As the last few weeks of school are coming to an end I am starting to face the inevitable. I have to pack.

I do not know how it happens. Somehow between the time I moved in and now all of my things have multiplied. I did not notice how much more stuff I have since the last time I had to pack it all up in September.

As my roommate and I stared at all of our stuff last night wondering how we were ever going to fit it all in our cars or storage, I began to realize that this is a common problem. I know not everyone is moving out right now, but as college students across the country stare at all of their belongings in fear of packing them, I thought maybe we could all use a little advice so none of us end up like this:

Ways to pack with less stress:

1. Start by asking yourself if you still need the item. If you do not, you can donate or sell the item (which means less to put into boxes and carry, yay!).

2. Pack a section or a few things at a time. It’s easy to get burned out when packing. If you know when you have to move out, you can plan ahead and just pack a section a day at a time. I find that when I do this my stuff is better organized, I am able to fit more into the limited space in my car as well as the boxes. I also remember where things are better a few months later when I’m moving in again.

3. Label boxes and items. I know it seems unnecessary at the time, but when you are loading up the car it’s nice to know exactly what’s in the box so it can be safely packed. It also makes unpacking a great deal easier.

4. For college students, open your door and talk to people while you pack. One of the nice things about dorms is that everyone is going through the same things you are. I had a great time moving out with everyone on my floor last year, and it’s a nice way to have one last time together before everyone leaves for the summer.

5. Plan ahead. No matter what else you do, if you keep when you need to be packed by in mind and you don’t leave everything for last minute, you will be less stressed and your packing and unpacking will be much smoother.

Tips to decreasing waste when moving:

College campuses are especially notorious for creating enormous amounts of waste when students move out. Carpets, furniture, and other items are just tossed into dumpsters so they do not have to be moved.

If you are a college student, or anyone else, who just cannot take an item with them even though it’s still in good condition, donate or sell it. Many places will pick up the item, or you can drop it off before you have packed your car.

For Santa Clara students, every dorm will have a location to drop off small and large items to donate, e-waste, used carpets, and things that actually need to go to the trash. The carpets, depending on what shape they are in, are recycled or reused. This diverts a great deal of unnecessary waste from landfills. For more information about where these services are located near your dorm, go here.

Before you move, (college students and everyone else) check out the services available to you to be sure that you can recycle and reuse as many things as possible.

No one knows sunscreen better than a lifeguard. I have spent the last four summers trying to not get completely fried in the sun. All of the eco-friendly sunscreens I highlight below have been thoroughly tested by myself.

Water resistant sunscreen (body)

One of the main problems I have with some eco-friendly water resistant sunscreens is that they can feel like you are slathering yourself in glue. Although the stickiest sunscreens typically stay on the best, it can get to the point where it feels almost impossible to rub in at all.

Badger: This is my go-to sunscreen for when I’m in the water at work. Teaching swim lessons mean I am in the water for up to 4 hours at a time. Little kids often grab onto my hands and arms, removing my sunscreen if it is isn’t tough enough. This sunscreen withstands it all! When I get out of the pool after a long day I have to really try to scrub it off. I have never gotten burned when using this, but I do try to reapply at least every 2 hours. As a warning, I would not use this on my face or back. It’s base is olive oil and I can see it potentially clogging pores if you have acne prone skin. Also beware that it will leave your skin looking blueish white.
EWG rating: 1

Non-water resistant sunscreen

Some of these sunscreens may say water resistant on the bottle, but I have found that they work significantly better out of the water, and I will not wear them in the water.

Face and lips

Lipcotz: This sunscreen lip balm keeps my lips well protected from the sun. Some warnings though: It will color your lips because of the minerals in the sunscreen. It’s not a bad color and it’s worth the protection. I also use another lip balm underneath this one for some moisture because this one is really best to just block the sun, not moisturize.
EWG: 3

Best aftersun

Korress Yoghurt Cooling Gel: If you accidentally get a sunburn (don’t worry, it happens to the best of us) this aftersun cooling lotion is the best. It helps take away some of the pain, moisturize your skin, and keep it from peeling later on (unless you really burned yourself, then you will probably still peel).
EWG: 0

You can find any of the sunscreens featured here online as well as some grocery stores like Whole Foods.

More options:
Wondering how your sunscreen is standing up? Check it against the EWG’s 2011 Hall of Shame sunscreens.

For more eco-friendly sunscreens that are safe to use, check out EWG’s list of some of the safest sunscreens.

After all of the posts I have had recently on dangerous materials in cosmetics, I was excited to see a post on Treehugger.com about a new study from Environmental Defense Canada. The study found that toxic heavy metals have been found in 49 products tested even though none of heavy metals were listed on the label.

TreeHugger.com nicely summarized the article:

“The study tested 49 products from popular brands like Laura Mercier, MAC, L’Oreal, Mary Kay, and Sephora and found that 100 percent of the products contained nickel, 96 percent contained lead and 90 percent contained beryllium. Only one product, Annabelle Mineral Pigment Dust (Solar), was found to not contain a single metal of most concern.

On average, products contained four of the eight metals of concern—mercury, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, nickel, lead, selenium, and thallium. The Benefit Benetint lip gloss contained the highest level of lead at 110ppm, which is 10 times higher than the limit set by Health Canada.

The heavy metals found in the products tested are categorized as unintentional contaminants. They are not required to be listed on the labels, which is why it may come as a shock to some that they are in the products in the first place. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics points out that, in Canada, there are draft guidelines for impurity levels of some metals it believes are “technically avoidable.” In the United States, there are no standards for these metals in cosmetics, nor are there “draft guidelines.”

