From Red Cups to Green Alternatives

0225blogvignetWe college students are pretty accurately stereotyped.  We party hard, sleep late, and cram for finals until the wee hours of the morning.  Luckily for us and the environment, a lot of these common habits can be easily “tweaked” in order to save energy and resources.  And as a college student myself, I give you my solemn oath that these steps will not affect your party or study life in any way.

Here are some of the most well-known college kid characteristics and how you can change them to better our earth:

We are constantly glued to our laptops. And no matter whether you’re Facebooking or researching the native crops of Haiti, you’re still using lots of energy.  Now I’m not stupid – I wouldn’t dare suggest that you cut down your Skype time just to save the Earth.  Really all you have to do is cut down your energy usage when you’re not actually on the computer (i.e. sleeping or boozing).  How do you do this?  Unplug your electronics!  Computers practically use as much energy when they’re in standby mode as they do when they’re actually in use.  So if you’re leaving the room for a good amount of time, turn off your computer and unplug all of the plugs in your outlet if possible.

We are messy and we have our clothes to prove it. I don’t know about you, but I can’t seem to eat or drink anything without staining whatever I’m wearing.  This is especially tragic when you happen to be wearing one of those “dry clean only” numbers, which of course, are always the cutest.  But don’t run off and spend last night’s tips on pricey dry cleaning before you try some other easier, cheaper, and more eco-friendly tactics.  Believe it or not, some “dry clean only” garments (such as silk and wool) can actually be hand washed with cold water.   Of course, give it a test run before you wash and potentially ruin your favorite silk dress.  If that doesn’t work, seek out “wet cleaning” or “green dry cleaning” locations by searching at GreenEarth Cleaning’s website. Read More »


Christmas in November: Is That Really Necessary?!

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It’s back!

After trying a few months of looking at the positives in life, I decided to put a halt to my weekly rant “Is That Really Necessary”. There is already so much negativity out there that I figured I didn’t need to bring anymore attention to it all. But I couldn’t help but get irked over this… and I am sure many of you are feeling the same.

Is it just me or should it be December 25th right now? Don’t get me wrong. I love Christmas. I don’t even celebrate the holiday but I find myself more excited over Christmas specials, Christmas decorations, Christmas drinks at Starbucks, and sitting on Santa’s lap (creepy?) than my Christmas celebrating counterparts.

But people, (and by people, I mainly mean people of the radio and retail worlds) Christmas music already?! What is that about? How many weeks of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” can one person endure? Stores have been carrying Christmas goods and decorating their window shops with candy canes and reindeers. Shopping bags and coffee cups have made the ‘holiday switch’. The cute little gingerbread men are being slaughtered- families torn apart in larger numbers because they are already on bakery shelves! I know its ‘tis the season to be jolly’… except one major factor: TIS NOT THE SEASON YET! Read More »