How To Turn Your Bathroom Into An Eco-Friendly Haven

I am so happy to say that living a more sustainable and eco-friendly life has become a massive ‘trend’ these days, and I say that because this is a trend for a good cause! There is nothing better than people jumping on a wholesome trend.

Over the past couple of months I’ve been trying to replace things in my home and life to become more eco-friendly. I’m doing it slowly as I don’t want to pressure myself to make changes that I am not yet comfortable with. Today I am going to tell you about some very easy ways to turn your own bathroom into an eco-friendly haven – for not a lot of effort!

I’ve seen a lot of people getting screamed at online for using a plastic straw or for using disposable pads. Please remember that sometimes sustainable products are not accessible or easily available for everyone! If anything, help and motivate your friends in a kinder way. I am quite disappointed with the amount of times I’ve seen people telling other people off online for not taking a plastic bag home from the supermarket because they forgot their tote.

Please be patient with everyone! Every person learns at their own pace! 🙂

If you want more ideas, you can also check out my first eco-friendly post – A Beginner’s Guide To Eco-Friendly Products while you’re here!

Bamboo Toothbrushes

I bought my first ever 5-pack of bamboo toothbrushes early this year for myself and my parents from my favourite eco-friendly local seller BambooStrawGirl – I’m sure you’ve heard of her multiple times on my blog!

They are affordable, extremely cute and aesthetically pleasing (mine comes with an animal fact on it!) and you can be use them all while feeling guilt-free. As they are purely made of bamboo, you should try to store them in dry places and in containers where water doesn’t collect as it can form mold (spoken from experience, sadly). I replace my toothbrush approximately every 4 months but dentists recommend you to replace it every 3 months, or when the bristles have frayed.

Glass Containers And Bottles

Just like anywhere else in your home, replacing plastic with glass and/or other sustainable materials is one of the easiest, but most helpful sustainable things to do.

Glass bottles in the bathroom may sound very daunting and scary as bathrooms are usually slippery and glass bottles may fall out of place and break. If you don’t feel confident enough to fill your bathroom with glass items (like I am), just refill your usual plastic bottles with whatever product you were using before and keep it around for awhile. That’s much better than just throwing it out when the product is done.

My family and I have used the same plastic shower gel bottle for a couple of months now and we don’t usually throw it out unless the pump breaks or something similar.

Reduce Your Shower Time

Probably one of the most obvious eco-friendly methods, less water wastage!

My showers are never longer than 15 minutes at max twice a day, and my 2nd shower is almost always only 5 minutes. I will remove my makeup, wash my face, wash my hair and the rest of me in the same shower. I call it a multitask shower! I’m sure many of you already do that and it’s a great way to save water.

Showering with a partner is also a great option!

Naked Shampoo Bars And Soaps

We stan naked products on Marsybun!

Naked shampoo bars and soaps are so accessible these days, and there is so much to choose from! There are also eco-friendly liquid options on the market if you really love liquid soaps.

Regular soaps and shampoos mostly come with lots of plastic packaging and other harmful materials like non-compostable packing peanuts and wrapping, so naked bars and soaps are a great alternative. Handmade soaps are very very pretty, almost always more affordable than regular store-bought organic soaps and also are less harmful for the environment with less chemicals and plastic micro-beads.

Make sure to source your handmade soaps from sellers who ensure that the products are cruelty free, paraben free and non toxic. The soaps I make for myself and for customers at Snuggly Duckling Crafts are all of the above!

Biodegradable Dental Floss

I never thought about purchasing biodegradable dental floss until I came across it on an Etsy store named Me Mother Earth. Their vegan, biodegradable bamboo charcoal dental floss has over 1,000 amazing reviews and I am dying to try it for myself!

I floss my teeth every single day (sometimes twice a day oop) and I really think that this would be a good investment for someone like me. Albeit not as accessible as I would like it to be (as I haven’t seen these advertised anywhere), buying in bulk is still an option for me.

Replacing Sanitary Pads With Menstrual Cups Or Reusable Cloth Pads

This is something I haven’t tried myself as I don’t have proper periods anymore (birth control things) but I do think it is a very handy eco-friendly alternative to ordinary disposable pads.

Many disposable pads on the market are scented or carry toxic substances within them in small quantities which can be very bad for your body. If you replace it with a simple silicone menstrual cup or a harmless reusable cloth pad, you have nothing to worry about!

There are many cute cloth pads I’ve seen online, like the ones from Gladrags (they also do pantyliners which I do use – would love to try them one day), Hannah Pad (such cute designs) and The Period Co who also do menstrual cups.

