Whether you’re renovating your bathroom entirely, or are simply looking for a more sustainable morning routine, there are a number of ways to transform your bathroom into an eco-friendly haven. Change can be difficult, and sometimes it’s easier to take small steps by making simple swaps along the way. Luckily, Marley’s Monsters is your one stop eco shop to find sustainable goods for any area of your life or room in your house. Being eco friendly doesn’t mean you have to stop doing what makes you, you. Choose from a variety of prints and colors for your sustainable items to keep your personality and unique style at the forefront. So, let’s talk about some tips and products for an environmentally friendly bath.
1. Find a way to save water.
We all have the bad habit of leaving the tap running while brushing our teeth. Keep an eye on your water usage and cut back where you can. Turning the tap off when not in direct use can save between three and five gallons of water a day! As well, consider brushing your teeth with a bamboo toothbrush. Bamboo is biodegradable, naturally antimicrobial, and cuts back on unnecessary plastic waste.
There’s nothing like a good, hot shower. But when installing new fixtures, try to pay attention to their water usage. Invest in a low flow or dual flush toilet, or a low flow shower head that significantly reduces the amount of water required to operate.
Another way to save water is showering less frequently. Instead of a morning and evening shower, dermatologists actually recommend showering around two to three times a week, so as not to irritate or dry out skin. It might sound strange at first, and of course everyone has different hygienic needs, but there are plenty of alternatives for staying clean aside from a standard shower. In between wash days, try a dry shampoo, instantly sustainable and the perfect go to for a shower free blowout.
2. Cut back on single use items like plastic, cotton, and paper.
We create a lot of waste, but we don’t often talk about how we are storing that waste. Instead of constantly replacing plastic trash bags in your bathroom can, consider a reusable pail liner. They are washable, protect against leaks, and can double as storage for laundry or dirty reusables.
Being waste conscious is not only beneficial to the environment, but can have personal advantages too. For example, single use cotton items are usually bleached for cosmetic purposes which can have negative effects on your skin, often leading to irritation and breakouts. But we can all agree that we need something to use for our skin care routine. Replacing single use cottons with an item like reusable cotton facial rounds reduces waste and protects you from harmful toxins and chemicals. Facial rounds are soft and eco friendly, just store dirties in an organic mesh laundry bag, then simply wash and reuse.
There are a variety of ways to reduce the amount of plastic you bring into your bathroom. Swap to a metal razor and only replace the razor heads when they wear down. Switch from single use plastic bottles to refillable containers and buy in bulk, or nix the plastic altogether and invest in shampoo and conditioner bars. For body soap, store excess soap bits in an organic cotton soap saver to get maximum use out of your bar. The mesh fabric is lightly exfoliating and maximizes the suds and aromatherapy of your soap. If you prefer a loofah, try an organic cotton soap saver pouf. It is plastic free, unlike traditional loofahs, and can even double for dishes.
From forest degradation to carbon emissions, traditional toilet paper is not great for the environment. Yes, toilet paper is obviously a bathroom staple, but who said it has to be paper per se? Consider making the swap from traditional paper to Toilet UNpaper®. It is made with 100% cotton flannel and pairs wonderfully with a bidet, but can also be used without. It’s absorbent, washable, reusable, and is the perfect size to fit on your existing toilet paper holder. Until laundry day, store your used Toilet UNpaper® in a wet bag, a great sustainable swap for plastic bags. It’s large enough to store plenty of Toilet UNpaper® strips, cloth diapers, or wet swimwear, and an interior white PUL lining protects from moisture leaking out. After washing, simply restack and roll the Toilet UNpaper® strip back onto the tube.
3. Decorate sustainably.
Upcycle or repurpose decor you already have, or add a pop of green by decorating with plants that filter out airborne toxins. Choose fixtures made from recycled or eco friendly materials like bamboo, concrete, cork, cob, porcelain, glass, and reclaimed wood.
Do your wallet a favor and consider swapping to energy-efficient lighting. LED light bulbs are brighter, cost less per kilowatt, and last up to 25% longer than incandescent bulbs, reducing your energy consumption.
For art or wall decorations, try supporting your community by purchasing from local artists, or thrifting pieces from estate sales or second hand stores. Not only does shopping locally invest in the community, but reduces your overall footprint as the shipping industry contributes to air pollution, water pollution, acoustic, and oil pollution.
Sustainability is a journey, and no one is perfect at it all of the time. But, having awareness and making small modifications is the perfect place to start. Practice implementing changes and you will start seeing the positive financial and environmental impacts it can have. And Marley’s Monsters is here to support you along the way. These are just a few suggestions, but be creative and see what other sustainability hacks you can come up with! We’d love to hear from you.
