Editor’s Note
Below is the second installment of Greening You Dorm or Apartment featuring miscellaneous and random ways to become more energy efficient and less wasteful while completing day-to-day tasks. Be sure to check out part 1 and if you have any suggestions, tips or quotes that would fit in this mini-series, please e-mail me at rose.croog@uconn.edu
In the Kitchen, Laundry Room, and the Bathroom
- Up first, wait till the dishwasher is full, perhaps even overflowing, to run it. Less cycles mean less water, and less cycles mean less of those pesky, pricey detergent pods.
- Same idea goes for your laundry, wait for a full load. It will spare you from doing that cumbersome washer-dryer transfer too often, which, without fail, will cost you a lost sock (or three).
- Layer up in the winter rather than turning up the thermostat dial or calling in the Hilltop Apartments automated thermostat adjuster. This saves a ton of energy and therefore greenhouse gas emissions from burning natural gas to heat your college-home. Staying in the 68-72 range will assure the most optimal blend of comfort end eco-friendliness.
- When boiling water, fill the kettle up with the amount of water you need. For example, if drinking a cup of tea in your favorite mug, fill that mug up with water and put it directly in the kettle.
- Make eco-friendly choices when it comes to purchasing toiletries such as buying in bulk or at stores with zero-waste option packaging such as Lush Cosmetics.
Devoted environmentalist and resident of Celeron Square Apartments, Jacquelyn Filson, discusses making the transition to more natural beauty and hygiene products:
“If you make the switch to all natural products like shampoo bars, you can reduce shower time while also reducing superfluous packaging like store bought shampoos, facewashes, and conditioners. Also, all natural organic products are great because of the low negative impact they have when disposed of.”
There’s No Place like Local
Before Storrs turns into an icy wind tunnel, the farmers market on Storrs Road by the Town Hall is a great place to buy some fresh vegetables, fruits, jellies, pies, baked goods, and even hot sauce. The temperatures do drop, but that is no reason to stop buying local or supporting your local businesses. In fact, the Buy CT Grown website is your one-stop resource to find all things grown here in CT. You can use their search taskbar at the top of page to search for a product or check out the trails which detail all the different ways you can buy locally with different themes such as wine, beer, cheese. Coming soon: the UConn trail.
If buying local is something that truly strikes your fancy, take the 10% local pledge and spend 10% of your food and gardening dollars locally. Visit http://www.buyctgrown.com/ to learn more!