bookmark_borderHow to Live Zero Waste at College!

Hey earth muffins! When I started my journey towards lower/zero waste over the summer, I was living in an apartment by myself. This enabled me to live exactly the way I wanted in terms of sustainability. However, I am now back at college living in the same all-girls dorm, which puts some restraints on my sustainable practices… This has been an adjustment for my lower waste lifestyle, but it is still possible!! If any of you are also at school (and in the same boat as me), I wanted to share how to live zero waste in college. There are some easy things you can do to still live lower waste will you are away! 🙂

1. Find the compost bins – My dorm actually has a compost bin in the basement with all of the trash and recycling containers. If I eat fruit or have any leftover food (that actually can be composted), it is super easy to bring it there. I suggest trying to find out if your campus has any compost bins! If not, just do your best to recycle as much as you can.

 
A student putting food waste into a compost bin
2. Bring less stuff to school – With my lower waste lifestyle, I downsized a lot of my belongings. This minimalist approach has been super nice to my organization and overall sanity, so I suggest not bringing as much stuff with you. I know this doesn’t have a lot to do with how to live zero waste in college, but I realized that a lot of stuff I brought in the past was totally unnecessary (thus creating excess waste), so down size and donate!

3. Don’t take the free stuff – There is so much free stuff at college. And to be frank, most of it is useless garbage with company names on it. So, think twice before grabbing another free t-shirt or plastic water bottle. Do you really need it? What will happen to it once you are done using it?

4. Be conscious of what you eat in the dining hall – This has been the biggest adjustment for me by far. I was used to shopping in the bulk bins (see my tips here!) and at the farmers market this summer, so it is weird to have food already prepared for me. Look into where your dining program gets the food and make sustainable choices as best as you can! My dining hall serves a lot of local, fresh food (which is amazing!!!), but it is always smart to double check. 🙂

 
 
5. Order small portions when you eat out – Or don’t eat out at all! Because I have a meal plan, I have been making myself eat only at my dining hall. This prevents me from having to use any plastic silverware, plastic to-go containers, and saves me a bunch of money! 

6. Continue to use your plastic replacements (especially reusable bags!) – This has been the easiest adjustment for me; I brought all of my non-plastic things from my apartment to the dorm! This included my reusable bags, my stainless steel safety razor, and even my reusable ziploc bags. If you want some ideas on the plastic items you can replace in your own life, check out the post I wrote for Plastic Free July!

 
A picture of zero waste switches including mason jars and a reusable produce bag
 
7. Share the sustainable message/find others who want to take the journey with you – There are so many sustainability events on my campus, so I am sure you will also be able to find some clubs and organizations who are just as passionate as you! If you are struggling with a certain aspect of the zero waste journey, these people can be your new support system 🙂

8. Declutter/donate at the end of the year – If you did happen to accumulate some new things over the school year (and don’t plan on using it), donate it before you move off campus for the school year. My dorm always puts out donation bins for move-out, so try to see if your university offers this as well!

How were you sustainable in college? 

Love,
Jenna ♥

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bookmark_borderBirth Control: How to Set Up/Use the Femometer!

Hey earth muffins! If you read the first post in my Birth Control series (which you definitely should read here if you haven’t), you will know that I recently started the Basal Body Temperature method to track my ovulation cycle. For this second post, I wanted to share my experiences with setting up and using the Femometer in case you are looking to start tracking your own temperatures using a similar device. 🙂 Let’s jump right into it!

So, after unboxing my Femometer, I went on the app store and downloaded the app.

I love how sleek the logo is (plus people won’t know what it is if they see my phone)!

To set up your Femometer, you have to go through some very easy steps:
1. Open the app. It will prompt you to make an account. As well as making a username and password, the app will ask you questions about your typical period (such as average period length, etc.).
2. Now you get to pair your actual Femometer device to the app:

  • Make sure the Bluetooth on your phone is on!
  • Open the thermometer (make sure it beeps once)
  • On the home screen of the app, click the little thermometer icon on the top left and follow the instructions.
 
  • It takes about 5 seconds for it to pair and then you are all set (it will remember the device if you turn off the Bluetooth on your phone too, which I love!)
With your device paired, you are all set to start tracking your temperatures. Hooray! I started tracking about two week ago on Sunday, September 2nd, and it is super duper easy!
 
How To Track:
1. Take your temperature FIRST THING in the morning – do not get up, look at your phone, etc. To get more accurate results, you should also try to track at around the same time each day. I find it best to leave my Femometer on my bedside table, so I can reach for it right when I wake up 🙂
 
2. Open the thermometer (make sure it beeps!)
 
 
3. Place it in your mouth; my fav spot = under the right side of my tongue.
 
4. When you hear three consecutive beeps, the reading is complete! *Note: for the very first reading, this may take up to three minutes, but it takes less than a minute for all days after that!*
 
5. Close the thermometer (it will beep again!).
 
6. To transfer the data, open the app and it will automatically sync your data (if Bluetooth is on).

What I Think So Far:
-It is SO easy to use! The beep system is super helpful and doesn’t require me to actually look/remember a number each morning.
-I found it very easy to integrate into my morning routine. After a couple days, it just becomes a habit. When reaching to turn off my alarm, I just grab my Femometer!
-It isn’t a huge time commitment, which I love.
-I can already see the results! You can add all of your past period data into the calendar and there is a chart that updates each day so that you can visually see your temperature changes. I am super excited to continue to use this, so look forward to another Birth Control post at the month mark!

