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How To Create A Green College Dorm Room

The summer before you start your first year of college is sure to be a busy one as you make plans to move into the college dorm lifestyle for the first time. Perhaps it's your first time away from home and your parents and it can be an intensely busy time as you get ready to settle down to a regime of intense study and learning whose ultimate goal will be lucrative employment. Perhaps you want to begin your college lifestyle the green way and live in an eco-friendly dorm room with all green products. Having a green college dorm room takes some planning and preparation but it can be done.

Let's face it, college dorm rooms are small plus most likely you'll be sharing it with at least one other person. The older colleges, and even some of the newer ones, don't have en suite bathrooms so you'll be taking a walk down the hallway to the restroom and shower facilities. Plus you'll most likely be taking a walk to any kitchen facilities as well. You'll need to contact your school to find out what comes with your dorm room before you get there. The dorm room I was in came with two regular twin size beds and blinds on the window, nothing else. But I have heard that a lot of dorm rooms come with a couple of dressers too and that most dorm rooms have the extra long twin beds that need specially sized twin long sheets. So you will definitely want to check before you get to your college so you know exactly what mattress size you'll have and what furniture pieces you may need to buy and bring with you to begin your new college dorm lifestyle.

First off, I thought we would start with a list of some of the general necessities you will need to take with you to your new home in the college dorms: linens i.e. sheets, pillows, pillowcases, mattress pad, towels, washcloths; a desk lamp; hangers; small vacuum; extension cord (or two); surge protector (or two); your laptop and printer; personal care items, laundry detergent, quarters, bag for your dirty laundry, hangers, alarm clock; stainless steel water bottle; a rug for the floor; refrigerator, microwave; waste receptacle. I know this isn't an absolutely inclusive list but it will help get you started on the way to that eco-friendly dorm room using green products.

I have put together a list of some of the green products that are available and even necessary to have so that you will have your green, eco-friendly college dorm room.

Look for Green Products: Kitchen Appliances such as a Space-Saving, Energy Efficient Microwave and Refrigerator Combination

I know that you will be eating meals in the college cafeteria but there are times you need food and cold drinks and the cafeteria is not open. I will have to say though, that to be absolutely green about this matter of kitchen appliances, you will NOT have a refrigerator and/or microwave in your room. You will need to check with your particular college to see if they have a communal kitchen available in the dorms and see what they have to offer you. But having a small, space saving, energy star rated, refrigerator and a microwave in your dorm room would be extremely convenient for you and there are some great green products out there to choose from.

One of my favorite new space saving appliances is the MicroFridge with Safe Plug 3-in-1 combination appliances which have a freezer, refrigerator and microwave all powered by just one plug! It's an amazing space saving, energy star rated appliance that you can order directly from the MicroFridge website. The MicroFridge is space saving with its compact all-in-one design, it uses 30% less electricity than conventional models, it is safe for even the older dorms since it needs no special wiring with only one plug to plug into the wall, it reduces the potential for electrical fires, and it is energy efficient (when the microwave is used, the power to the refrigerator/freezer is temporarily stopped until the microwave is no longer in use).

For your convenience, you can check for your school's appliance policy at the MicroFridge website before you place your order for one of the MicroFridge Combos at (microfridge.com faculty policy) or better yet, check with your school directly about what appliances they allow in their dorm rooms. MicroFridge has a rental policy agreement with a few schools and you can see if your college is one of them at the MicroFridge website, College Rentals. MicroFridge offers several different sizes of appliance combinations with prices starting at $409.00. You can even have the MicroFridge appliance shipped directly to your school. Or perhaps you and your new roommate could even share the cost of one!

As with any appliance, whatever brand or type of compact refrigerator and/or microwave that you buy, make sure to look for the Energy Star label.

Along with your space-saving refrigerator and microwave, you will need a few microwave-safe dishes to cook in, cups, plates and eating utensils. I know that using paper plates, plastic forks, spoons and cups is convenient but they are a HUGE no-no in having a green college dorm room. Use inexpensive real dishes that can even be washed in the bathroom sink if you have too so you can leave a smaller footprint upon the earth.

Look for Green Products: Eco-Friendly Bedding & Linens such as Sheets, Blankets, Pillows, Mattress Pads, and Towels

When looking for sheets that are eco-friendly, look for either 100 percent organic cotton or bamboo sheet sets since they are not made with products that use harmful insecticides. Make sure you know the size of your mattress before you buy, whether you need a regular twin size or the twin extra long that so many colleges seem to have. There are several places that sell 100 percent organic cotton or bamboo sheet sets such as westelm.com where you can find sheets sets starting at $29.99. You can also find organic cotton towels starting at $6.00.

Another online company that has an entire section devoted to shopping for college life is bedbathandbeyond.com where you can find a very nice selection of green bedding products that are 100% cotton that should suit your needs. Bed Bath and Beyond even has a section of decorating ideas for your college dorm, so you may want to check that out as well.

