Just Drink Water

Do you ever have that feeling where you just feel like drinking a nice cold soda or a tasty glass of juice?  Especially since water is just so boring and plain right?  And you want them so badly that if you don’t have anything but water in your home, you may even consider going out and buying them?  Well, I am going to tell you to toughen up and just drink water. 

By choosing water over soft drinks or juices, you are utilizing a resource that comes right from your home in the faucet.  Therefore, you reduce or better yet eliminate the production and consumption of sodas and juices.  For example, a bottle of apple juice involves: growing the apples with harmful pesticides, picking the apples and shipping them to a juicing factory creating harmful air pollution, packaging the product with non-biodegradable plastics or containers that will most likely not be recycled, and shipping a heavy product to store shelves which creates a ton of unnecessary air pollution.  If you simply drink a glass of water instead of a glass on apple juice, you eliminate each of those environmental concerns.  

Not only is drinking water better for the earth, it will greatly help you save money.  If you spend $10 a week on beverages every time you go grocery shopping and you go twice a month, that’s $240 in a year you will save.  And on top of that, eliminating those sugary sodas and juices will also help your health because you won’t be consuming as much sugar and you know for a college student, that’s a key element to leading a healthy lifestyle.  I’m not encouraging you to completely eliminate beverages for they are fine to have once in awhile, just be cautious as to how much you spend on beverages other than water.  So, as simply stated early, just drink water.     

Say NO to "Add a Minute/Thirty Second" Buttons

(I know this post is a little longer than others, but I guarantee this is one of the best ones!) 

A microwave is probably one of the most important appliances in your kitchen.  As I noted in a previous entry, microwaves use less energy than a stove does to heat up or cook an item.  Therefore, they are more environmentally friendly.  I did, however, forget to mention one trick to warming up/cooking in your microwave. Alright, now let’s pretend last night you cooked a delicious meal consisting of spaghetti and meatballs.  You didn’t finish all of it so you put the leftovers in a reusable container (not a plastic bag) and set it in the fridge.  The next night you decide to eat your leftovers and prepare to eat them.  After placing the bowl of spaghetti and meatballs in the microwave, you punch in the desired amount of time you wish to heat up your dish. 

After years of microwave experience, you probably guestimate it will take 2 minutes will do the trick.  Now there were probably a few things going through your mind when you chose 2 minutes as the magical time it will take to heat up your food.  For example you may think that 2 minutes might be a little too much and make your food too hot to eat and enjoy right away, but you didn’t just want to warm it up for only 1 minute and 30 seconds because it may be too cold. 

However, this is when I step in and yell, “WAIT!  STOP RIGHT THERE!”  All our lives we have been accustomed to punching in exact amounts of time in intervals of a minute or thirty seconds.  Some models of microwaves even have buttons that let your “add a minute” or “add thirty seconds” so you don’t have to manually type it in.  Therefore, all you simply have to do is to think beyond that natural instinct and type in a number that you think would heat up your spaghetti and meatballs perfectly.  For example, maybe try putting your meal in for 1 minute and 48 seconds.  Not 1:30 and NOT 2 MINUTES.  Who said the number needs to be rounded to the nearest tenth?  NO ONE!   Another example may be if the box of oatmeal says to cook a bowl of oatmeal for a minute and thirty seconds, maybe try putting it in for 1 minute and 24 seconds.  It will still cook just the same. 

By reducing the amount of time you heat /cook your item in the microwave, the less energy you will be using.  This will reduce the amount of pollution caused by your energy needs and also save you money on your electric bills.  Kitchen appliances use up the most electricity in your home.  Don’t forget, each second adds up!  Be EGOlogical and start using your microwave unconventionally!

Chopsticks vs Fork

Dining out is a treat for most college students on a tight budget.  There are many choices to choose from, but let’s pretend on this particular day you and your friends would like to consume some tasty Asian cuisine.   As your food comes and you reach for your choice of utensils, commonly a pair of bamboo chopsticks may be the desirable choice. 

However, I am going to encourage you not to use chopsticks and to use a fork.  Now I know using a fork at an Asian restaurant is an “American” thing, but it is also more environmentally friendly to use a reusable fork instead of non-reusable chopsticks.  Forks can be washed and reused at the restaurant while the bamboo chopsticks must be thrown away and they cannot be recycled due to the food smothered on them.  If the chopsticks are made of a reusable material then by all means go ahead and use those.  Since the demand will decrease, the supply will decrease as well reducing the toxic environmental production costs.  This tip is also useful for your homes because you don’t want to waste money on bamboo chopsticks when you are going to throw them out once used.  So what are you waiting for?  Grab a fork and enjoy your meal!

