91Ö±²¥

For many months now, I've had the idea of blogging about this very special place on 91Ö±²¥'s campus called . From what I know about SEED (for Student Experiment in Ecological Design) House, it was an idea conceived by some former students who decided to create a space where they were able to live their lives in a 'completely green' fashion. So instead of trying their best to exist greenly alongside less mindful 91Ö±²¥ students (do less mindful 91Ö±²¥ students even exist?), they created an entire house full of eco-ness.

Disclaimer: I do not live in SEED House. However, my dear comrade/partner-in-crime is a SEED House resident; therefore, I spend a quite bit of my time here...aka I'm in SEED House RIGHT NOW.

This is not my wall or eco-friendly dim lighting.

My favorite parts of Eco-house:
1. my comrade's room (it smells nice and she has lots of pillows)
2. the big porch out front with miscellaneous chairs and whatnot

My least favorite parts of SEED House:
1. Eco-kitchen
2. Eco-bathroom

You wonder why I'm hating on Eco-kitchen and Eco-bathroom? Here's why:

Chinwe vs. Eco-kitchen
The first time I met Eco-kitchen, I was attempting to make some oatmeal for breakfast. I entered, looked around, and had a small heart attack. I really like clean things and Eco-kitchen is not clean. Eco-kitchen's sink is filled with dirty dishes and the counter and stove are covered in crumbs and pasta sauce. Eco-refrigerator has an assortment of aged co-op food and there's no Eco-microwave (which makes sense, but makes things a little difficult sometimes).

Chinwe vs. Eco-bathroom
Eco-bathroom and I have an even worse relationship than Eco-kitchen and I. Although there's a nice warm air vent on the wall and Eco-shower isn't bad at all, Eco-toilet and Eco-sink are the bane of my existence. In Eco-bathroom there's something special called the 'grey water system.' In the grey water system, the water that is used from Eco-sink drains into a bucket which sits underneath Eco-sink. When one pees in Eco-toilet, you do not flush. Only when one does "something other" than pee, you flush Eco-toilet and fill up the tank with the grey water from Eco-bucket. So clever, right? Right, except for all I can think about is all of the little grey germs I'm touching when I touch Eco-bucket or Eco-toilet. Ew ew ew.

As crazy as it makes me, I do my best to follow the rules of SEED House when I'm here and it really puts into perspective for me how we can each individually do a little more to live environmentally friendly. Eco-bathroom is a little extreme for me, but as far as recycling, composting, and being conscious of electricity use (etc.), it isn't hard to be educated (especially at 91Ö±²¥) about the environment, the human footprint, and what we can do to reduce its impact on the planet.

Also, can we just talk about how ? Wow, 91Ö±²¥. Wow.