Just because all of your money is being eaten up by tuition, books, and the other expenses of attending college doesn’t mean you can’t look your best during your tenure on campus. You may not be able to pay full price at department stores or purchase designer-label items off the rack, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find ways to assemble a fantastic wardrobe for less. In addition, saving money when you acquire clothing can also be a means of saving the environment, helping you to look good and feel great in one fell swoop. So here are a few ways that even broke college students can look like a million bucks when they show up for class or interview for internships.

1.  Take stock of your closet. Although you will likely find items that you have outgrown, or those that are beyond salvaging, there are likely several pieces in your current wardrobe that are still totally usable. This is especially true of building blocks such as black (or neutral) slacks, oxford shirts, fitted jackets, and casual dresses, just for example. So before you bemoan your lack of options when it comes to things to wear, take stock and see if that’s really true or if there might be a few good pieces you can build on.
2. Find ways to reuse. Instead of giving up some pieces as a lost cause, why not see if you can manage to reuse them? Put on the hat of Andie from Pretty in Pink; she was a master of seeing the potential in out-of-date trends and turning old clothing into something new and fabulous. You, too, can embrace this ideal by finding ways to spruce up the pieces you already have. A worn blazer can be made new with corduroy patches on the elbows, new buttons, and a line of velvet ribbon around the collar and lapel. Or a frayed concert tee can become very now with some artful shredding down the back. There are all kinds of crafty ways to make the old new again, so don’t hesitate to see what you can do with scissors and a sewing machine.
3. Check out thrift stores. Second-hand stores will often present a whole host of items that you want nothing to do with, but if you’re willing to spend a little time searching you can come up with a few amazing finds at a fraction of the cost of retail. Whether you’re going for a retro vibe or you’re looking for the latest fashions, you’ll be surprised what you can unearth at area thrift stores.
4. Save on most, spend on some. Because you’re working on a limited budget, you’ll want to angle for savings on everything you buy from tees to jeans to jackets. For this reason, purchasing most items second-hand is a great option. But that doesn’t mean you can’t splurge a little on a couple of special pieces. And even here you can save by going to discount stores that collaborate with designers, like Kohl’s (Vera Wang) or Target (Zac Posen, Isaac Mizrahi, etc.). Of course, you might also consider greener options like organic clothing lines, some of which can be found online at greatly discounted prices.
5. Host a swap. You likely have a few items in your wardrobe that are nice, but simply don’t fit your style aesthetic. If you have friends in the same boat, why not host a swap before school starts so that everyone can head to campus with a few new (to them) duds without spending a dime? It’s both economical and eco-friendly.

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Skin cancer is caused by the ultraviolet rays that penetrate through your skin and mutate the skin’s DNA. Exposure to sunlight is good to a certain degree as you benefit from Vitamin D, but excessive exposure can cause more harm than good. With the advent of sunscreen creams and lotions, we are given a protective layer that prevents us from sunburn, but the question here is whether sunscreens prevent our skin from damage. The answer to this would be a yes and a no.

There are a variety of creams in the market that offer protection against two kinds UV — UVA and UVB — with both causing cancer. The SPF indications on the packaging refers to the sun protection factor, quantifying the extent to which the cream should protect you from sunburn. The most critical thing to look for on the packaging would be whether the cream is a broad-spectrum sunscreen, protecting against UVA & UVB rays.

Doctors believe that the right kind of sunscreens can prevent skin cancer to a large extent, but recommend that the application of such creams should be in addition to wearing protective clothing, sunglasses and keeping in the shade as much as possible. However, wearing a sunscreen lotion with broad-spectrum protection and a high SPF should not encourage you to spend more time in the sun. Tests conducted on both animals and humans have also produced evidence that sunscreens have the potential to protect against skin cancer.

If you go to a pharmacy and peruse through the variety of sunscreens on the shelves, you may be surprised to find that the most effective ones are often the cheapest. Specialized creams tend to cater to particular customers who are either focused on how the product smells or feels on the skin with effectiveness being a secondary concern.

However, recently conducted tests on animals state: “the composition of sun blocks — particularly oxybenzone, disrupts the function of the endocrine gland which may cause an adverse impact on sexual health and reproduction.” However, research is still on-going but so far, as evidence shows the benefits of sunscreens outweigh the the risks. However, it is worth noting that pregnant women and children should avoid sunscreens and sunblocks with oxybenzone as a precautionary measure.

