6 Small Steps to a Greener Bathroom

The bathroom is where we start our day and usually end it.  A significant amount of the water we use is from the shower!  When you are in the bathroom, start thinking about how you are using water and other disposable products.

Here are 6 small changes you can make to take steps to being greener in the bathroom (without renovating):

1. Use recycled toilet paper.  It is so easy to find and not much more expensive.  While you are at it - use less toilet paper.  I was watching a show on TLC about cheap people recently and they actually used cloth toilet paper, put it in a bin beside the toilet and washed and reused it.  It's something to consider.  At the very least, just try using a little less each time and it can add up to a big difference.
2. Don't let the water keep running while you are brushing your teeth.  It seems so obvious, but sometimes you don't even realize you're doing it.  One way to remind yourself is to fill up a cup to use instead of turning on the water facet. 
3. Take shorter showers.  If you are like me, it's probably really early and you're a little disoriented and spaced out when you are taking your shower.  Try to think about the amount of water you are using and speed it up.
4. Get rid of all the disposables in your bathroom.  (Okay, keep the toilet paper and see #1 above.)  Things like disposable toilet brushes, one use facial cleansing wipes, paper towels, makeup applicators are not necessary.  
5. Put a recycling bin right in your bathroom to make it easy for you to recycle there, too.  Like I said, it's early and you're a little spaced out in the morning, make it easier on yourself!
6. Use environmentally safe cleaners.  Here are some green cleaning recipes.  You'll save money, too!

Here are some more tips:

How to Go Green in the Bathroom from TreeHugger

5 Simple Ways You're Wasting Money in the Bathroom from TheDailyGreen

5 Ways to Create an Eco-Friendly Bathroom from the Mother Nature Network

Here's a Great Squidoo Lens on Environmentally Friendly Bathrooms

Tuesday Tip for Greener Living: 8 Easy Ways to Recycle in the Bathroom

Most of us have some sort of recycling system in place in the kitchen. You probably don’t even give it a second thought to rinse out a bottle and place it in the recycling bin.

But, do you recycle in your bathroom?

Maybe you do maybe you don’t. I know I don’t have a separate bag, but I do reuse or recycle most of my bottles from the bathroom. What about the rest of your family, though? What if they are feeling lazy and just throw them in the trash?

Here are some tips for recycling in the bathroom:

1. Set up an extra bin for recycling in the bathroom, just like you have in your kitchen. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, just something that reminds you and your family to recycle in the bathroom. (You can separate it out further in your main recycling area. Just make sure you have a bin for recycling in the bathroom.)
2. Just like in the kitchen, there are some things that cannot be recycled. For example, most deordorants cannot be recycled. Some chemicals shouldn’t even go in the garbage, such as nail polish remover or hair dye.  Find out where to take hazardous chemicals locally and dispose of these items there.  Here's an environmental guide to more beauty products.   Of course, you can always not use these items or find more eco-friendly solutions to start with.
3. Easy things to recycle: cardboard from toilet paper, tissue boxes and packages from cosmetics. You can also recycle the plastic wrappers from toilet paper or soap packaging.
4. Any plastic bottle with a number on it: shampoo, conditioner, other hair products, shower gel, etc. can be recycled.
5. Magazines and newspapers from the bathroom can be recycled.
6. You can compost many items from the bathroom as well, including hair from your brush, q-tips with cardboard sticks (not plastic) and many other items. Here’s a list of 163 Things You Can Compost.
7. Use items in your bathroom made from recycled packaging.
8. I don’t want to sound like a commercial here, but Scott has come out with a toilet paper that doesn’t have the cardboard roll inside. (How have we gone this long without this being invented?) 

Recycling in the bathroom is as easy as recycling in the kitchen once you get organized and know what to recycle!