Say NO to Plastic Straws

Imagine it’s a busy hot sunny Summer day all day and at the moment, a nice, cold lemonade sounds completely satisfying.  You then proceed to grab a reusable cup, dump some ice into the cup, pour the lemonade into the cup, grab a straw, and sit down, relax, and enjoy.  Now, there is nothing wrong with enjoying a nice beverage, however there was one step in the process you could leave out: Step 4 - Grab a straw.

Straws are made up of plastic that almost 100% of the time will never be recycled.  By not using straws at home, you will be doing a number of things to help the environment including, reducing the amount of pollution made during the production of straws as well as reducing the amount of non-recyclable waste you dump into the landfill.  Not only will this save the environment, it will save you money since you don’t have to buy straws for your home.  Eliminating this cost does not seem like a lot, but over time you could save a lot of money if you are a frequent straw user. 

You can also apply this tip for when you go to restaurants.  If they offer you a straw, simply put it to the side and drink out of the glass.  Some may argue that the glass is dirty, but I promise, the “germs” on the glass are just as bad as the “germs” on the fork you are using or on the table you are sitting at.  Therefore, loose the straw because you’ve got nothing to lose!

Environmentally Friendly Curly Hair!

Sorry boys, but this post is mainly geared towards the beautiful women that want to save the world.  I mean, men can use this tip if they would like to.  Alright, now perfect curls are hard to come by especially since they take a long time to curl, use a ton of product to hold, and usually end up going flat by the end of the day/evening.  You never probably notice this, but having artificial beautiful curls does have an impact on our environment since you are using an electric heating device and spraying loads of product into your hair and atmosphere. 

However, I have a solution for you!  Well, Lucy has a solution for you.  This girl has found the secret to having beautiful environmentally friendly curls.  Watch this video to learn how you can curl your hair simply with a single sock!  She also has more videos other environmentally friendly hairstyles.  Now I know this sounds crazy, but it works!  Try it out, tell your friends, and get rid of those curling irons because socks are the next HOT item!  

Don't Buy, but RENT DVD's

A common cheap activity for college students is watching movies.  From being an easy hang out or a laid back “romantic” (maybe) date, most college students have a collection of DVD’s with some of their favorite movies on hand and ready to watch.  However, when you want to watch a more recent film I am going to suggest renting a DVD instead of buying one.  When you buy a DVD, you are supporting the production of new raw materials that will most likely never be recycled and pollute the earth.  By renting, you are reusing DVD’s and being more eco-friendly.  Renting will also save you money in the long run.  For example, a new flick just came out onto DVD and you bought it for about $17.  Now, you could go to your local Redbox and rent the DVD for $1 for the evening and return it the next day.  Just think, when you bought that DVD for $17, do you really believe you will watch it 17 times?  Probably not so you are better off renting it.  There are also other methods of renting movies besides Redbox such as having a Netfix account or renting them on Itunes.  An even more environmentally friendly method of watching movies is to borrow them from your friends.  One more thing, by staying home to watch movies you won’t have to drive anywhere utilizing gas that wastes money and pollutes the atmosphere.  

Switch to Dryer Balls

Do you love the soft fluffy feeling when your clothes come out of the dryer?  Well I have way for you to have fluffier clothing with a solution that is more environmentally friendly!  Purchase a pair of Dryer Balls and stop buying fabric softener dryer sheets.  This video will explain what Dryer Balls are and how to use them, however I will explain more as to why they are more eco-friendly.  

Dryer Balls can be reused while a fabric softener dryer sheet is thrown away after one use.  Dryer sheets have chemicals on them that are pollute the landfills they get tossed into because they are not recyclable.  By stopping the use of the non-reusable dryer sheets and using the reusable Dryer Balls, you will save a lot of money because you won’t have to buy more dryer sheets once your run out.  Also, the Dryer Balls speed the drying process of your dryer therefore you won’t have your dryer running for very long.  So get your Dryer Balls today!  

Check Out the Aveda Institute

One thing that college students typically have a hard time finding being away from home is a place to get a haircut.  You may eventually find a friend, who knows a friend, who may suggest a certain salon.  However, I have an easier solution for you.  Go online and find out if there is an Aveda Institute nearby and get your hair cut there!  You may have heard of Aveda before, they are known for their all-natural beauty products including hair, skin, and makeup products. 

The Aveda Institute is a school for students learning cosmetology practices and they get to practice their skills on you!  Therefore, they offer extremely reasonable prices.  The Las Vegas Aveda Institute does not accept tips so that will save you a little extra money and on top of that, if you show them your Rebel Card you get a 10% discount!  (When I go it only costs $13.50!)  Each institute has their own policies so make sure you ask.  The Aveda Institute also offers other cosmetology as well.  So what are you waiting for?!  Go to www.avedainstitutes.com to find a location near you and start getting cheap environmentally friendly services!  

