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This article has been syndicated from Ryality, an InfluenceHer Collective Member. Read the full post here.
Let me tell you a story — I’ve been feeling especially inspired to make my dorm a little more eco-friendly. So, naturally, I hopped on to Pinterest. I typed in “eco-friendly dorm items” and something out of the ordinary happened: there were little to no posts about eco-friendly items to get for your dorm room. I was shocked.
So, to solve my problem, I ended up making my own list of the things that I used in my dorm room, but with their eco-friendly counterparts. There are so many little things you don’t think about that can easily be transformed into an eco-friendly alternative — from kitchen storage to utensils, being eco-friendly in your dorm or apartment kitchen is totally doable. Here are just a few of my fave sustainable pieces:
Reusable sandwich bags
Reusable Sandwich Bags, Amazon, $13; shop now
Reusable sandwich bags are a must if you want to be eco-friendly and save some money. They’re super convenient because they’re reusable and you won’t have to spend extra money buying one-time use bags all of the time! I spend so much money on regular bags while living in a dorm and these are such a smart swap for more sustainable habit.
Reusable cling wrap
Bee’s Wrap Assorted Wraps, Sur La Table, $18; shop now
Everyone knows how annoying plastic cling wrap is. It’s super hard to tear off in a straight line and you always either tear off way too much or not enough. If you get reusable cling wrap you won’t ever have to deal with that again! And, most importantly, you’re helping the environment in the process by using a reusable version.
Glass straws
Sip Straws, $11-15; shop now
ICYMI, glass straws exist and you need to keep one in your bag at all times. They’re just as kind to our planet as metal straws, sans the gross metallic taste. It takes plastic straws up to 200 years to decompose, so making this tiny swap makes big waves for our planet’s health. Personally, I’m obsessed with Sip Straws—they’re made from the same glass that NASA uses in the space shuttle (try to shatter yours, I dare you) and 10 percent of every purchase is donated to Oceana. (P.S., they even make tiny glass cocktail straws that are TBH cuter than me.)
Reusable produce bags
Organic Cotton Mesh Produce Bags, Organic Cotton Mart, $36; shop now
Reusable produce bags are especially nice if you love a good haul from the grocery store or farmer’s market. Getting some will keep you from having to use plastic bags, which like all things plastic, are bad for the environment. Plastic bags are also super overused in America. So get some reusable produce bags to make a positive impact!
Brita Filters
Brita 6-cup Space Saver Water Pitcher, Walmart, $19; shop now
Brita carries both water filter pitchers and reusable water bottles with a built-in filter, so there’s no excuse to use a plastic water bottle.
Transforming your dorm or apartment kitchen into a much more sustainable space is actually way easier than you think. And in the long run, you’ll end saving money from choosing the reusable alternatives. Take the next step in helping save our planet and buy some environmentally friendly kitchen pieces! Mother Nature will thank you for it.
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