Green Dorm Life

It's funny that college kids, who tend to boast the highest rates of eco-consciousness, environmental volunteerism and Green-leaning politics, are the very same ones who fill dumpsters with perfectly good belongings on dorm move out day. Drive by any college campus as students pack up for summer, and you'll see them standing around the car, scratching their heads and trying to figure out how to get everything back home. No room for that area rug? Toss it! The fan, the ottoman, floor lamp? Into the dumpster, along with scratch paper, books and all manner of recyclable debris. It's reached such epidemic proportions that some colleges have started retrieving re-usable furniture to give to charity. That's something your family can do too.

Have your child do some post-spring break, spring cleaning now, when the pressures of dorm move-out day haven't catapulted him (or you) into panic mode yet and the recycling containers aren't full. Paper anything goes in the recycling bin. First semester books go back to the bookstore for resale. And there's still plenty of time to look at all those accumulated possessions, post a Craigslist ad and try to get some cash for them.

Then start thinking about dorm move-out day itself. What possessions can come home early? Do you need to find summer storage? Or do you need to set aside an extra hour during that last day to shlep bulky objects to Goodwill or a thrift shop? Every object you can save from the dumpsters is a good, green thing.

Got a freshman going off to college next fall? Be thrifty and green-conscious in your dorm room expenditures too. Most of the colorful dorm stash that looks so very tempting at those big box stores is about as necessary as those baby wipe warmers of yore. Which is to say, not. Those stacks of colorful plastic drawers, so adorably nestled in their own case? Each drawer holds a single pair of boxer shorts. Fancy bulletin boards and glossy mirrors? Dorm rooms already have them. Don't buy that stuff and you won't find yourself by the dumpsters, guilt-stricken, on move-out day.

More? Here are more tips to help make dorm move-out day (relatively) painless and find summer storage for your kid's dorm gear. Happy Earth Day!

(This post is part of the "Going Green" All About Parenting blog carnival! Follow the link to find more great, green tips for families with kids of every age.)