Meichen Chen

Since the academic year is coming to an end, I recently cleaned out my closet to prepare for the move home. I picked out items that I don't wear frequently anymore, and I donated them to a thrift store in Culver City, I made sure any items that I donated were clean and in good shape, since it's important to me to be respectful while donating. A few years ago when cleaning out my closet at home, I came across some really old t shirts that I repurposed into cleaning towels instead of donating, since they weren't in great shape. It's nice to know that my clothing is being put to good use instead of landing up in a landfill.

Reflecting on my purchases this past year, I've also noticed that I rarely buy clothing new anymore and I mostly thrift (unless I have a very specific piece I'm looking for). If I do buy something new, I make sure to invest in a piece that's make from high quality material and will last me a while. I've also cut down on my purchases a lot this past year and tried to only buy things I need. This reduces my waste in the long run, and it also feels better looking at a less cluttered closet.

One summer, I interned at E Ink, a company that makes electronic paper. I was on the team that was working on making electronic price tags for grocery stores. The main challenge was making electronic paper that could withstand repeated use under a different range of temperatures, such as the freezer section in a store or the hot foods section at a deli. Back when I was interning, electronic price tags weren't as common in grocery stores, but nowadays it's nice to see that they're more common. This is a lot more eco-friendly than physical paper price tags since these are reusable and companies don't have to print and throw away hundreds if not thousands of paper tags as prices change. Electronic tags also require less labor to update, since it doesn't require someone physically replacing these tags; they can just program it to update the prices. Even though they may cost more upfront, these electronic tags are definitely cost efficient in the long run, and I hope to see more and more grocery stores transitioning away from paper tags.

My parents incorporate a lot of water-saving methods into their lifestyle at home, and while I do find it challenging to implement all of these same methods in my university apartment, I have been more mindful about saving water. For example, my parents use a bucket to collect shower water since it always takes a while for the water to warm up at home. They then use this water to water their vegetable patch in the garden. While I don't have the same problem at college, I do consciously think about how I could reuse my water. I collect water leftover from washing rice in a mason jar and I use it to water my spring onions on the balcony. I'm also mindful about trying to create less dirty dishes and running the dishwasher only when it's completely full. I also turn off the shower whenever I shampoo or condition my hair, since that normally takes me a long time and it would be wasteful to just let the water run during those minutes. I also feel less rushed and I feel more relaxed washing my hair! This class has really pushed me to be more mindful of my water usage and I'm glad that I can incorporate these actions into my lifestyle at college, not only at home.

I've been more conscious about reusing items to try to reduce my waste. For example, I've been cleaning and reusing glass jars (such as jam or pasta sauce jars) and repurposing them as cups or even vases for flowers. I've also invested in a stainless steel reusable straw to reduce my plastic straw usage. If I use paper towels after I wash my hands to dry them off, I try to wipe down a surface with the towel before simply throwing it away. Reusing items makes me feel better about how I treat the environment, and I hope to find more ways I can incorporate this "R" into my lifestyle.