You want to make your bathroom as sustainable as possible? Then you've come to the right place! For many of us, our own bathroom is a place of relaxation and care. But it is also a place where rest numerous opportunities to actively contribute to environmental protection.
Especially in times of growing Environmental awareness and the need, Conserve resourcesIt's worth questioning your own bathroom routine and furnishings and optimizing them in an environmentally friendly way. Fortunately, this is also extremely simple and straightforward.
In this article, I want to give you practical and effective tips that you can use to immediately and significantly reduce your ecological footprint in the bathroom. Let's go!
10 tips: How to make a bathroom more sustainable?
The table of possibilities to breathe more sustainability into your bathroom is really generously set. It ranges from the Waste prevention, about fair and natural furnishings up to the resource-conserving use - all you have to do is strike 😉 .
Your motivation should increase immeasurably when I tell you that not only will you be doing something for the environment, but in the process you will be also still Save money sustainably you can. I'm going to explain to you exactly how this all works with my best tips.
1. implement measures to save water
Water is our most precious commodity. But it is also becoming increasingly scarce in Germany. Not least because direct and indirect per capita consumption in the year According to the Federal Environment Agency at around 219 billion cubic meters of water lies.
The bathroom is the ideal place to enjoy your own Water footprint specifically improve and make everyday life just that little bit more sustainable.
Now this first tip logically consists of many small tips. Here are some ideas that you can implement to use less water in the bathroom:
- Shower instead of bath
- Install water saving shower heads
- Shower as short as possible
- Bathe less often and do not fill the tub too full
- Turn off faucet when brushing teeth or shaving
- Use the toilet flush with care
- Convert cistern to rainwater harvesting
- Repair dripping faucets
- …
Tip: Even more advice on the Saving water at home by the way, you can find in the linked blog article. You'll be surprised what you can do.
2. consciously save energy
Our energy consumption is also steadily increasing. And selven if environmentally friendly green electricity comes out of our socket, there is still great potential to use this resource consciously and sparingly - especially in the sustainable bathroom!
Also for this I have of course some simple tips for you to use directly:
- Use daylight instead of artificial light
- Replace incandescent bulbs with LEDs
- Reduce hot water consumption (e.g. Cold shower check out)
- Dry towels on towel rack and not on heater
- Short shock ventilation instead of long open tilting window
- If possible, air dry hair and laundry
- Use Eco program on washing machine and dryer
- …
Tip: More Ideas for saving energy at home I'll explain again in a separate blog post.
3. give preference to natural and resource-saving furnishings
In a sustainable bathroom, you should pay special attention to environmentally friendly and recycled materials when choosing furniture and other fixtures. Whether Toilet, cistern, shower tray or toilet brush - almost all of it can be made from recycled materials today. This saves many tons of waste and valuable, natural resources save.
If you buy wooden furniture (e.g. a vanity or shelf) for your bathroom, make sure it matches the FSC seal are awarded. This is a international certification system for sustainable forest management.
Furthermore, you can also try to change your Bathroom furnishings used to buy or even build them yourself. The Buying used has so many advantages - so you win, for example, unique one-of-a-kind and also save money.
Tip: Toilet paper may be a consumable rather than a furnishing item - but even here it is possible and advisable to give preference to products made from recycled materials.
4. go for ecological and fair towels
When it comes to sustainability, quality and durability are the be-all and end-all. This applies to fashion just as much as it does to soap and hand towels, which we for bathing and showering use
When you on sustainability and want to buy a towel, you should pay particular attention to the fact that it is made from high quality natural materials is. For towels, for example, terry has proven its worth. It consists either of pure cotton or of cotton and cotton blends processed in the form of yarns. The towels feel pleasantly soft on the skin and are characterized by strong absorbency.
In addition to these factors, the Color quality, the weight and thickness important clues for recognizing genuine quality.
For a sustainable use of the towels you should use them if possible also use several timesbefore you put them in the washing machine. This way, you protect the material permanently and directly save water and energy.
Tip: How you can change your Washing laundry sustainably I'll explain how you can do this in more detail in the linked blog post.
5. use solid soap instead of shower gel and shampoo.
Avoid plastic waste works especially well in the bathroom! For example, by replacing liquid soaps, shower gels and shampoos with solid alternatives.