One pillow that is a green product to consider is the Wheat Dreamz buckwheat pillow which is available for $40.00 at Bean Products.com. This pillow is a green product because it is filled with four pounds of organically grown buckwheat hulls which are grown without the use of pesticides or herbicides. Plus it's covered in an organic cotton or unbleached cotton shell with a zippered opening. This allows you to add or remove hulls to create the perfect pillow. It also makes it easier to empty to wash the shell. When you sleep on it, the buckwheat hulls conform to your head and neck shape.

Another company with organic cotton towels is Pottery Barn at potterybarn.com where you can find organic bath towels and washcloths starting at $8.00.

You can find 100% organic blankets, along with the sheets and towels and mattress pads at any of the websites that I have listed above.

And wherever you have linens such as bedding and towels, you will need to do your laundry. You will need something to carry your laundry to the laundry room in as well as eco-friendly laundry detergents. But you definitely don't want to forget the quarters either!

A very unconventional laundry bag and/or wastebasket to consider is the Rice & Feed Laundry Bag & Wastebasket which is made from real rice and feed bags by disabled and disadvantaged villagers in Cambodia. You can check them out at www.vivaterra.com. Prices start at $20.00 for the Rice & Feed Wastebasket and $36.00 for the Rice & Feed Laundry Bag.

Since you will probably be sharing a shower with more than one person, perhaps even an entire dorm floor, you will need shower shoes. One product called Splaff Flops recycled sandals is made from recycled car tires, bicycle inner tubes and hemp. You can buy them at www.veganessentials.com starting at $39.99. Splaff Flops are also great because they are resistant to slipping on wet surfaces.

Look for Green Products: Use Eco-Friendly Personal Care Items

You can find a stainless steel re-useable water bottle that is eco-friendly at http://www.kleankanteen.com/">www.kleankanteen.com starting at $16.95 instead of using bottled water that is both expensive and in Earth UN-friendly plastic bottles.

One website to find nearly any green personal care and cleaning product imaginable is available from Exclusively Green Market. You can purchase different natural and chemically free shampoos, conditioners, soaps, sun screens, and even insect repellants. They also sell Earth Friendly products in the following categories: Earth Friendly Clothes and Accessories; Earth Friendly Children with products such as Lead Free Toys, Bibs and Blankets, Clothes, Diapers, Toiletries, and Footwear; Earth Friendly Kitchen; Earth Friendly Pets with Dog & Cat Toys & Accessories, Pet Cleaning Products; Earth Friendly Bedroom; Earth Friendly Living Room; Earth Friendly Bags of all types; Earth Friendly Bathroom; Home Office and School; Natural and Organic Skin Care; and Natural Green Cleaning supplies. Exclusively Green offers FREE shipping on orders over $25.00 (some products are excluded) and they sell gift certificates for a great green gift idea!

Exclusively Green Market also has the surge protectors that you will need to protect all your electronics such as your computer, printer, table lamp, alarm clock, MP3, television, etc. You'll want to have all your electronics except your refrigerator plugged into surge protectors that you can turn off when you leave your dorm room to save energy and for fire safety.

Look for Green Products: Re-Use; Re-Purpose; Re-Cycle Used Items and Reduce Waste

No green, Earth Friendly article would be complete without mentioning used items. One sure way to save money and our landfills is to re-use furniture, clothing, desks, shelves, dishes, etc. that come from family, friends, the local thrift store, yard sales, Craigslist or Freecycle. Some colleges even have a program where you can get items from previous students. So you will need to check the yellow pages, your newspaper classifieds or online classifieds to find more about what you can find for cheap or free stuff in your area.

While there is no end of green products and places to purchase eco-friendly products to create your green college dorm room, here are a few other ways to be eco-friendly for you to think about. See if your college has a recycling program and recycle everything you can. Use all of your papers at least twice and buy recycled paper. If you need to print things with your printer, use both sides if at all possible. Purchase CFL bulbs, they take less energy and they last longer. Walk or ride a bike to as many places as you can. If it has one, try to avoid using your dorm room air conditioner, open your windows wide and use a fan. When you wash your laundry, hang your clothes in your room to air dry them.

With today's high level of environmental awareness, living a green lifestyle in your college dorm room is easier than it ever has been before. Welcome to the college dorms freshmen!

Resources: AboutMyPlant.com. "Green College Dorm Rooms" by Marina Hanes. Care2.com "Green Girl on the Green Dorm Room" by Lily Berthold-Bond. Exclusively Green Market. Green Guide. "Green Decorations for Your Dorm Room" by Sarah Lipman. Green-Over 101: "A College Dorm Gets a Makeover at Sprig.com" by Julia Pievin. Suite101.com. "Green Tips for College Students: 10 Environmentally Friendly Ideas for Dorm Rooms and Campus Life" by Naomi Rockler-Gladen. TreeHugger.com. "How to Green Your Dorm Room" by Dominic Muren.