As students, and young people living in this crazy world, we understand the struggle of being environmentally conscious, but also living within your means. Through trial and error, we’ve come up with some tricks to do what we can. Now before we really get into it, we just want to say that we are far from perfect, and still make mistakes, but we don’t let that deter us from continuing, and you shouldn’t either!

So this is a brief list of tricks and tips and pretty much the basics to help you get started!

1) Buy in bulk!

Now when we say buy in bulk, we don’t mean going to Costco to buy 27 containers of shampoo.  We’re talking about buying products ~sans packaging~, and only buying what you need. More and more stores have bulk sections, and some even let you bring your own containers. If you’re not sure if you can bring your own container, all you can do is ask, and there’s nothing to be embarrassed about! And if the store you’re buying from doesn’t allow you to bring your own container you can always keep the plastic containers or bags they provide and use them again in the future!

Another awesome aspect of buying bulk, is that you’re only buying what you really need, and often I find that I’m far more conscious of how much I’m actually purchasing. By being conscious you’re more likely to take your consumption into greater consideration, great for your health, and your wallet. By consciously purchasing you’re also wasting far less, and our mama sure does thank you for that!

2) Support local businesses!

Okay so there’s often a misconception that buying local is way more expensive, this can be true, but if we go back to the previous step about being conscious about consumption, you likely could spend just as much or maybe even less when buying from local businesses compared to buying from big box stores! There are tons of perks to buying local produce and animals products (meat, eggs, dairy, etc.). For instance, you actually know where your food is coming from, and creating relationships with local farmers has it perks as well; we have a friend who sells farm fresh eggs every week for a fraction of the cost of what organic eggs cost at the grocery store. The same farmer sells chickens and turkeys (when they’re matured enough for consumption). Now Kelsey is vegan, so she saves a lot on grocery bills by not needing to purchase any animal products. Buying local also just feels super good.

Shopping at the farmers market regularly can also help you save money, reduce your environmental footprint, and support the local economy all at the same time (I know – wow!).

Oh and P.S – as you get to know farmers and they sell to you every week, they may even start to give you some deals here and there 😉

3) Keep up to date on what’s going on in the world in terms of the environment!

Wherever you are in the world, this matters. Pay attention to things like enviro legislations, new policies, what corporations are doing, and who is partnering with who. Also knowing what’s going on in your local community as well. Both local and global thinking is so important. For an example, at the local level you could look into whether your town is composting, and what kind of composting are they doing (vegan or not). We find that by being aware of what’s going on often sparks an interest in being active in this global community. Being aware of your surroundings is so important, because everything you do, every single action and thought has an effect, no matter how big or small, it does have an effect.

Now this is far from everything, and we’ll probably continue to update this as we learn and get better and make better choices! We just wanted to start off simple, and help everyone continue, or start to be mindful individuals apart of a sustainable community!