A bathroom is more than just the home of your “porcelain throne.” It’s an entire porcelain kingdom where you can thrive, get ready for the day, and perform your human bodily functions.
If you’ve been itching to change things up in your bathroom but also want to make it more sustainable, this article covers some ideas to help you take that step in the right direction.
1. Opt for thoughtful bathroom accessories
Photo by Sanibell BV on Unsplash
The best place to start when it comes to transforming your bathroom so it’s more eco-friendly would be with the bathroom accessories. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should replace them, even though they work fine now. Only when you need to replace your bathroom accessories should you look for eco-friendly alternatives from more sustainable materials.
If you need some ideas of which bathroom accessories to change, you can start with your toothbrushes. You’ve probably seen bamboo toothbrushes, which are a great choice since they reduce your reliance on plastic.
Sanitary products and other bathing products are another bathroom accessory you can change. For example, you can replace your liquid soaps with more eco-friendly bar soaps. Even shampoo and conditioner can come in bar form, which is a better option because it reduces plastic packaging usage.
You can also replace your older towels and washcloths by getting the undyed and organic alternatives available.
Instead of getting body scrubs, why not replace them with something long-lasting like a pumice stone or those wood body brushes? They’re a great alternative and are pretty good at scrubbing away the dead skin cells on the top layer of your skin.
2. Choose a low-flow showerhead
One of the ways we can be wasteful in our bathroom habits is through how much water we use every time we’re in there. Whether it’s the sink or the shower, let’s admit that there are times when we can be a bit lazy with how much water we’re letting run through even though we’re not using them.
Now, there’s no use feeling guilty about this. Instead, we should adopt changes in our homes that can help reduce the impact of such a behavior. One way to do that is through the use of a low-flow showerhead.
If you don’t know what a low-flow showerhead is, it uses less water and energy than usual. That way, you won’t have to change your water habits and still reduce the water volume you consume.
3. Use motion sensor faucet
Photo by Sanibell BV on Unsplash
Speaking of changing a water fixture, you can also reduce water usage by installing motion sensor faucets. These faucets will only activate when it detects your hand under the faucet. That way, you’re not letting water flow from your faucet when you don’t need it.
Say, for example, you’re brushing your teeth. Some people would leave the faucet running as they brush after splashing water on the brush. That’s a wasteful habit that could be reduced and prevented with the help of a motion sensor faucet.
If you feel that’s too inconvenient based on your setup, a low-flow faucet would be an alternative to a motion sensor faucet. That way, you’re still reducing the water you use when using your faucets.
4. Choose a natural stone for your bathroom floor
If you’re building your bathroom from the ground up, you might be looking for which material to use. If that is the case for you, natural stone would be an excellent suggestion.
Natural stone is a moisture-absorbing material, which makes it great for bathrooms because it won’t deteriorate too much over time due to moisture.
Another excellent quality of natural stone, and the reason it’s an environmentally friendly option, is that it’s not difficult to extract. A less punishing extraction process requires less energy, so you’re not using many resources to get it.
To be more eco-friendly, consider getting natural stone as closely farmed or extracted in your locality as possible. That way, the material didn’t have to go to you from far away, which means a large carbon footprint to make your bathroom.
5. Upgrade to a low-flow toilet
It isn’t just the faucets and showerheads that can be low-flow. So can your toilet.
“But what if it won’t flush strong enough?” you might ask yourself.
Don’t worry. The makers of many low-flow toilets have solved that issue. Instead of water pressure, they use air or gravity to push solid waste through the toilet.
Many homes prefer to avoid getting low-flow toilets with air pressure since gravity-based flushing is quieter and does the same job.
There are many reliable brands for this type of toilet. Read some consumer reports to see which are most efficient. These reviews can also tell you whether toilets from any particular brand work well with solid waste.
6. Add a window or skylight
Your home gets free sunlight daily, so why not take advantage of that?
Instead of relying on your indoor lights to brighten your home, strategically place a window or a skylight. It’s a more romantic and natural way of adding light to your home.
Strategically placing mirrors is a good strategy for getting more natural light into your home. Some people add a mirror on the opposite wall facing the window. That way, the light from the window can bounce through the mirror and spread throughout the room.
If you want more ideas for where to place skylights, a great place would be around staircases. They can add gorgeous shadows to your stairs while lighting them up. Adding a skylight to your bathroom is also a great way to make the room feel fresh and romantic. It can make you feel more relaxed as you take baths and showers in your bathroom.
7. Switch to energy-saving lightbulbs
Changing your lightbulbs to more energy-efficient alternatives can help you reduce your energy consumption without changing your home habits.
While it’s still a good idea to be mindful of when you turn the lights on, you can always change your lightbulbs to be energy-efficient without being too stringent about how often you use them.
Also, many energy-saving lightbulbs are just as bright, if not brighter, than their older alternatives. That’s why if your old bulbs in the bathroom start to flicker and wane, consider replacing them with LED bulbs.
Since your bathroom is brighter, you can get ready for your day and quickly see the details of your face as you’re preparing yourself.
8. Repurpose and reduce waste
There have been tons of suggestions for changes to make to your bathroom to make it eco-friendly. It might make you excited to make these changes right now.
However, one part of becoming more sustainable is reducing the waste you generate. Hold off on the changes if your bathroom items don’t need fixing or replacing. It’s wasteful to throw away a perfectly usable bathroom item just because you want to.
Conclusion
These steps can help you create a comfortable bathroom and produce less environmental harm every time you use it. Once you feel your bathroom needs some changes and fixing, consider these ideas to enjoy a greener lifestyle, starting with a sustainable bathroom.
Photo by Chastity Cortijo on Unsplash.