After considering the estimated deaths from skin cancers, which is about 11,790 each year, as well as the financial, emotional and health tolls of fighting cancer, sunscreens and sunblocks are the cheapest and most effective way to avoid skin cancer.

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Amanda Kidd is a blogger by profession who believes in eco friendly existence. Recently she was really impressed by a green technology concept to reduce Environment Pollution in which the gadgets converted kinetic energy into renewable energy for a clean recharge and also a step ahead to power save.

Photo courtesy of Robert S. Donovan.

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A Discovery

Then, somewhere along my internet travels, I came across a blog with a post on making your own hair conditioner. Homemade hair conditioner, I thought. Is it going to be as bad as the baking soda? I read the post, which basically summed up what most posts on the subject say, that apple cider vinegar is slightly acidic like human hair and that it works wonders on hair’s shine and manageability. At the time of reading this, I had waist-length hair that seriously needed some manageability and shine, so I was intrigued.

Unexpected Results

It took me months to try the concoction the writer recommended. But when I finally did, I was pleasantly surprised. My hair was softer, silkier, shinier and did not have fly-aways. My homemade hair rinse worked!

I did have to play around with it a bit, though. The strong smell of the apple cider vinegar needed to be subdued for my tastes since it was so strong in a hot shower. After a few months of altering the recipe, I can now heartily recommend my version of the apple cider vinegar hair rinse to you.

The Recipe

1 cup apple cider vinegar (I prefer organic if you can get it)
15-20 drops of your favorite essential oil (I’ve been using lavender, but you can easily substitute rosemary, orange, eucalyptus, rose, whatever floats your boat)
1/2 – 1 tsp of vanilla extract (to ease the harshness of the vinegar smell)

I pour the apple cider vinegar into an old glass maple syrup jug I’m reusing, then add the vanilla and the essential oil. Close the jar or container and shake thoroughly.

In the shower, I gather my hair into a loose bun at the nape of my neck. I shake the jug of apple cider vinegar hair rinse well then slowly pour little by little onto the top of the bun until I feel it in my hand which is holding the bottom of the bun. I close the jug (it has a plastic flip lid, one of the reasons I chose it)  and let the apple cider vinegar rinse sit in my hair for 30 to 60 seconds. Then I rinse thoroughly.

Important note: your hair will smell like the apple cider vinegar somewhat until it fully dries. Once dry, it just smells clean and like the essential oil you added.

This recipe gives me about a month’s worth of rinse as each time I probably only use a few tablespoons of the concoction in my hair. I’m sure it helps that I only wash and condition my hair twice a week, but I have no problems managing my now mid-back length hair. In fact, it works better than any commercial hair conditioner I’ve ever used. As you can see in the picture, my hair is shiny and healthy-looking!

So, is a homemade hair rinse something you’d be willing to try?

Cover image courtesy of ralphunden.

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With the year at its close, it’s a good time to review the basics of going green.  For those of us living in apartments, many of the eco-home improvement articles do us little to no good (not that the landlord wouldn’t appreciate solar panels and a compost pile by the dumpster, right?), and it’s not like we can afford to buy hybrid cars anytime soon.  The following ways to go green are not only easy on the planet, they’re easy on your tired-of-paying-off-debt eyes, too.

1. Let’s start easy: change all incandescent, halogen, and other electric lights around your apartment to CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulbs to save on your energy bill.  They use between 60-80% less energy than their counterparts and and last between 6,000 and 15,000 hours as opposed to the 1,000 that incandescent bulbs last.  CFLs get a bad rap from their old days of buzzing, flickering, and sucking the life out of anyone under them, but these days, they come in warmer hues that mimic natural sunlight, are dimmable, and fit in three-way fixtures.  You can save around the ball park of $30 per bulb over its lifetime and save 2,000 times its own weight in CO2 gas emissions.
2. Even if you can’t have your own programmable thermostat at most apartments, you can regularly clean the air filters of your A/C unit to make it more efficient, cutting down on energy costs.
3. If you’ve got a ceiling fan, use it in the summer, since it’s designed to bring warm air up and away from you.  Some ceiling fans run in reverse—this helps in the winter, when warm air can be pushed down to you.
4. Older apartments in particular tend to be drafty, and the U.S.
   Department of Energy says that drafts of wind can waste up to 30% of your energy use!  Make your own door draft snakes to save on heating bills by rolling an old bath towel under a drafty door.
5. People living in their own homes are allowed to install storm doors, but most renters aren’t.  To save on heating bills, you can apply window insulation film (they come in kits you can order online).  This way, the heat you produce in your apartment stays in your apartment.
6. Instead of spending wads of money on bleach- and chemical-based household cleaners, you can make your own that are just about as effective.  All you need are old cleaning bottles and various items you probably already have in your kitchen: baking soda, lemon juice, vinegar (either white or apple cider), maybe some borax, and the like.  You can clean anything from windows to carpets, your own clothes to clogged drains with recipes found here: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/assemble-a-green-cleaning-kit.html
   
