Guide to Green Living

• Use compact fluorescent bulbs or LED lights, which last longer and use less energy than regular bulbs.
• Use one of the hydration stations around campus or buy a water filter and refill a reusable container instead of buying cases of bottled water. This saves money and reduces waste!
• Buy furnishings and clothes from thrift stores instead of buying new from department stores.
• Turn off unnecessary electrical devices when you leave a room for more than 10 minutes.
• Enable your computer to go into "sleep mode" when not in use.
• Do not leave computers on all night.
• Unplug appliances and electronics when not in use.
• Unplug cell phone charger when charging is complete.
• Use natural light rather than electric whenever possible.
• Pull down window shades during the day in the summer to keep cool, closed during winter nights, and open during winter days to let heat and sun in.
• Turn off and defrost refrigerator over long breaks.
• Don't use power strips to turn on your computer and desk equipment all at once.
• Buy inexpensive mugs, plates and utensils that you can wash rather than disposable ones and avoid over-packaged takeout food.
• Reuse envelopes, advertisements and previously used paper for notes.
• Share magazines and books.

• Take shorter showers; don't run the water before getting in, and turn off the water when lathering and shaving.
• Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth and shaving.
• Report leaky faucets and showerheads.
• Install a low-flow showerhead in your apartment. They're inexpensive and will save you money on your water bill.
• Don't use the toilet as a garbage bin. Toss tissues and waste in trash cans

• Only wash full loads of laundry
• Wash your clothes in cold water
• Air dry whenever possible
• Use products containing the least amount of bleaches, dyes and fragrances

• Eat locally grown foods.
• Carry a reusable cup or water bottle. Some water bottles come with built-in filters if you're worried about the quality of the tap water.
• Limit the use of paper napkins.
• Only take what you will eat to limit food waste.
• Dispose of waste in the correct container. Recyclables should not contain any food or liquids.

• Carry a tote bag for shopping so you don't have to use a plastic bag.
• Purchase durable rather than disposable products.
• Look for locally grown produce and USA products. This stimulates you regional economy, and the more local the item, the more fossil fuels saved.
• If you get a plastic bag, reuse it.
• Go vintage. Buying used clothing saves money, decreases the use of resources to make clothing, and puts a dent in the problem of sweatshops.
• Also buy used furniture and books.
• Buy recycled products, such as paper, and get environmentally safe cleaning products.
• Check to make sure plastic items are labeled 1-7 and are recyclable.

• When you print or photocopy, use both sides of each sheet of paper.
• Save pages that you've printed and use the backs to print out drafts and other things you don't have to turn in.
• When possible, use your printer's low-quality setting to save ink.
• Bookmark webpages instead of printing them for research.
• Edit on screen, not on paper.
• Use e-mail to minimize paper use.
• Advertise events using e-mail or by posting on NIU Today through NIU's calendar or in mass publications such as the Northern Star rather than papering the campus.

• Rent books instead of buying them when possible. Buy used when you can.
• Use refillable binders instead of notebooks or use a laptop.
• Use recycled paper.
• Take notes on both sides of paper.
• Recycle notes from old notebooks and use the unused pages for another class.
• If it’s OK with your professor, hand in assignments by printing on both sides of the page, or ask if you may submit assignments electronically.
• Unless you’re handicapped, don’t use automatic handicap doors.
• Avoid printing unnecessary items. Try to read assignments digitally if you can.

Students

• Never pour hazardous chemicals down the drain.
• Use as small an amount of chemicals as possible by following instructions and being exact when measuring out starting materials.
• Reuse cleaning solvents such as acetone and alcohol for initial cleaning of dirty glassware, using fresh solvent for the final rinse only.
• Prepare chemical waste for disposal as per instructions in the hazardous waste management program.

Instructors

• Always provide proper waste minimization and disposal instructions to students
• Redesign experiments to minimize hazardous chemical waste and to replace toxic reagents with less hazardous substances.
• Order reagents in exact amounts to avoid leftovers.
• Distill and recycle solvents for use in demonstrations.
• Make sure chemicals are clearly and properly labeled.

• Use nontoxic, biodegradable art supplies.
• Replace oil-based paints with water-based paints.
• Modify spray-painting techniques to minimize over-spraying.
• Use biodegradable, nontoxic cleaners.
• Minimize use of cleaning solvents for brush cleaning by reusing dirty solvents for first rinse and fresh solvents for final rinse only.
• Clean brushes with lavender oil instead of turpentine.