It's That Easy Being Green
A Practical Guide to “Greening” Your Apartment
(this webpage is a modified version of a 3-fold print pamphlet distributed to LSTC students)
You can also download a PDF version!

Why This Pamphlet?
Many of us want to be environmentally friendly (or as we say around LSTC - green) but may not know where to start. This pamphlet is for those who desire to be green and may be living in their own apartment for the first time. The following provides easy and accessible ways to make your apartment and our co m munity places tha t truly care for creation.  

In Your Life
There are many “things” you can do in order to make your life and apartment more “green.”   These small changes in our daily routines add up and do make a difference.   Beyond this it is     i m portant for each of us to reflect on our lives and find ways that we can be more ecologically aware of the impacts of our daily decisions.   It is impo r tant that we find ways to incorporate care of creation into our devotional and theological life.   Care of creation is more than an issue and a list of things to do, it is a way of life.  

And God saw everything that he had made, and i n deed, it was very good                 (Genesis 1:31)

In the Kitchen

• Recycle - aluminum cans, glass jars, glass & plastic bottles, & cardboard boxes (see instructions on your back door)
• Use unbleached coffee filters and other paper products
• Set your refrigerator between 38º and 42º ; Set your freezer between 0º and 5º
• Fill your sink with water when you wash the dishes instead of letting the water run (saving up to 25 gallons of water each time!)
• Use cold or warm water when doing the dishes
• Buy reusable canvas bags instead of using plastic bags when grocery shopping
• Use cloth napkins and towels
• Food - buy fresh, unprocessed foods
• Eat less and lower on the food chain (eat less meat and more greens and vegetables)
• Carry a coffee mug or other beverage container with you around campus to limit the use of paper cups

In the Rest of the Apartment

• Recycle - paper, envelopes, batteries, and printer cartridges
• Print on both sides of paper - print single or 1.5 spaced if acceptable by your professor
• Use compact fluorescent light bulbs
• Reuse and donate furniture instead of buying new items
• Use recycled, post-consumer, acid-free note and office paper
• Turn off lights, the TV, computer, and other appliances when not in use
• Grow house plants in your apartment  

In the Bathroom  

• Turn off the water when brushing your teeth, shaving, or washing your face instead of letting it run (saving up to 9 gallons of water each time you brush, shave, or wash!)
• Fill out a work order for maintenance to fix any clogs if (and when) your drains stop up instead of pouring chemicals down them.   
• Use nontoxic or low toxicity cleaning products

To Where Shall We Go?

Sure it’s great to talk about this stuff, but where can I go to get these things?

• Recycling items at LSTC is relatively easy. Each courtyard is equipped with recycle bins next to the dumpster.
• Battery Recycling - bring your batte r ies to LSTC and place them in the bin near the mail room.
• Printer Cartridge Recycling - Augustana Lutheran Church (across the street from LSTC) recycles some printer cartridges as a fund raiser for their campus ministry.   Office Max also recycles printer cartridges and gives a $3 credit towards your next in-store purchase.
• The “Duty Free” shop is located at 5430 S. Un i versity St. Items are donated to the Duty Free store and shared with the community at no cost.
• The Hyde Park Produce mart is a good grocery store to get fresh fruits, vegetables, and other items at a reasonable price.   (Located at 53rd Street and Kimbark)
• For more information on houseplants, check out this website on houseplants (www.gardenersnet.com/hplants)

The Earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world and all who dwell therein. For it is he who founded it upon the seas and made it firm upon the rivers of the deep.  
(Psalm 24:1-2)

Want to take it a step further?   There are several ways here on LSTC’s campus that you can co n tinue to learn about being a “green zone” and living in a co m munity that has a true care for creation.  

• Use a stewardship devotional from LSTC
• Attend Green Zone meetings
• Go to the Web of Creation website (www.webofcreation.org)
• Attend an event regarding care of creation
• Take eco-justice courses at LSTC and through ACTS
• Add an Environmental Emphasis to your course of study
• Check out the books and websites in the resource list below

Resources Used

• The Earth Works Group, 50 Simple Things You Can Do To Save the Earth (United States: Banta Co, 1989).  
• Sara Olson and Brooke Petersen, Stewardship of Creation: A Thirty Day Discipline
• webofcreation.org/HomeWork/actionplan.htm
• www.gardenersnet.com/hplants

Photographs and Design by: Benjamin J. Sheets

Produced for the Stewardship Project at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago