Little ones aren’t the only ones heading back to school soon. If you’ve got a soon-to-be college student in the house, help them pack green.
Going to college, and living in a dorm usually means a ton of new gear. Or does it? You don’t really need all that extra stuff. In fact, St. Lawrence University, in Canton, New York tells incoming students, “Don’t buy so much stuff.” That’s just tip number one on the St. Lawrence University green shopping list for students.
Other tips include:
- Look for “Energy Star”-logo TVs, DVD players, computers and microwaves. They also point out that many residence halls have common area TVs, refrigerators and other appliances, which means you should consider not bringing any appliances.
- Bring a bike for eco-friendly transportation needs.
- Purchase compact fluorescent light bulbs for your lamps and other lights.
- Bring your own reusables – such as reusable grocery bags, mug/coffee cup and water bottle.
- Look for toxic free and organic sheets, rugs and curtains – or other natural fiber products such as those made with hemp or bamboo.
You can see the entire green shopping list at the very handy St. Lawrence University green pages.
Their green pages for students offers excellent tips for living a greener campus life and so much more. Even if you attend another college, you’ll learn a lot from the green pages. For example you can learn about green programs at the college, see which eco-events are coming up at the school, download a free green dorm audit (pdf) and even find out which fonts save the most ink – what a cool tip!
