7 Best Eco Friendly College Dorm Room Ideas For Sustainable Students

You're on your own now at college and you need to make better decisions in your life. How about starting that change with your lifestyle and look for more ways to become more eco-friendly and greener?

Going back to school might not be fun, but re-decorating your dorm room can be. You’re on your own now and it’s time you start making better decisions for yourself. Thinking about the first big decision you're going to make? How about transforming your room into an eco friendly college dorm; a space where you opt for sustainability over fast consumerism.

The big thing right now in home decoration is going green. You’re in college now. It goes without saying that you need time for thorough studying. So you may need more time for it while you are thinking of decorating your dorm room. In this case, it is okay to find an essay writer for hire to get professional assistance. This is the time when you’re supposed to learn things and prepare for the future and what a great way to do that than by making an environmentally friendly dorm room.

1. Buy Used Furniture

Save your money. If you have basic furniture at home, take that with you. Some fresh paint can make your old furniture look brand new and fabulous! If you don’t have furniture, give sell-out sites a try. You can find just about anything you can think of on that site. You’ll be surprised at what you can find at garage sales as well.

You’ll be doing many papers while in college. Instead of throwing your notebook paper in the trash, get yourself a recycle bin. Many colleges should have recycling centres on campus so take advantage of them.

Before “borrowing” a microwave or mini fridge from someone, see what the common area has. Many of them have refrigerators and microwaves in there. Now you’re saving even more money.

 

2. Reduce Your Energy Consumption

Your lights, television, and computer (printer if you have one of those as well) can all be plugged into a power strip so that when these items are not in use you can just turn off the power plug. Pretty simple huh?

If your dorm allows an AC unit, many people like myself who have severe allergies need them, so make sure you get an Energy-Star-rated low-energy unit. If you don’t have to have one, either study outside or get yourself a fan and open up a window.

The same goes for a refrigerator. If you get one of those mini ones for your dorm room, pick up an Energy Star or other low-energy certified model. This may save you as much as 50% of the energy use.

These are just some useful tips to get you started in going green in college. If you’re stuck on how to decorate your dorm room with green material, check out some more great ideas right here on how you can easily and quickly transform your dorm room. 

 

3. Switch To Environmentally Friendly Lighting

The amount of energy emitted from the lighting in a dorm room depends on the kind of bulbs used. The common bulbs used are as follows:

• Incandescent light bulbs – these bulbs release over 90 % of their energy as heat. Also, a 100-watt incandescent light bulb releases about 100g of carbon dioxide per hour.
• Halogen light bulbs – when not used properly, these bulbs do unnecessary damage to the environment. For instance, instead of using them to light up a small area, such as when you’re reading a book, most people use them as fancy lighting in a room.
• Fluorescent light bulbs – although not visually appealing, an 18-watt fluorescent light bulb will light up a room in the same way as a 100-watt incandescent light bulb.

Instead, try the suggestions below for a more eco friendly college dorm:

• Replace standard incandescent light bulbs with CFL (‘compact fluorescent light’) bulbs. They are versatile, save up to 75% of the energy used and have the same energy-efficient technology as normal ‘pole and circle’ fluorescent lights.
• Using a LED (‘light-emitting-diode) lamp as a 3-watt LED lamp will give the same amount of light as an 18-watt fluorescent light bulb.

 

4. Eco-Friendly Modes Of Transport

Everything from how frequently a car is used to how many passengers accompany the driver will affect the way the environment is polluted. For example, if a person drives a car to college, it means that there are at least four unused seats in the vehicle. In addition, theoretically, four people are using other modes of transport to get to work and polluting the environment unnecessarily. However, if car-pooling is impractical, here are some options to consider:

 

• A typical car will produce three times its weight in carbon dioxide emissions over its lifetime. To be environmentally friendly, buy a lighter car.
• When a car is driven faster and more aggressively, more petrol is used. Slow down to reduce the pollution in the atmosphere.
• Once a month, don’t use the car for a whole day. Instead, walk or take public transport.

 

5. Upgrade To Eco-Friendly Appliances

The general rule is that the newer an electrical appliance, the more environmentally friendly it is. Modern appliances use about 35% less energy than most models sold 10 to 15 years ago.

Look for an energy-efficiency certification mark to ensure that the appliance is energy efficient. Remember to use these appliances efficiently as well – an air-conditioner has to work extra hard for a room that is not properly sealed or insulated against heat.

And needless to say, switch all appliances off in your eco friendly college room when they’re not in use.

 

6. Be An All-round Environmentally Friendly Consumer

Do visit AppStore or GooglePlay and download a special tool that holds ‘your credit cards [and] is there to remind you to simplify your life when shopping.’ In addition, it suggests that the following questions must be considered before making the next purchase:

• Is the item in question needed?
• Is there something that could serve the same purpose as this item?
• Can this item be borrowed rather than bought?
• Was this item made locally?
• Was this item made using environmentally friendly materials?
• Will this item serve more than one purpose and be cost-effective to maintain?
• Can this item be recycled?

 

7. Switch To Eco Friendly Toiletries

Instead of opting for those store-bought deodorants and plastic toothbrushes, why not try switching you some sustainable alternatives, such as a natural shampoo bar instead of the chemical bottled stuff, or a soap on a rope for your shower time instead of your usual shower gel.

There are a ton of zero waste alternatives out there these days, and making the switch away for those pesky plastic products will go a long way in reducing the amount of waste going to landfill. And encusing the obvious ‘plug’, but we have over 1,800 alternatives to help you with that 🙂

The suggestions made above are simple and will help students monitor their actions. Every bit of effort will go a long way to help reduce the negative impact people’s actions have on the environment and thereby make more and more people environmentally friendly.