i am a nursing student who is very broke. i would like to help the environment but i don't have the money to

Question

go out and buy all of these new energy saving products. please tell me some simple things that i can do right now that won't cost me a penny.

Answer 1

If you are a broke nursing student, you probably can't afford the lifestyle that is the major contributing factor -- the oversize car, the oversize house.

I think the best thing you can do is make frugality and a modest lifestyle permanent parts of your existence and you will make a bigger impact than most people.

Answer 2

hi i am a starving student as well people have always asked me how i live by myself in a really expensive apartment in the rich part of town.
I firstly dont almost use any electriciy. I only use gas for all my cooking and heating. I also made sure to closely monitor what I am using and what I have plugged in.
I only run a bar fridge. I have energy saving lights and I am always doing activities that dont use much electricity eg. reading/studying listening to the radio.
I almost use nothing and buy very little consumer goods and when I do I make sure I buy them second hand at a low price.....
I make sure I recycle everything....
I take short showers as my hot water tank only runs for 4 min.
I dont own a car, I ride my bike everywhere or take public transport.
I have a clothes rack also that I hang all my washing from the laundromat on.
I also ran 20% renewable energy for an extra dollar a week.
The amount of money I saved was a lot as well as the impact from the environment was greatly reduced through these saving steps I have learnt along the way

Answer 3

There are several ways to help save energy without spending money. In fact the most of them would probably save you money. Shutting lights off when not being used, turning the thermostat up or down a degree or two more than you normally do (depending on the season),think about what you might want before opening your refrigerator or freezer and not stand there with the door open thinking, replace your con descent light bulbs with energy saving bulbs, take shorter showers, (whoops, I forgot you don't have the money to spend , so replacing light bulbs, even though a good idea, would cost), slowing down when driving your car, plan your trips so as not to be going here and there for a waist of gas, and maybe you should read some more Yahoo! answers to get more suggestions.

Answer 4

By being a broke student you are probably environmentally friendly already. Keep those frugal habits when you start making big money.

For now, walk rather than take the car, or use public transportation. Buy items with minimal packaging. Re-use and recycle, that doesn't cost anything. Use the public library for reading and listening material rather than buying stuff.

Keep your refrigerator coils vacuumed, that doesn't cost anything and reduces the energy your refrigerator uses. Keep your dwelling a little warmer in the summer and a little cooler in the winter to lower your heating and cooling fuel use.

When I was a poor student I would garbage pick my furniture or get it from a junk store. It didn't cost anything and I actually got some cool things and recycled too.

Answer 5

Use reusable shopping bags, take public transportation(costs less than gas for your car) or carpool (reduce your fuel usage and others as well as emissions) Use a reusable cup for water/coffee/ soda - just tell the clerk you are using your own cup and they can fill it instead of the stores disposable one (a big trend here by the CA beaches). When you shop buy the larger item it will last longer and cost you less over time while reducing your trash. Recycle all you can - bottles, cans, clothing,electronics it all helps and only costs you time. When you buy books try to buy used ones it will save you money and reduce the number of new books that need to be printed. Use recycled paper. When shopping choose foods grown locally (try the farmers market) you will get fresher foods and help the environment.

Answer 6

well one thing you can do that a lot of people over look is turn the water off when you are brushing your teeth. Most people tend to leave it running. Also dont litter. It's as simple as putting your gum in a wastebasket instead of on the ground. Recycle too. You know the good old plastics in the platics bin glass in glass and so fourth. Reuse things. For example instead of going and buying canisters for my cotton swabs and cotton balls I used Good size glass jars from jelly and pickles I washed and rinsed them super good. Also you can shred your paper that you dont use and use it as shipping material instead of those plastic packign peanuts. Shut down your computer at night and also turn off the lights as you leave the room. As well as the A/c. Open a window instead. Buy rechargeable batteries. There are lots of simple things you can do without spending a dime. Another GREAT thing is to carpool or take a bus to work/school. good luck with it.

Answer 7

Think small- walking/ biking instead of taking a car, or car pooling. Recycle everything from plastic bags to aluminum cans to shampoo bottles. Recycling items like aluminum or scrap metal can also earn you a little bit of extra money. If you live in a dorm or have a break room, make a bigger impact by putting out bins for people to recycle.
Unplugging small appliances like can openers or floor lamps when they aren't being used helps the environment and it will help ease your electric bill.
Another option is to pay bills online and opt out of paper statements. This can also save you money because you won't need stamps. Just remember to power down your computer or put it in hibernate mode.
Mother Earth News is a great magazine and their website has a lot of great ideas as well.

Answer 8

Reuse your bath towel. A week of using the same one saves a load of towels from being washed every week.

Open blinds and turn off lights during the day ad at night turn on one dim light somewhere in the middle of your home so you can use that one instead of multiple lights on everywhere.

Wear a set of jammies to bed, in the morning take them off and put up to sleep in the next night. If you are a clean person who doesn't sweat at night, you should be good to wear the same jammies every night for a week or so before washing again. That saves a load of jammies to be washed every week!

Use a sheet to seperate you from your comforter so you can go longer without having to wash the comforter.

If you have a VCR that is flashing the 12:00 annoying time, unplug it. It actually takes up more energy than you realize.

Buy rechargable batteries.

Buy a solar powered calculator.

Use a low flow shower head.

Use baking soda as a cleaning product, it's less harsh than chemicals and cheaper too.

Donate unwanted items on freecycle.org

Use weather stripping to keep your home warmer or cooler.

Recycle grocery store bags by using them as trash bags.

Use regular toothbrushes and razors instead of the battery operated kind.

If you own hair rollers, don't plug them in to use. Instead, roll your hair with the rollers at night, then in the morning wake up and taske them out and it is just as effective without wasting any power at all on them.

Answer 9

Turn off the A/C in your home and in your car , walk more places saves gas and maintenance on your car just cost you extra time, plant some plants (ask neighbors if they have any they would like to thin out) drink more tea instead of carbonated drinks, try to use less trash buy recycling some of it. Like a cereal box can be cut up for little bookmarks or recipe cards I am sure you can think of ways to be less wasteful and more thoughtful even to yourself OH and turn your hot water heater down some. Hang your laundry out to dry use more cotton clothes

Answer 10

Just simple everyday stuff works.

Turn off your computer, TV, lights when not using them.
Try to limit driving.
Use less energy by taking shorter showers and turning of the A/C or turning down the heat.
If you take your lunch, use re-usable food containers rather than plastic baggies and paper sacks.
Don't use disposable plates/cups.
Only run your dishwasher or washing machine when full.
Turn off the drying cycle on the dishwasher and open it to air-dry.
Take bags to the store for shopping.
Recycle.

Every little bit helps.