Like myself, many of you are excited to head back to college in the fall. With so much pressure on the topic, many of us are becoming even more aware of how important it is that we attempt to keep our economy green. That’s why this week, I thought it would be good to give you some tips on not only how to keep our economy green, but on how to keep your dorm room green this fall!

1. Grin and bear it: While I’m sure you are sweating your butt off on your first days back at school it is important to remember that you should condition yourself and avoid air conditioning. While it might be surprising to you, this is one of the most important things you can do to keep your dorm room green. At many schools AC units are banned, but if they aren’t it is important to try to avoid them. I’m sure all summer you’ve been used to having AC in your home so now you have to let your body become accustomed to the heat. Some tips would be to keep the windows open, take cold showers, wear cool summer clothes, and keep a fan going to circulate the air in your room. While a fan still uses some electricity, it actually uses only two percent of the energy you would need to run air conditioning.

2. Unplug if unused: It’s something we don’t think about often, turning off lights and unplugging your electronics is a huge way to help the environment. Even though some of your electronics might not be on they are still using more energy than you think. Something that us teenagers should pay attention to is our cell phone chargers. When your phone isn’t plugged in they still suck up energy and turn it into heat. Another major factor for people our age is out laptops. Let’s be honest, they’re in use for most of the day so how about we change our laptop settings. One way is to dim your screen, it uses up a lot less energy and a lot less of your battery! Another thing is to make sure your laptop is set to sleep mode that way it powers down after it has been left unattended for a certain period of time. Also, remember to turn your laptop off at night! If you aren’t even using it there is no reason to have it on! The easiest way to manage your electronics in your dorm room is to use a power strip that way when you leave, you only have to unplug one thing!

3. See the light: Even though they’re in style, try to avoid halogen lamps. The truth is that they are really cheap and actually put out a lot of light and fit perfectly in a dorm room. However, these lights can use a ton of electricity and cause fires. What you should use is compact fluorescent which give you an awesome amount of light and only use a little bit of electricity. Even though these lights cost a little bit more, they last for a really long time so it is well worth the money you will spend. Another important tip is to remember to turn the lights off every time you leave your dorm room!

4. Save your cash and reuse: If you are anything like me, you were absolutely dying to use your graduation party money at the store to buy tons of new, cute stuff for your dorm. Of course everyone wants new stuff for their dorms, there is nothing wrong with the ideas of stopping by a resale store. Just because the stuff is used doesn’t mean it’s junk! In fact, you can find some really unique items for your dorm room this way. You can also save a little money while shopping for your dorm room by checking out places like freestyle.com which is an awesome place to pick up stuff for little to no cash! Another tip is to buy your textbooks used or even rented from places like chegg.com. Not only does it save you money, but it also helps our environment!

5. Green dorm accessories: Another way to keep your dorm room and college life green is to try to buy organic cotton when buying linens. Organic cotton is just the same as the cotton sheets you already have on your bed but organic means that there is only natural dyes and that they are chemical-free. You can also find towels and curtains made of organic cotton to make your dorm room even more green! Other than your linens, there is a green option for almost all of the normal school supplies you buy. When you go school shopping be sure to be on the look out for notebooks with recycled paper and eco-friendly pens and pencils. Another things you have to stock up on in your dorm rooms are things like shampoo, conditioner, and deodorant which can have tons of chemicals. With a little effort, you can search for green toiletries that are good for you and the environment.