These days, everyone is catching on the the Green Movement. Here at Vista Place, we like to do as much as we can to help save our planet with our Generation Impact Program. Here are some easy ways you can help too!

• -Don’t wash it! Standard washing machines use 40 gallons of water per load. If your clothes don’t stink, don’t wash them―and save a load a week. If American households were more judicious about laundry, each year they would save enough water to fill more than 7 million swimming pools!
• -Free lint bunnies! The average U.S. household spends up to $135 a year in energy costs drying clothes. A dirty lint filter can use 30 percent more energy to get the job done.
• -Plug in a laptop, not a desktop! In the market for a new computer? A laptop uses about half the energy of its desktop counterpart. Choose a model with the federal government’s Energy Star rating and use 70 percent less energy than a noncertified model.
• -Curtail junk mail! It takes some legwork, but in the end, you’ll save trees, water, and emissions, too. If everyone in the United States reduced the junk mail he receives every week, 100 million trees would be spared each year. Go to optoutprescreen.com to stop receiving pre-approved credit card offers and sign up on catalogchoice.org to reduce the amount of unsolicited catalogs sent to you.
• -Turn off the tap! The average faucet releases about three gallons of water a minute, so shut it off while you brush your teeth or shave.
• -Use a water-filter pitcher! Bottled water isn’t necessarily cleaner or better for you than tap water. Get a Brita water-filter pitcher (bedbathandbeyond.com) or an in-sink faucet filter. Take advantage of what you already pay for and save the environmental cost of transporting bottled water to the grocer’s shelf.
• -Recycle wisely! The good news: Americans already recycle about a third of their trash (double what was recycled in 1990). The not-so-good news: We need to do more and save more energy. To learn how to dispose of items log on to earth911.org for contact info for local recyclers of more than 250 materials―from cooking oil to hazardous waste (including batteries).
• -Reuse everything! Change your mind-set and think twice before throwing anything out. Resealable plastic bags that held carrots today can hold crayons tomorrow. Coffee-cup cardboard sleeves from this morning’s brew can be tucked in a purse pocket to be used again at 4 p.m. Mom might just like that cashmere sweater you’re sick of wearing. And Fido doesn’t know the difference between a new chew toy and the one you make yourself out of old dish towels.

Stuff. It is how we measure social status, economical status and basically any other status out there. The more stuff you have the more it is assumed that you are on the right track; the path to success. You can be the richest soul in the whole state of Arkansas but if you were the same outfit every day and your shoes have holes in them then it is safe to say that any old passerby will think of you as a hobo or at least someone who has very little money. And Arkansas Tech University students know that make the right first impression can get you very far in the world.

Well, Vista Place is making sure that you have enough room to accomodate the vast amount of stuff you’ll be bringing with you to your college life. With walk-in closets being one of the main features of the private bedrooms not male nor female can complain about space. You’ll have enough room to pile up the shoes and plenty of rack space to hang up those Levi’s. Maybe stuff isn’t really the way to success but Vista Place is happy to perpetuate the illusion and to make sure that the growing about of clothes you will be buying have a place to fit neatly!

No one has money anymore. The economy still is just this side of busted with only tiny rays of hope shooting throughout. And being a college student means we know exactly how it feels to have ten dollars to your name and feel lucky. Bills pour in, friends expect you to help them out of a tight spot and parents beg and beg for you to make that long trip home. Gas guzzles away most of your check and you are left wondering what exactly you can do this summer to make it fabulous. And of course how exactly you can do this without breaking the oh so fragile bank!

The solution is probably simpler than you might realize. Arkansas Tech students know the feeling of being jittery just because your so bored and without ideas. Get some cheap thrills to kick off your summer. Find a movie rental place that is running down to the ground, one such as Hollywood Video, and stack up some serious action movies. Head back to Vista Place, pop some super buttery popcorn and have a movie-a-thon with some close friends. Girls, who doesn’t love some pampering! Make an at home spa with your bestfriend by going online and finding homemade facial mask recipes and using bunches of nail polish. You see, the summer doesn’t need to be expensive to be memorable. You just need some good laughs, loving friends and the willingness to sit back and breath.

Money is tight. The moment you get it, it seems to slide through your fingers like so much sand. There is never enough to go around. Bills seem to hound you, demanding a big chunk of your hard earned pay check. Friends ask casually to borrow a few bucks promising to pay it back, yet you know they never will. It is as if you are being bled dry on the financially front and you have no idea why a six hundred dollar check ends up being only twenty bucks in the span of three days. What you need is a grip on money and a tree that magically grows cash!

While the latter may never happen, the former is definately attainable. Money is quickly spent and not so quickly replenished. So what happens when your car unexpectedly needs some repair, or you have to pay for some random home improvements? With no money their is no way to fix unfortunate problems. The solution is setting aside money each pay check into a savings account. Even just fifty dollars out of the stub can get you enough cash by five months to deal with the little upsets that life tends to throw. It’s as critical as it is simple. Instead of loaning out money to bumming friends, give that fifty dollars to yourself in case of emergencies. Soon enough you’ll find that saving is just as much fun as splurging and paying bills.

It’s the best and arguably most stressful time of the year. With summer right around the corner students at the Arkansas Tech are feeling giddy with joy. At the same time though, finals are stressing collegiates out bad. All you can think about day and night is trying to get that last grade to hold up to your expectations. It’s kinid of a bummer when school turns from being fun to being completely bleek. There’s a silver lining to all the hectic chaos.
You can sell back your books! It’s that time where you have three choices. Keep them, toss them, or sell them. Most students are quick to want some extra money so selling seems like the definate option. If you do decide that the books aren’t worth the memories then head down to the bookstore first chance you get because there is a bunch of other UA students who will be sharing the same genius idea. And remember, some books just aren’t as needed as others. Math books and English books are just a few that get restocked quickly, so if your holding on to them make a mad dash to the book store and sell them for a quick buck. There’s nothing better than summer except for maybe making some money!