Here, have a list of tips on how to be good to the Earth and not spend a fortune on it. Organic is good, but actually being able to eat the whole month is even better (especially on a student budget, yikes).
- Leave the air con off when you are not at home. At some point, your house can’t get any warmer than it is, and having the AC on to constantly combat the heat just will burn so much energy that you do not need to pay for. Also, the difference between the temperature on your air conditioning unit and the outside temperature should be no more than 5 C. The smaller the difference is, the lower your energy cost!
- Turn off the heat, or turn it way down, when you’re going to sleep. Grab an extra blanket and put on some socks instead!
- Don’t cover your radiators with anything; the heat won’t spread efficiently and you’ll waste energy.
- Same goes for your fridge. Try not to have anything touch the back wall. Same principle as above, just with the cold. Plus, the stuff touching your back wall might actually freeze. I’ve had this happen with yoghurt.
- Let’s reverse all that. If you have a wall or corner that’s drafty as hell, put stuff up against it. Put your bookshelf there. Hang up posters and paintings. Cover it as best you can.
- Save on dish soap by buying a small spray bottle, they cost like, nothing. Fill it 4:1 water to soap. You still get plenty of the cleaning goodness from the soap, but you use much less of it. Make sure you use all the soapy water that same day to avoid bacteria growth. Better for the water, better for your wallet. Of course, this is only relevant if you don’t have a dishwasher.
- Don’t waste your money on expensive Magic Stain Removal For Clothes. Get some normal, clear dish soap. Wet your t-shirt or whatever it is that you got grease on. Rub dish soap on the opposite side of where you got the stain and let it sit before you wring out the soap again. That way, you get the stain out of your clothes fibers the same way it came in, so to speak. Wash clothes as normal afterwards. It’s magic, I swear.
- Recycle! Find out where you can return glass (!), metal (!), cardboard, and what else your city asks you to sort. Save up bottles and cans in a bag or box, and take them there when it’s full. Donate clothes to charity.
- While we’re at recycling, buy clothes that last, instead of poor quality clothes produced in a sweatshop that will stretch, twist, and tear after a few times in the washing machine. Spend a little more on your wardrobe a little less often.
- Upcycle! Clean jam/pickle jars make for cute candle holders, pencil cups, hell, grow plants in them if they’re big enough. If they smell funky, wash them with lemon juice, salt, and water.
- If you can, hang your clothes out to dry instead of using a dryer. It’ll smell nicer, and sunlight helps bleaching your whites!
- Check the kilogram/pound price on stuff when grocery shopping. That’s where you really compare differences. I found out that a store near me sells organic peanut butter, which, per jar, deceptively costs a lot more than conventional. However, when I looked at the kg price, the difference was minimal. You should be able to find the kg/lb price on the price tags. Go organic when you can afford it! Less poison in the water, less poison in your body. Tomatoes, cucumber, and strawberries are some of the biggest sinners regarding how many pesticides they contain.
- Figure out what fruits and veggies are in season when where you live. Buying stuff that’s in season means it’s a) produced locally or as close to your country as possible, which b) means that tons of fuel hasn’t been used to cart these vegetables all the way to you from the other side of the planet.
- That goes for everything else, pretty much. Check where it’s been made, go for the stuff that is produced the closest to you.
- The Forest app – you’ve heard about it. But were you totally aware that you can spend your imaginary coins on planting a real tree? You can!
- Also related to forestry, check the list of ingredients for palm oil. Harvesting palm trees for oil means a crazy amount of deforestation and replanting of oil palms, leading to animals being robbed of their habitats, and overall the palm oil industry has a devastating impact on biodiversity. Say no and look for an alternative.
- Quit the car in favor of walking, biking, or public transportation. A bus carrying 30 people spends less fuel per person than a car carrying only 1.
- If you already have a car, carpool! Find a neighbor, some friends, classmates, colleagues nearby. Ask them if they want to go with you. Bonus: you can totally ask for gas money if it becomes a regular thing, and no one will think you’re a jerk.
- Bring a fabric shopping bag for your groceries and avoid plastic and paper one-time-use bags! More and more countries are moving to ban plastic bags at grocery stores, which is fantastic.
- Get kitchen rags (for wiping the countertop and such) made from cloth, not the microplastic ones that, when washed, allow plastic to go out into the water. The cloth ones will last you longer, too, as they’re more durable.
- Lots of soaps, lotions and cleaning supplies have more environmentally friendly alternatives at no or a very small extra cost, and these should be helpfully marked with ecolabels! In the Nordic countries, for instance, we have the Nordic Swan, among many others.
All of these tips are nothing more than habit changes. They’ll take very little extra time out of your life and doesn’t require much dedication. You can do it!
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