This is probably the hardest eco-friendly bathroom switch for me personally as I don’t like inserting things into my body and I’ve never worn a tampon, and the thought of wearing a reusable pad can be quite icky for someone with hygiene-based OCD like me. However, I’ve seen tons of reviews from people who have tried these products and they have never looked back – it is definitely worth checking out!

Choosing Cleansing Oils/Balms Over Makeup Wipes

If you’ve been exposed to the world of Hyram, you would’ve by now used and disposed of ALL your makeup wipes. They are to be banished to hell!

I was guilty of being a big fan of Garnier’s Micellar Water for many years and using disposable cotton pads along with them. 2 years ago when I started getting really into Korean beauty, I learned that cleansing oils are so much better for your skin and are also so great for the environment!

Some cleansing oils I would recommend would be DHC’s Deep Cleansing Oil and By Klairs’s Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil. I recently dabbled in a bit of cleansing balm as well and I absolutely love the Banila Co Clean It Zero Cleansing Balm. The packaging of the Banila Co products are so pretty, I currently reuse them to store jewellery.

I hope you enjoyed reading my post on how to turn your bathroom into a more eco-friendly environment. Do you currently use any of the methods or products I talked about?

If you know of more interesting and affordable products or brands that I haven’t mentioned here, please leave them in the comments down below as I’d love to explore more eco-friendly options. 

Have a good day ahead and take care!

Comments

66 responses to “How To Turn Your Bathroom Into An Eco-Friendly Haven”

  1. Liz hartley Avatar

    Love this post it has some really great tips! I dont love shampoo bars But i have a refill zero waste shop near me so love to refill my products like shampoo, conditioner and shower gel so im not adding the the plastic problem!

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      That sounds amazing! There’s one in Singapore too, but I have yet to visit, I really want to though!

      Like

  2. Steph Hannam Avatar

    Some really great ideas, some of them I am doing. I love using reusable cotton pads, they feel so much nicer on the skin. I have also managed to cut down my shower time, but in the winter I just love standing under the hot water to heat up x

    Steph | http://www.stephhannam.com

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      I loooove reusable cotton pads! They’re so good for the environment! 😊

      Like

  3. Liz Martin Avatar
    Liz Martin

    I enjoyed reading how to turn your bathroom into an eco-friendly haven. I myself have been using bamboo toothbrush and shampoo bars for awhile. Most recently, I’ve also switched from disposable pads to washable cloth sanitary pads. Down the road, I plan to also try menstrual cup when I’m regularly going out again.

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      I love shampoo bars and bamboo toothbrushes, they’re so accessible as well! I haven’t made the switch to washable sanitary pads as they do scare me a little, but in the future I might!

      Like

  4. JoJo Hall Avatar

    Awesome post! It showed just a few simple ways to make things more eco-friendly and I loved that!

    Like

  5. lucymarytaylor Avatar
    lucymarytaylor

    This post has some amazing tips for have an eco friendly bathroom! I am considering using a menstrual cup to pads now as I know it would be a lot more environmentally friendly! x

    Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      Yay that’s great! I would love to know what your thoughts are on it 😊

      Like

  6. jazminheavenblog Avatar

    Ok so I definitely need to try a cleansing oil! I’ve been debating doing so for a while as I’m intrigued to see if I like them, and I didn’t even think of the eco benefits, so that’s given me the push to give it a go!
    Some fab tips here and I’ll 100% look into them.
    P.S your blog is looking amazing

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      Cleansing oils have honestly changed my life – and I have oily skin! It works so well. And thank you, I love how my blog looks now too!

      Like

  7. Under flowery sky Avatar

    Fantastic ideas, I didn’t know there are bamboo tooth brushes. I would love to try naked shampoo bars

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      Shampoo bars are so cute and fun! You can get loads from Lush 😊

      Like

  8. crystalsandcurls Avatar

    Oooo I love all these eco-friendly swaps! I’ve switched to reusable makeup removal wipes and I’ve noticed how much less waste I use!xx

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      That’s so great – I’m proud of you!

      Like

  9. Anika May Avatar

    I have so many second-hand glass jars around my house it’s ridiculous 😂 but they’re so good for storage! I really want to try shampoo and soap bars, that’s such a great idea. Lovely post.

    Anika | chaptersofmay.com

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      Thank you! There are loads of great small businesses who do shampoo and soap bars, you could give them a look 😊

      Like

  10. Jenny in Neverland Avatar

    Love this post! I think I’m actually quite eco-friendly in the bathroom without even realising! I don’t take long showers – 10 minutes maximum and only once a day. And I don’t buy a ton of products, I’ll use what I have until the very last drop. And it’s always CF too 🙂 There’s always something else we could be doing though to these are fab tips! x

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      That’s awesome to hear! I am definitely trying not to buy as many things as I used to at the moment (skincare is definitely a weakness!) 😊

      Like

  11. Brooke Ressell Avatar
    Brooke Ressell

    I really enjoyed this post. I have not tried shampoo bars or glass jars yet, but I do use several products that are eco friendly and in biodegradable bottles. It’s always good to be cognizant about the companies you support.

