When your Roommate is not so Ecofriendly

Often times the lovers we choose have very many things in common with us. We tend to choose mates that we find attractive and that have similar interests. A difference that seems to pop up in some of my relationships romantic or not is the degree of environmental awareness. I get in countless discussions with people about why I choose certain products and why I do not support certain products do to their environmental impact.
 What happens when you live with people who do not have an environmentally friendly out look on life. How do I reduce my waste if my entire household does not participate?
There are many trendy bloggers and journalist out there offering solutions on how to remain Eco friendly in a shared living situation. Especially when there are not shared living views going on. It may come down to some product placement and reverse psychology. It may turn into a way for you to practice advocating your less environmentally harmful lifestyle, or it may just help you from tossing and turning at night about all the plastic water bottles your roommate uses.
1. Make recycling fun.
This sounds cheesy but seriously check out ways to make simple organizers that clearly label where things should be put. Pinterest has some ideas as well as google. On the left is an idea that is organized and looks nice. Make it as simple or complex as you want. This will not only enforce the idea of recycling but give them an easy way to do it. It can be easily done and requires some time and little materials. It will almost force the participation in this aspect of your lifestyle. Make it the only option to throw things away and soon it may become second nature for your room mates. Plus it takes out the hard part of teaching them what to separate.

2. Water saving devices.
Although the water conscience person in you may be able to limit shower times and be efficient with dish water and laundry, often times it is hard to convince someone else to limit their water use. Probably ask first, but replacing each faucet with a water saving device can help cut back on water use you cannot control yourself. .5 gallons per minute is good for sinks and 1.5 gallons per minute is more then enough water pressure for the shower. By doing this your roommates 30 minute shower has now become a bit less wasteful.
3. Talking about money always helps.

If you are done trying to present facts and statistics then its time to get down to the basics. Telling your roommate about the impact the electricity your running has on the environment might not be the right path. Track your energy usage to show how much you are spending. Ask your roommate to turn off all lights and devices when they are not in use. Avoid using the air conditioner when you are both not home, even in place of comfort. Ask them to not preheat the oven, most items besides baking can be heated while the oven is being heated. Ask them to keep the dryer filter clean so the dryer keeps running efficiently. Ask them to wash laundry in cold, and also to do full loads instead of one or two items. After they have picked up a few habits show them the money they saved. This may be what it takes to reduce the energy your household consumes.
After all we are here to help earth as her environmental conscience it is our job to be the ones to help change behavior. Even if you cannot enforce the views you can enforce the habits and make it part of your household still. Do not let roommates or even spouses get in the way of your need to be ecofriendly. It is important for us to remain strong in our views and not compromise our lifestyles. For not speaking up and living as we have is what got us in this boat anyways.

Sources
BC Hydro."21 tips: No-cost ways to save Electricity". Energy; Residential, Saving and Rebates. Web. 22 March 2016.
Conserve H2O. "Water Conservation Devices". Regional Water Providers Consortium; Indoors. Web. 22 March 2016.