Never Let the Water Run

I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase from our parents, grandparents, maybe even Barney …, “Never let the water run.”  This was often repeated when you were brushing your teeth or washing your hands and kept the water running when it wasn’t in true use letting money drip down the drain.  However, I am repeating this tip to you not as a common money saving tip, but as an environmental tip too.  Less than 4% of the world’s water comes from fresh water systems and with common water misusage and a growing population the danger of running out of fresh water is becoming a slow reality.  Therefore, we must be smart with our water consumption by not wasting it.  Saving water will also greatly reduce your water bill.  Visit www.watersmart.net to learn more and find other ways to conserve water and save some extra money.  

Yes... Beautiful Hair For Less

Taking a shower is part of everyone’s daily lives and that usually includes washing your hair.  Most people have the common tendency to fill the entire palm of their hand with shampoo/conditioner and then proceed to scrub their head.  However, I guarantee your hair will still be beautiful without THAT much product.  When washing and conditioning your hair, try reducing the amount of product you use.  For example, instead of using filling up your hand with shampoo, just use about a quarter size.  Or instead of taking two pumps of conditioner, take only one pump.  If you have more hair, I understand you might need to use a little more so adjust accordingly.  It may take a few tries to see how much product your hair will need, but overall just be aware of how much you used to use and try to reduce the amount you use.  This will make your shampoo and conditioner bottles last longer since you are using less.  In time you will buy less, reducing the amount of product produced/consumed by you and it will save you money too!  

Disposable vs Reusable Dinnerware

Happy Fourth of July!  Today we Americans celebrate the day we declared our independence from England and most commonly people get together with their friends and family for a heartwarming delicious barbeque.  Countless hotdogs, hamburgers, and corn on the cob are cooked on the grill while there is an endless supply of different salads, fruits, and chips eaten on disposable paper/Styrofoam plates with plastic utensils.  Thousands of pounds of waste are generated on this holiday since the dinnerware is thrown away and not recycled because a) people don’t know or b) they know they can, but there is food on it so the recycled material is not contaminated.  Therefore, try bringing your own plate, bowl, cup, and utensils to the party or barbeque you attend.  This will prevent an excess amount of waste generated by you.  If you are hosting the party, get your guests to bring their own and if they forget, provide the ones you have.  It may be a pain to wash the dishes after, but I guarantee you will save a lot of money doing this.  Since people bring their own dinnerware, you don’t have to buy any disposable ones saving you money.  Also, don’t be afraid to bring your own dinnerware to events you’re invited too!  It’s ok… you’re saving the world!  This EGOlogical tip can also be used for other parties or events you attend or host such as birthdays or winter holiday parties.  

Say NO to Plastic Bags

When it comes to storing food most people opt to using plastic bags, or what some of us grew up calling them, “ plastic baggies,” to keep our food fresh for a certain time period.  Whether it is packing up a sandwich for lunch or storing left over chicken and pasta from dinner, plastic bags have been an easy solution.  However, plastic bags are not good for the environment because almost 99% of the people that use them throw them away after they have been used and will pile up in our landfills taking thousands of years to decompose.  Therefore, the alternative I suggest you use are containers.  Yes containers are made of plastic, however they can be reused more than plastic bags because they are more durable and are most likely to be recycled when they get old.  Containers come in many different sizes that will best suit your needs from packing lunches to storing dinners.  If you want to even save a little more money and be even more environmentally friendly, look for used containers at thrift stores.  Used is always better than new because you are not supporting the demand for new containers and all the pollution that goes into the production of them.  Switching from plastic bags to containers will save you money over time because you won’t have to keep buying more bags once you run out.  With containers you get to use them over and over and they will last you a long time if you take care of them.  Save plastic from the landfills and save some extra money with this EGOlogical tip!  

Vampire Power Sucks

Electronic devices such as laptops, Ipods, and cell phones are items that college students utilize in their everyday lives.  In order for these devices to function, they must be charged through and electronic outlet.  Once done charging, most people leave them plugged into the wall without realizing they are wasting electricity.  Regardless to the fact the device is not plugged in, the charger is still sucking out the same amount of energy.  As Vampire Power Sucks has pointed out, this waste of energy is called “vampire power” and contributes to approximately 10% of your electric bill.  You can prevent this energy loss by unplugging unused devices and save a lot of money.  Explore this website brought to you by iGo: www.vampirepowersucks.com to learn more about vampire power, calculate how much energy you lose, what you can do to prevent it, and how to encourage others to do the same.  Good luck!

