It is natural as a young person to want to flee the nest, spread your wings, and all those other cliche's you can think of. Going to University usually gives young people a valid reason to leave home and go out on their own, and get the support of their parents as well, who want them to be closer to university. However, moving out of home can call for a lot of new "stuff" and being a struggling student, its difficult not to opt for the cheapest stuff.
I'm experiencing this right now as I have recently moved out for the first time into a share house with other students. It is only a twenty minute walk to my university, which makes the location ideal. However, having to buy everything cheap and cook meals just for myself and try and limit my packaging and food waste makes things very difficult.
My house is pretty good when it comes to not buying anything new, all our furniture is second hand or made out of old crates and found pieces wood and other materials. But right now I am in a seemingly irremediable battle with mould encroaching my bedroom walls, and reluctantly had to buy mould killer brand new and in plenty of plastic.
Whether you move out into a share house, or into university accommodation, doing it green will make everything extremely beneficial for you and the environment.
Here are some tips on how to do it:
1. Get secondhand EVERYTHING! It may be your first home away from home, and you may want to buy everything brand new, but this is not sustainable. Check out secondhand stores, or online sources such as TuShare or Gumtree. Lots of the time kitchen appliances or cutlery can be found in these places. Or even ask around friends and your parents friends, I'm sure there is someone with an old toaster in their garage just waiting to be used. You have to remember that you won't be there forever, and moving things from place to place is extremely exhausting, so with free or secondhand items you can give them away or back to second hand stores when you're done with them.
2. Give up air conditioning and heating! For one, you don't want to be stuck with a huge electricity bill and also you'll be more sustainable. I had to learn this the hard way, when my heater started sparking and my fear of the house burning down (which could be completely feasible in this old terrace house) forced me to stop using it. I just double up layers and blankets and that works fine. In summer, luckily I think the house will be quite cool. But there are always ways to deal with it, accepting that the first home away from home won't be a kingdom and will be quite tiresome at times will help in accepting that giving up simple pleasures like air-conditioning is okay.
3. Cook smart, cook green! The best thing to do to save money and food waste is to cook for the house. If you have one of those share houses where you can all chip in on groceries and cook a big dinner for everyone, then that is great. But if you're share house is like mine, where you hardly even see anyone else in the house you could swear you live there all on your own, then cooking meals for yourself and making sure you use any leftovers throughout the week is the way to go.
4. Make sure you plan your meals- I know that I have been buying groceries then splurging and going out for AMAZING burgers (Mary's in Newtown) a few nights, and not realising that my poor salad ingredients at home are suffering the consequences. Now I need to plan for going out, and make sure I plan to eat anything that will go off. Having certain "eat out" nights can help, and trying to limit them too, so your groceries don't go bad. Its always good to remember, that 'Used by' means you can't eat after this date but 'Best before' is just a guideline for when best to eat it, but can still be eaten after this date if it looks okay.
5. Energy Saving lightbulbs- Usually the environmentally friendly options are also the cheapest on your electricity bill. So make sure you use energy saving lights in your house. We have them at my house (where the lights actually work).
6. Always buy green! For things you may have to buy, or simply want to, like new bed sheets. Always think before you buy, opt for organic cotton. This way you can be assured it wasn't doused in pesticides, which are harmful to the environment.
7. Stick to the essentials- As a struggling student, over-consumption shouldn't really be a problem anyway, but do remember to always be conscious not to buy too much. It can be exciting moving to a new place and buying clothes, books or whatever you prefer. But try spend your money on moments not things, this way you don't clutter up your room (which i'm sure is going to be quite small) and are not over-consuming. Live simply!