Happy Earth Day! At this point in the semester, Earth Day is probably the last thing on most people’s minds. I know that I’ve seen and heard so many advertisements and other announcements to go green and save the environment that most of them now fade into the background. But, today is a great day to start making a difference—even if only for today.

Realizing that most of us don’t have a great deal of time to volunteer or funds to donate to an organization, I decided to put together a simple list of things to do.

Opt to walk places instead of drive. If your walk is only five minutes more than what it takes you to drive, try walking for once. For some people, driving to class is a necessity, but try to carpool whenever possible.

At your school’s dining hall, choose the reusable plates. I know at my school if you get your meals to stay, they wash and reuse the plates. This creates less waste.

Recycle. I’m sure we’ve all been told to do this time and time again, but it’s not any more difficult than throwing your bottles and paper in a regular trash can.

Buy recycled products. Aside from coffee cups and paper, you can actually buy clothes now that are made from recycled products.

These are just a few simple ideas to help the environment, but there is so much more that can be done.