You can find the corresponding natural soaps online or in all modern drugstores. It's also best to get a soap dish or soap box so that you can store or transport them easily and waste-free.
The application of the best hair soaps or solid shampoos is really easy. However, you should still give your body Allow a few days for acclimatization. For this I can also recommend the use of a Soap bag.
Tip: How you can basically get a "Bathroom without plastic" you will find out in the more detailed, separate blog article.
6. bathroom decor basically minimalist
A minimalist approach in bathroom furnishings can not only be aesthetically pleasing, but also significantly contribute to the protection of nature. When designing your bathroom, just focus on the essentials and necessities. So you automatically avoid superfluous purchases and reduce your ecological footprint.
Fewer products mean, above all, fewer resources used, less packaging waste and lower disposal costs. In addition, you save a lot of money and generate a soothing overview in the bathroomthat is guaranteed to make you happier. Because more space, creates more room for recreation.
7. care for teeth sustainably
If you want to do something for the environment, you should also look at the Dental care on environmentally friendly alternatives fall back on. A toothbrush made from renewable resources such as wood, is a great place to start. A popular material, for example, is the extremely fast growing bamboo wood.
Toothbrush tablets are also suitable as green alternative to toothpaste from the plastic tube. You simply put it in your mouth like a piece of chewing candy and chew it up. You then brush your teeth as usual with the resulting foam. In the meantime, please remember to turn off the water tap.
8. resort to natural cosmetics
When it comes to cosmetics, less is generally more. The less often chemical substances end up on our skin every day, the better it is for our Body and the Skin Health.
And also it is better for the environmentbecause when we wash and shower, the ingredients from our cosmetic products end up in wastewater and ultimately in lakes, rivers and the oceans. Particularly problematic in this regard are liquid plastics and smallest microplastic particlescontained in creams and other care products.
The solution to this problem is certified organic natural cosmetics in your sustainable bathroom. This contains exclusively natural raw materials and is manufactured in an environmentally friendly manner.
Tip: What else you can do to Avoid microplasticsyou can read in the corresponding article in the blog. Look also there with pleasure times purely, if you like.
9. clean bath with natural means
In the bathroom, of course, cleanliness and hygiene are important factors. But to keep it clean, you need to Do not use aggressive chemical cleaning agents.
Fortunately, five biodegradable home remedies are actually enough as an alternative: Curd soap, vinegar essence, sodium bicarbonate, soda and citric acid. Depending on the degree of soiling, you can simply mix your own cleaning agent for cleaning, descaling or disinfecting.
If you still prefer to buy cleaners from the drugstore, then make sure, if possible, that they are available in the Recycling packaging and that their manufacturers use environmentally friendly and healthy ingredients. Another eco-tip is to specifically look for offers in more environmentally friendly Refills to set.
10. give preference to reusable instead of disposable products
Zero Waste (i.e. "zero waste") is the philosophy of an increasing number of people who consciously Reduce or completely avoid waste in everyday life want. Replacing disposable, single-use items with reusable alternatives is one of the most important basic rules for this endeavor to be successful.
In your sustainable bathroom you can, for example washable makeup remover pads instead of disposable wipes, Menstrual cups made of silicone instead of tampons and disposable pads, and Metal ear cleaner instead of cotton swabs. The possibilities are there, you just have to know them and use them.
Tip: All my Zero Waste tips for everyday life I have compiled for you in the linked article. Use them with pleasure to make with simple means immediately significantly less garbage.
Sustainable bathroom? No problem!
It's not rocket science to make a bathroom more environmentally friendly. If you consciously save water and energy, prefer to use products that conserve resources and rely on natural cleaning agents, you are already on the right track. Simply implement these and all the other measures mentioned here little by little if you want to breathe even more sustainability into your bathroom.
"What we do today will determine what the world looks like tomorrow."
Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (more at Environmental protection quotes)
I really hope that I could help you with this article. Do you have any questions, suggestions or further ideas for a sustainable bathroom? Then I look forward to your comments.
Stay sustainable,
PS: Not only in the bathroom, but also in the kitchen, a lot of waste can be saved. How to make the most plastic free kitchen look and work, you'll find out now in the next blog post.
