Sustainable development blog : ecology and humanitarian aid

The bathroom is the room where you usually begin and end each new day, with your own unique cleaning regimens to keep you fresh and healthy. It’s the room in which you clean your skin, your teeth, your hair and get ready to for another refreshing day. The bathroom plays an important role in your day, so doesn’t it deserve to be kept clean, hygienic and most importantly, eco-friendly?

If you are choosing to try and live a more sustainable lifestyle, “greening” the bathroom can be like one hand trying to wash the other. The bathroom is probably the one place in the house where the maximum quantity of water is being used. Water is indispensable to human beings. We use a lot of energy and harmful chemicals to treat water and make it safe to drink, and a lot of that expense and effort is just being washed down the sink when we use it to clean ourselves and our homes.

The more water we waste every day, the quicker will come the day when water will be scarce and people will not have such easy access to it for any purpose, not even enough to quench their thirst. Eschewing the excessive use of water is a priority, and you can even install low-flow showerheads and toilets to conserve water in your bathroom.

But, even with your existing bathroom fixtures, you can do small things that cost nothing and will help you to save water. Showering has been proven to use much less water than bathing, and if you are conscious of the time you spend running the tap, you can probably cut the shower time down by a few extra minutes. And when you wash your hands or brush your teeth, don’t just let the water tap run. Put the stopper and a small amount of water in the wash basin for hand washing. Brush your teeth with the tap off and turn it on only when you need to rinse your mouth. You will be surprised how much water you can save with these few simple steps.

Your bathroom is also a place where there may be lots of chemical and fossil fuel based substances. It is flooded with soaps, shampoos, toilet cleaners, conditioners, shaving gels and many other things which are chemical based. The best way that you can make your bathroom more ecologically friendly is to look for natural or herbal substitutes.

There are many companies offering organic and natural skin care and beauty products, and a quick search on the Internet will help you find some close to where you live or you can order online. Be cautious, though, as some products claiming to be “all natural” may still contain harmful chemicals – check labels for ingredients.

Look for bathroom accessories like towels and shower curtains that are made from natural fibres like organic cotton, bamboo or hemp. And choose paper products like toilet paper and facial tissues that are made from post consumer recycled material and are produced without the addition of chlorine bleach.

Adding natural and recycled products to your daily cleansing routine will not only protect the environment from harmful substances but will protect you as well. These are simple things that you can do to make your bathroom safer, fresher and more natural.

So, you can follow these few tips that will help the environment and make the bathroom a gentler place to be. Just by being conscious of what you do and slightly changing your habits, you can have a cleaner bathroom and a greener environment.

Check out this excellent video from National Geographic’s Green Guide for some more tips to help you make a difference in the bathroom.