• When buying cleaning products, purchase products that are labeled green.
  • Turn off your faucet when brushing your teeth.
  • Time yourself when taking a shower and aim for 5 minutes or less.
  • Ride your bike to class instead of driving.
  • Use drip irrigation in your garden.
  • Don't water your garden during the peak hours of sunlight, instead do it in the morning or at night.
  • Plant native drought tolerant plants.
  • Buy fluorescent light bulbs.
  • Have a re-usable water bottle.
  • Recycle: To find out what's recycleable and what's not click here.
  • Don't eat meat at least one day a week.
  • Turn the lights off when you leave the room.
  • Turn off all electrical devices if leaving your room for more than 15 minutes.
  • Enable your computer to go into sleep mode.
  • Don't leave your computer on all night.
  • Use the natural light from your window instead of turning on the lights.
  • Pull down shades in your dorm when it's cold outside. This will help insulate your room.
  • Report leaky faucets to Residential Life if you live on Main Campus, or Alliance if you live in East Campus.
  • Wash only full loads of laundry.
  • At the Dining Commons, only take the amount of food you'll eat. You can always go back for seconds.

All of these steps may help you to lead a more sustainable life and although it's hard at times, having these tips in the back of your mind might influence you to make more conscious decisions.

Posted by Elizabeth MacDonald on Jan 10, 2012 -