Paper Towels are Money Towels

When you spill water on the counter or when you want to wipe your dishes after washing them, you most likely grab a paper towel to dry it up.  And when you run out, it’s a pain to have to buy more.  Therefore, try replacing paper towel usage with normal hand towels.  When you’re not using the dishwasher, hand wash your dishes and dry them off with a towel.  Or if you wash your hands in the kitchen, dry them off with a towel.  And if you spill water, juice, or milk on the counter, wipe it off with a towel.   Paper towel consumption uses many resources that could be saved and it takes a lot of energy and creates a considerable amount pollution to produce the product.  It also costs money for you to buy paper towels on a frequent basis.  Therefore, try to reuse hand towels.  However, keep in mind that for health and safety precautions, make sure you wash your towels on a frequent basis.  Simply throw them in your laundry load for the week and they will be as good as new!  

Microwave vs Oven

Let’s pretend it’s a Wednesday night.  You come home from school and you decide you want to make a baked potato.  The next thing you do is decide whether or not you should cook it in the oven, or in the microwave.  You know that the skin of the potato is usually cooked to perfection and is the perfect softness when you cut it open when you cook it in the oven compared to having to guess who long to cook in the microwave, so using the oven sounds like the best solution for having a satisfying meal.  However, I am here to tell you that you should avoid using the oven and use the microwave to cook your potato instead.  You will save almost 20 times the amount of energy if you used the oven microwave versus the oven.  This is due to the fact that you have to wait for the oven the heat up, then it takes longer to cook your potato when you can simply pop it in the microwave for a few minutes.  This will reduce your energy bills, and if your oven is gas powered, it will also greatly reduce your gas bill.  This EGOlogical tip can also be used in reference to other foods too such as chicken tenders or tater tots.  

"Tetris" Your Dishwasher

Washing your dishes may seem like a hassle, but what’s an even bigger hassle is trying to get everything to fit.  I know it may seem time consuming, but do your best to “Tetris” your dishes around so more can fit in the dishwasher load.  Also, only run the washer when it is completely full and ready to go.  This way you will have to run the dishwasher fewer times, reducing the amount of energy and water used.  In turn, this will reduce your water and electric bills over time.  

LESS Truly is More... More Money in Your Wallet!

This is sensitive, but serious topic and I’m only going to say it once: You do not need a HUGE wad of toilet paper to wipe your bum!  Only take what you need to use after using the toilet.  This is a difficult pattern to change, but start by taking one or two squares less to eventually figure out how much you really need.  By reducing the amount of toilet paper you use, you are saving more for the future.  Eventually, the amount you have saved will add up and you will have to buy less and less for the future.  Buying less will reducing your environmental impact and also keep some extra money in your wallet.

Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day everyone!  Every year on April 22, we celebrate Earth Day across the U.S. to bring attention and awareness to the environment.  Nature has given us everything and today is a great day to simply say, “Thank you,” and maybe even give something back in return.  Visit the Earth Day Network to find out things you can do to make a difference in your home, community, and world.  Go to www.earthday.org.  There are different links you can click on throughout the site that will help guide you to take action.  Whether that’s taking a pledge or finding out where you can give back by donating money or volunteering, it’s all on there.  Although Earth Day only comes once a year, why not make every day Earth Day?  There are countless things you can do to help out the environment each and every day and we shouldn’t just wait around for that one day of the year to help out.  Every little action counts, and we can all make a difference.  Hope you had a clean, healthy, and happy Earth Day 2011.  

Hunger + ? = BAD

We all do it…  You’re sitting there watching TV or busy studying/facebooking at home and then all of the sudden you get that hungry feeling and walk into the kitchen to grab a snack.  Your first move is probably to open your pantry/cabinet to see what kind of snacks are inside, but nothing in there satisfies you so you then open the FRIDGE and STAND THERE for a LONG TIME browsing your options.  


Alright, now let’s take a moment to realize what you have just done.  By keeping the fridge open for longer than you need it is a waste of energy because the cold air escapes and it takes more energy to make the fridge cold again once closed.  So next time you’re hungry, have an idea of what you want to snack on or choose quickly and do not to stand there with the fridge wide open trying to make your decision.  This will reduce the amount of energy you consume while also saving you some money on your energy bills.

Go Hiking

A common dilemma for college students usually sounds like, "Hmm, what should we do today?"  There are a lot of activities that are fun, however they usually involve spending money.  Well guess what, I have a solution for you!  Go hiking through your local national forests and/or parks.  This may sound a bit uneasy at first, but I promise once you are out in the wilderness you cannot resist the beauty of the nature that surrounds you.  Hiking is a cheap, affordable, and fun activity for everyone.  I'm not telling you to go on a 10-mile hike up a mountain.  Your best bet is to find a trail that best suits your needs and ability.  My friend Sam and I visited Red Rock Canyon, located just outside Las Vegas.  We went on a six-mile hike up 1,000 feet through the beautiful geologic features of Red Rock Canyon.  Not only was the hike free, it was a great activity that allowed us to explore and appreciate nature.  Another “R” this is commonly ignored, is “Respect.”  In order for there to be change, we must respect what nature has to offer us.  If we don’t respect nature, then how do we learn to appreciate and take care of it?