“Individual exposures to these metals in small amounts are unlikely to cause harm, but heavy metals can build up in the body over time and may increase risk for a variety of health problems,” the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reports. Meaning, if you’re using cosmetics laden with heavy metals on a daily basis, or more than once daily, you could be putting yourself at risk.

Visit Environmental Defence to download the report (pdf) and make sure your favorite products aren’t listed. While you’re there, sign the petition asking Health Canada to better regulate impurities in cosmetics.

Are you shocked? Or is this what you’ve come to expect from the cosmetic industry?”

I don’t know about you, but I am sadly not too shocked. I am appalled that this is going on without any regulation or reprimands. Instead of continuing to support this dirty industry, we need to boycott their products by refusing to buy them and educate others about the dangers of the products.

Want to know more? You can also look at the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

I have had acne for what feels like forever now, but is probably more like 10 years. I have tried nearly all dermatologist prescribed medications with little to no results. So when I say this oil works, I mean it.

I know it seems completely counter productive to put oil on an oily face that is prone to acne, but just hear me out. Because jojoba is actually a liquid wax and not an oil, it behaves differently than we expect. The jojoba “oil” is very similar to the oils that your skin naturally produces. Because of this similarity, when you use jojoba your skin responds by not producing excess oil.

The oil soaks in quickly, and then you have skin that is not shinny, but well moisturized all day. You have to give your skin about 2-4 weeks to get used to the oil before it will stop producing extra oil. After a month my skin no longer got oily, even if I forgot to wash it in the morning.

This recipe has been a lifesaver for me. In the summer I swim and lifeguard which means my skin gets so dry it peels. The jojoba helps keep my skin hydrated while not increasing my breakouts all year long. Another reason I love this recipe is because of how cheap it is. The oil is 8oz for $16, and it has already lasted me more than a year.

Ingredients

4 oz bottle with dropper (cleaned and boiled)
jojoba oil (organic is preferred)
1 teaspoon vitamin E (as an antioxidant as well as a preservative)

Use a funnel to add the 1 teaspoon of vitamin E. Add the oil until the bottle is nearly full and shake to mix it.

If you would like you can add essential oils for smell or other benefits, but I like to keep anything that is going on my face as simple as possible. Be sure to test any oils slightly diluted behind your ear to be sure you will not have an allergic reaction as well.

I ran out of vitamin E a while ago, and so far I haven’t had any problems just using the jojoba oil straight. If you use the oil fast enough and want to save a few bucks, I would recommend leaving it out.

You can find all the ingredients and necessary materials locally, online, or at mountainroseherbs.com.

Enjoy!

This homemade rose oil blend is perfect to use on all dry skin including elbows, hands, feet, and everything in between. If you have a dry face and you do not break out very often, this oil can also be used a moisturizer. For men this makes a great after shave soother or a dry skin salve. It also makes a great gift!

What you will need:

Could you go a day, a week, or two weeks without putting on a single bit of makeup?

The ladies who wrote the book No More Dirty Looks challenge women to try to leave the house without makeup for at least a day. Why? Because the media is constantly telling women that we do not look good enough if we do not slather on piles of products. Many women have been wearing makeup for so long that they no longer feel comfortable leaving the house without it.

      Image courtesy of Affordable Health and Beauty

Instead of feeling insecure, embrace your beauty and share your real face!

The No More Dirty Looks webpage had a no makeup challenge where:

“All we want is a picture and a promise. One day this week, leave the house—go to work, go do groceries, go to a restaurant—without makeup.”

Why did they start this challenge and why should you do it?

“The reason for this challenge is to rediscover our faces without makeup! A recent British Study found that 70% of women wouldn’t leave the house without their makeup tools— half of those said they wore makeup 24/7, and 40% said they’d be embarrassed to be seen without makeup in front of friends or coworkers.

We know it’s a bit scary, but you’ll be surprised—it’s kinda liberating, and may make you rethink how you apply makeup. For example, we’re loving the bold lip on the bare, no-mascara face these days… And once you’ve ditched it all, that kind of experiment won’t be so intimidating.”

For some inspiration, check out the pictures of the women who completed the challenge:

Image courtesy of No More Dirty Looks

As an added bonus, think of all the time you will save!

We all know that horrible, eye-burning smell that comes with nail polish, and it is one of the clearest clues that something is not right.

I have only tried a couple of these polishes or removers, but I have checked to make sure they all agree with the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) ratings and that they are in fact safer than their toxic laden counterparts.

Photo courtesy of Acquarella

Lately around campus I have heard a lot of people claiming they are “green” because they recycle. As glad as I am that instead of reusable materials going to the local dump they are hopefully going to be remade into something new, this still does not address the fact that those materials still need to be created.

Interesting news articles, blogs, and documentaries have sprung up in the last few years showing us what it would be like if we kept our trash for a year. This means canceling the garbage service and finding a space in the house or the garage to store your trash for a year.

Photo courtesy of Save Your Trash

Don’t panic! I am not asking you to do this, just to think about it. Consider where you live as a boat and that whatever you bring on to it stays there for a certain amount of time (a day, a week, a month, a year, ect.). Does this change the way you see all of things you have the luxury of putting on the curb every week? It also highlights the fact that there “is no such thing as away” when you are throwing something out or recycling it. All of these things pile up somewhere, whether it’s in your house, a recycling center, or a dump. No matter where it goes, we are still responsible for creating it.

Photo courtesy of Sustainable Blog