.
1. Salsa and honey jars make for AWESOME glasses. Oh, you don't share my aesthetic? Well remember the jars we were talking about for storing things in earlier? Reuse your store bought jars for future storage. It's usually not much more expensive and I feel a lot less guilty so, personally, I think it's worth it. (Or a vas, crafts with the kids, humming/bird feeders, to-go coffee container when you've lost all your travel mugs. The options are really endless. I love jars.)
You don't HAVE to leave the labels on...
Ones you probably already know but maybe don't follow.
Gross but true: if it's yellow let it mellow.
Tip: drink 8 glasses of water or tea a day, you will be healthier and the yellow you are letting mellow? It will be less yellow and less smelly. Make it a challenge to see how clear you can get your pee. Fun can be had, even in the potty.
For more information on water conservation:
treehugger.com's AMAZING post about water conservation and facts! (I highly recommend a read)
Creepily follow your roommates movements around the house and turn off the lights after them.
(Orrrr... just turn off lights when you leave a room/the house.) I have the unfortunate imagination of someone a third of my age so I get wanting to leave the lights on. Next time, just picture the earth and/or giraffes crying whenever you feel tempted to not flip the switch. You will feel too guilty to be afraid of the shadow monster that lives in your hallway.
One of my biggest difficulties:
TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER when you're not using it! In addition to my monthly goal (which we will get into the details of later) this is my minor goal. I do this all the time for no good reason! It must stop! Also, the unplugging of unnecessary appliances. I'm not sure of the exact impact this has but I hear they are like little electrical vampires sucking the worlds resources and your BILLS! O.o
Cute cat picture is relevant because I said the word computer.
Here are a few quick articles I found if you want to be a little more motivated to flip the switch and unplug:
How Much Money Does Turning Off the Lights Really Save?
University of East London debunks some energy myths
also:
REUSABLE MUGS:
This is an obvious one but I see TONS of people every day, myself included, who still buy resource wasting cups of coffee every day! I stopped carrying travel mugs when I discovered we have coffee and mugs in our office. But... sometimes I just need to get out of the office for a latte! And who can blame a lady, right? So here's what we do to ensure the use our earth friendly mugs:
1. Buy one for your office, gym bag and car. This way you will always have one with you when the urge to splurge hits.
2. Remember what I said about hot water fixing everything? Well the exception to that is rotten coffee. Rinse out your travel mugs asap and if you can't rinse them drink it all or dump it out and leave the lid off. Air drying keeps the stank out. The relationship between rotten coffee stank and wanting to continue using your travel mug is an inverse one.
Check out these links to find some travel mugs that are not only reusable but sustainably made.
Travel mugs that are recyclable and made from recycled materials.
Pristine Planet Travel Mugs (This is a neat website because you can select based on your particular concerns: made in USA, Resource Conserving, handmade, etc.)
Etsy If you arn't already addicted to etsy, check it out. Tons of handmade goods.