7. Ever heard of ghost energy?  It’s your pocket change ghosting out whenever you leave unused appliances plugged into the wall.  Cell phones, laptops, and other chargers (as well as your TV, PS3, microwave, and hair dryer) continue to draw electricity, about 8% of our annual electric bills’ worth, in fact.  You can either simply unplug them or plug them into a surge protector and flip the switch when you’re done using the appliances.
8. Stop paying for stupid things, like bottled water.  Go Brita or go home.  One filter lasts the average family three months, costs less than bottled water, and produced a lot less waste and CO2 emissions (since the recycling process still produces these gases).  If you need potable water, snag a reusable bottle, preferably one made out of metal to avoid nasty PVCs and other chemicals found in plastic.  While you’re at it, stop buying paper towels (yes, it can be done), precut produce that comes in extra packaging, and that gym membership you don’t use when you’ve got a dog that needs walking, etc.
9. Rather than overpaying for some big name company to add toxins to your perfume or cologne, make your own.  All you need is a glass bottle and spray pump (maybe reuse your old perfume bottle), distilled water, and flowers from your garden or store-bought organic essential oils.  You don’t need much to make one bottle of perfume, so it’s cost-effective, too.  Recipes abound online.
10. If you’re lucky enough to be near a farmers’ market or co-op, shop there for in-season organic produce and organic, pasture-raised (read: humanely and sustainably raised) meats and eggs.  This way you get the freshest goods (no salmonella, thank you) for the fairest prices, and you get to cook a meal knowing you supported the local economy as well as a healthier planet.

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Lisa Shoreland is currently a resident blogger at Go College, where recently she’s been researching education grants and blogging about student life. In her spare time, she enjoys creative writing and hogging her boyfriend’s PlayStation 3.  To keep her sanity she enjoys practicing martial arts and bringing home abandoned animals.

Photo courtesy of MoneyBlogNewz.

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While I won’t get into all of it here, this webzine/blog has been neglected despite my passion for sustainable apartment living due to some ever changing and difficult circumstances in my personal life. I’m sure many of you have experienced similar hardships during these trying times. However, I’m happy to say that I’ve come back to Green Your Apartment with a fresh perspective and greater confidence that will reinvigorate this site and what it can offer you!

So please take a peek around and keep coming back for fresh content every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Think green!

Photo courtesy of Martin Terber

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Fourth “Tips for Green Living” Carnival
The fourth Tips for Green Living blog carnival.

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dining & entertaining

Sam over at Best Cheap Weddings shares some ways to save cash and the planet with the post Best Cheap Green Weddings. Romance and Memories on a Green Budget. I am all for the “recycled” estate diamond ring! (Remember that, Mr. Green Your Apartment!)

MyMaria makes the case that “consistent menu planning means my family wastes less food, eats at home much more often and saves both money and gas in the process.” Sold! Check out the post weekly menu planning over at Menu Planning.

for the greenhorns

Some of us are on the computer so much that we forget how much energy it can consume. So Richard Adams reminds us, giving us 9 Ways To Make Your Computer Use More Eco Friendly posted at Eco Living Advice. Loved this so much, you’ve just been added to my RSS reader.

health & beauty

How I adore my certified tree-huggers, the do-it-yourselfers. Eugene Smith represents well with the How To Make Your Own Laundry Soap At Home posted at How to Make You Own Soap.

Girls, you know how much we love the jewelry. Well Heather Levin points us in the right direction by explaining What to Look For When Buying Fair Trade Jewelry posted at Earthdivas’s Blog.

New to our little carnival is paystolivegreen who gives us some eco-beauty Toothbrush Tips posted at Pays to Live Green. (I use Preserve, myself!)

June Tree is back with a Guide To Commuter Bikes: Bicycle Commuting Saves Money and The Environment over at (be still my heart!) The Digerati Life.

in the news

Oh Mrs. Obama, never has a garden been s controversial. Rich Maltzman, PMP asks Will ‘Bloom Boxes’ Bloom next to Michelle Obama’s Organic Garden? posted at Earth PM.