What do you think about temperature tracking? 

Love,
Jenna ♥

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bookmark_borderWhy the Salvation Army is the BEST Thrift Store

Hey earth muffins! After deciding to live a lower waste lifestyle, I realized that you can buy some amazing clothes at the thrift store without buying new clothes that have a negative impact on the planet. Now that I am back at school, I haven’t been able to thrift much… So, in order to subdue my longing haha, I decided to share why the Salvation Army is my favorite place to thrift.

1. Fair prices – Out of all the thrift stores I have frequented, Salvation Army (at least in my area) has the most fair prices. Even if you find new and like new items, there is only like a dollar or two difference compared to other clothes in the same section. I have noticed that stores like Goodwill and Plato’s Closet can have higher prices for the same types of clothes, which makes the Salvation Army much better for my wallet! 🙂

2. Organized by color – The Salvation Army near me is organized by color… I LOVE this! It allows me to find items in the shades of the season. Some people would rather the store be organized by size, but as I mentioned in my Thrift Shopping Tips & Tricks post, sizes don’t really matter in thrift stores. Also, I have been in a Salvation Army that organized by color AND size, which is the best of both worlds.

3. Easy layout – The Salvation Army always has long racks with items organized by type (such as short sleeve shirts, long skirts, etc.). Again, this makes it easier to find the specific clothes I am looking for.

4. Fitting rooms – While other thrift stores sometimes have fitting rooms, the Salvation Army always seems to have a lot of them. I have never had to wait to try on anything, which is a bonus! 🙂

5. Do good for the community – I worked for the Salvation Army and have a family friend who is a Salvation Army pastor, so I know just how much they do for the community… It is honestly incredible! A lot of the store workers are volunteers (unlike Goodwill), which allows them to use almost all of their money for the poor. I personally never shop at Goodwill because their profits don’t always go to the right places, so I would recommend doing some research on the thrift stores around you to make purchases at the best companies.

6. Music! – Maybe this is a regional thing, but my Salvation Army plays the best music! The last time I walked into the store they were blaring “Honey, Honey” from Mamma Mia – yes please!

What is your favorite thrift store??

Love,
Jenna ♥

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bookmark_borderBirth Control: Femometer Unboxing!

Hey earth muffins! Today I will be talking about something that I have never talked about before here on this blog: birth control. As you all are well aware, I am on a journey towards living a lower waste lifestyle. To me, this has meant changing my habits to more sustainable practices for the planet. I have found that many products that are better for the earth also seem to be better for my own health too (less chemicals, healthier, etc.). After tackling multiple areas of my life along this journey, I wanted to find a more natural form of birth control and thought I would share this experience with you all!

As some background, I’ve always been wary of “traditional” birth control methods throughout my life…. These methods include IUDs, the Pill, etc. (however, I am a huge supporter of ALWAYS using a condom!!). I never wanted to be on something that stops ovulation or my period, because that doesn’t seem natural to me at all. Plus, there are forms of birth control like Paraguard that are “hormone-free” but can lead to things like an excess amount of copper in your body. While these methods may be right for many of you (and there is nothing wrong with that!), I have always known that they are not right for me.

So, I have been practicing abstinence as a form of birth control. This has (obviously) been working, but I have now been looking into natural methods because I am in a serious long term relationship and don’t want to be abstinent my whole life. Through my research, I knew that I wanted to try out the Basal Body Temperature method. This form of birth control requires you to take your temperature each morning, which will allow you to track when you are ovulating. You will then be able to either abstain from having sex or use other forms of protection (such as a condom) if there is any chance you may get pregnant. 

After doing way more research than I care to admit, I found that you can use basically any basal body thermometer for tracking. However, I wanted to find one that would do a more detailed tracking for me (as I am obviously new to this!). I stumbled upon the Femometer on Amazon ($29) and thought that this would be the perfect place to start this journey!

When I reached out to Bongmi, the company that makes the Femometer, they were kind enough to send me the product to try out…. And I wanted to share the unboxing of it with you all today as the first post in this Birth Control series. 🙂

First off, the packaging and design of this product is AMAZING. I received the package in about 5 or 6 days from when it was shipped, and the box was in a bubble mailer. The box itself totally reminds me of an iPhone for some reason!

The design of the thermometer itself is super sleek (it actually won a design award in 2016!), and it doesn’t actually look like a thermometer until you open it… It reminds me of my portable power bank for my phone! I got the purple Femometer, but you can also purchase the pink version on Amazon as well.

This thermometer works with an app to do the tracking (they connect to each other through Bluetooth), and the app itself is easy to download and looks like it has a lot of cool features in it!

Because this journey towards natural birth control has just started, look forward to many more posts about the Femometer and my natural birth control journey in the near future! In about two weeks, I will be sharing with you my experience setting up the thermometer and app as well as taking readings for the first time – I hope you will take the time to read that post too! 🙂

What do you think about natural forms of birth control?

Love,
Jenna ♥

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