I mostly used magazine cutouts, but you can really use anything.

Now my previously plain white wall is an encouragement to remember what I am working for and to achieve my goals.

Three and a half years ago I bought the iPhone 3GS and it revolutionized my life. When I was in awkward or boring situations I could pull it out and avoid talking to other human beings or engaging in the world around me. I could check my email the second I woke up, fall asleep to people I am not even friends with status updates, and challenge my multiple personalities to epic Tetris battles.

Many dorm rooms on campus have an uncanny resemblance to a jail cell or hospital room. The blinding white walls and industrial floor tile or carpeting are not exactly comforting. Sustainable dorm decorations and personal items can go a long way toward making your room feel less like a prison and more like home.

Because many dorms have strict rules about decorating, it can take a bit more creativity. There are many quick and easy ways to sustainably decorate your room on a student budget, and without breaking any rules.

Sustainable Dorm Decorations

One of the fastest and easiest ways to make your room more colorful and homey is to cover the white walls.

1. Use colored paper or wrapping paper to create or cover bulletin boards to show off all of your pictures of friends and family.

2. You can also make your own art or simple prints to hang.

3. Magazine cutouts are another great way to add some personality and repurpose; make a collage or hang up pages that inspire you.

4. You can make curtains out of fabric if you know how to sew. But if needlework isn’t your strong point, you can buy used curtains to bring some life to your windows. Fabric shower curtains are usually cheap and they come in bright colors and patterns. Be sure to choose cotton or another natural fabric that will break down easily at the end of its life and avoid polyester because it is difficult to recycle and will outlive us all.

5. To increase your storage space and organization, reuse the boxes and bins you moved in with. You can use your less attractive boxes as storage for under you bed, while milk crates make great storage boxes and stacked shelving.

6. Cardboard boxes can be covered with wrapping paper, fabric, or colored paper to make them an interesting piece you don’t have to hide.

7. You can also use smaller items like a cereal box to make a magazine or paper holder.

8. Smaller boxes can be cut and reshaped into drawer dividers to keep your desk neat or covered in paper or fabric to be left out on your desk.

Remember to use materials that can be easily repurposed or recycled when you are done. Use recyclable materials like paper as much as possible and avoid plastic, which breaks easily and cannot be recycled.

My computer went to sleep, only to never wake up again.

I am incredibly honored to be included in Santa Clara University’s Office of Sustainability newsletter! To any new readers, welcome and please feel free to explore the archives!

One of the best ways to eat better and more sustainably is to eat more whole foods. Not only do they contain better nutrients, but they also don’t involve as much packaging, preservatives, or processing.

For me, buying whole foods with the intention of eating them is easy. Actually eating them is more difficult. In the grocery store it seemed so easy to eat all of the delicious items I put into my cart, but when I find them molding the back of the fridge I’m much less enthused.

To make eating more whole foods easier, I now prepare many items as soon as I get home from the grocery store. I unload my groceries onto the counter and begin prepping. This way I no longer have the excuse that I don’t have time to make that rice or cut those vegetables.

Instead I plan ahead to spend 30 minutes to an hour after shopping to get all of my prepping and cooking in.

This week I made buckwheat to add to my salads. I also like to add it to soup for a burst of protein.

I cut vegetables to snack on with humus and prepped any vegetable I was planning on cooking throughout the week.
I roasted delicious golden beats to eat alone and in salads.

Once they are all prepped I put them in an airtight container that is easy to grab and snack out of.

Ways to eat more whole foods:

Today is my last first day of school (not counting any possible graduate school). It’s crazy to think that it was 17 years ago when I got frustrated with my mom for wanting to take pictures of my first day of preschool when I really just wanted to get to class already. (I would have shared those awesome pictures of my irritated death glare in front of the school, but I didn’t think to drag them out this summer.)

Even though I am not nearly as excited to start school this year as I was then, I am still looking forward to this year. This is most likely (unless I freelance after college) my last year where napping after lunch and watching cartoons in the morning is perfectly acceptable. It’s the last time I can drop what I’m doing and go for a run any time of day. It’s also the last year that getting up at 8 a.m. is early.

Instead of a purple plastic lunch box, I will head off to school laptop in hand to tackle one last year.

Dorms seem to have an uncanny resemblance to jail cells (not that I have first hand experience of a jail). The walls are blindingly white and blank and the floor is either industrial tile or carpet. When I first move in I always feel overwhelmed by the oppressive, empty walls.