TSW talks eco-luxury with Tesla Electric Car For Fuel Efficiency: Would You Buy It? at The Smarter Wallet. To answer your question: out of my price range, hun! Still pretty though.

MrsMoney presents Is Climate Change a Hoax? posted at The Ultimate Money Blog. While this is a great post, I absolutely adore the comic that opens it. I’m laughing my butt off!

living spaces

Sandra Lopez has spoken to my soul – my bibliophiliac soul. Her post, 80 Awesome Ideas for All Your Old or Unwanted Books posted at Online Colleges.net, has inspired me to *gulp* minimize my library. I have a copy of The Film Encyclopedia that is just begging to be used as a block in my new AM yoga routine! But I could never imagine using a book as cat litter.

Case Ernsting discusses eco-friendly wood options in Go Green, Keep the Wood over at Home and Decor.

Julia Ritzenthaler presents Eco Friendly Furniture posted at Bathroom Vanity, Decorative Mirrors & Light Fixtures.

patio & garden

Renee Benzaim presents Guide to Compost Making – Compost Bins, Compost Tumblers, and Compost Crocks posted at Compost Tumblers & Compost Making. She comments, “Compost tumblers, compost bins, compost crocks, and open piles are all methods of compost making. Which is the best for you? If you are limited on space, a compact ‘backporch’ compost tumbler is your best bet.” Is it a good choice for your apartment?

Jamie McIntosh discusses how to Control Pests on Houseplants posted at Jamie’s Organic Garden Blog. It has been a hard winter, hasn’t it? But spring is almost here!

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Well, my dear Internet, that concludes this edition of Tips for Green Living. Thank you all for your excellent submissions and I hope you found some useful info in this carnival. You can find a new edition posted every second and fourth Monday here at Green Your Apartment. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Tips for Green Living using our carnival submission form.

Go green and live well!

________________

Tips for Green Living logo image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Back to Basics: Recycle
The final post in a series of three on the basic principles of green living.

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Call to Action
Will you help save the earth with only one hour of your time? www.EarthHour.org

Back to Basics: Reduce
The first in a series of three posts on the basic principles of green living.

Back to Basics: Reuse
The second in a series of three posts focusing on the basic principles of green living.

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So what are parabens, exactly?

Parabens are antibacterial and antifungal agents used as preservatives in foods and pharmaceuticals (thank you Merriam-Webster.com). They are pretty ubiquitous in modern life, found in everything from tanning lotions to toothpaste and are even used as food additives.

What’s the problem?

Good question. Parabens have similar chemical structures to some of our own hormones, mostly estrogen. While some naturally occur in various plants like blueberries, it is their “esters” or alcohol-derived forms that are more potent “pseudo-estrogen”. A certain amount of estrogen is the body is clearly a good thing though healthy levels are dependent upon sex, age, and individual. However, constantly slathering oneself with lotions containing 0.01-0.3% with up to or consuming a “pseudo-estrogen” in their food can raise those levels and cause problems. Breast cancer, for example, is encouraged by high levels of estrogen. In fact, they have found parabens in breast cancer cells which led to the early 2000s email declaring everyone should swear off antiperspirants.

But does this mean parabens cause breast cancer?

Not quite, which is why the jury is still out. The FDA’s website says:

A study published in 2004 (Darbre, in the Journal of Applied Toxicology) detected parabens in breast tumors. The study also discussed this information in the context of the weak estrogen-like properties of parabens and the influence of estrogen on breast cancer. However, the study left several questions unanswered. For example, the study did not show that parabens cause cancer, or that they are harmful in any way, and the study did not look at possible paraben levels in normal tissue.

So this is a cause versus correlation issue. Do the parabens cause cancer? Or are parabens and cancer co-related through some other factor?

The answer: We don’t know.

Should I avoid parabens?

The FDA’s verdict: No.

The EPA’s verdict: Maybe.

Green Your Apartment’s verdict: Would you eat it?

Up to 70% of what you put on your skin can be absorbed into your dermis and blood stream. That ratio is more efficient than even consumption – that’s why we have a birth control patch and a nicotine patch.

So I ask again, would you eat your face cream? Your shampoo? Aside from the fact it may not taste so good, would you be more worried about poisoning or allergic reactions?

I believe you have your answer.

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Image courtesy of djcodrin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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