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      That’s very good already! Shampoo bars are lovely 😊

      Like

  12. Emily Clare Avatar

    I know I have a lot of work to do when it comes to being more eco friendly in my bathroom so thank you so much for the tips!

    https://www.emilyclareskinner.com

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      No problem, glad I could help 😊

      Like

  13. Kelly Avatar

    I’m so happy to hear that you’re gradually making small changes to become more eco-friendly. I’m trying to do the same, I recently tried out a menstrual cup for the first time and have been gifted some bamboo toothbrushes too!

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      Baby steps are the way to go! Bamboo toothbrushes feel like luxury tbh 😛

      Like

  14. The Newbury Girl Avatar

    Love all these ideas for swaps – I feel like living sustainably is a journey that we all go through. I think its so important to make use of what we have already before tossing an unsustainable item for its more sustainable alternative, too!

    1000x agree with you regarding ditching makeup wipes, BUT something I learned this year is that some cleansing balms contain either palm oil (which is an ingredient to be wary of) OR actually contain plastics in the actual balm. It is so wild how much research we need to do on products now, right??

    Also, similar to taking shorter showers – not leaving the water running unnecessarily makes a huge difference. For example, not leaving it running while you are actually brushing your teeth but only turning it on when actually needed!

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      Oh no! I didn’t know that about cleansing balms but I’m glad you told me, will defo look into the ingredients of my Banila Co cleansing balm!

      Like

  15. Michelle Avatar

    This is pretty amazing! I’m slowly changing my essential bathroom stuff into more eco-friendly. I really, want to try the menstruation underwear since I too use birthcontrol so I don’t bleed that much plus I’m not a big fan of inserting things in my body.

    Michelle| brokebutflawless.com

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      Menstrual underwear sounds perfect for people like us who don’t get proper periods, maybe I should try those too!

      Like

  16. Lovely Avatar

    This is such a thoughtful post, and these are great ideas to go green! I’m trying to switch to shampoo bars.
    xoxo
    Lovely
    http://www.mynameislovely.com

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      Shampoo bars are so great and cool! 😊

      Like

  17. Lucy Avatar

    Love this! I’m obsessed with reusable period products.

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      That’s great to hear!

      Like

  18. clairelomax2018 Avatar

    This is brilliant advice. As you say it is not always accessible to all but if we could all make some small changes it could really go a long way. We really need to start being more mindful of the impact we are having on our world x

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      Very true! I also believe in the ‘soft approach’ when it comes to things like this. Pushing people in a negative way is not the way to go!

      Like

  19. Della Avatar

    I love this post and your blog name too! I’ve been trying to implement eco-friendly products into my daily life and I adore shampoo and conditioner bars. Some really great tips here xx

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      Aw, thank you so much! And that’s a brilliant start! 😊

      Like

  20. The Try Hard Girl Avatar

    So I started using the Diva Cup- and I cannot rave enough about it. I freaking hate tampons. And I feel great that I’m not polluting the planet with them.

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      Diva Cup is the first menstrual cup I heard of, they’re really popular and I’m glad you like them!

      Like

  21. Erika Marie Avatar

    I’m always trying to be more eco-friendly and one thing I haven’t tried but really want to is the shampoo bars! They’re so cute and save the environment, perfect! Love this list (:

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      Shampoo bars are such a great invention, and there’s so much to choose from!

      Like

  22. Ally Avatar
    Ally

    I can’t wait to try some of these tips, especially the bamboo toothbrush!

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      It is really such a good product!

      Like

  23. Elle Muse Avatar

    Love the bamboo tooth brushes and the towels. Great ideas to implement.

    Like

  24. samsnacksuk Avatar
    samsnacksuk

    Great post with some really useful suggestions! I’ve been making similar changes to my bathroom. Actually prefer using a bamboo toothbrush to my old plastic electric one – the bristles feel much nicer and leave my teeth feeling really clean!

    Thank you for sharing!

    I’ve written a similar blog on ecofriendly bathroom swaps too 😊
    https://samsnacks.com/eco-friendly-swaps-bathroom/ | SamSnacksUK

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      Thank you for reading, I’ll check your post out now 😊

      Like

  25. Tibbstales Avatar

    I love this ! I try to do most of these, but I have never tried the bamboo toothbrushes! Maybe I gotta try !

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      Let me know when you do and what you think of them 😊

      Like

  26. Kristaleagh Walthall Avatar
    Kristaleagh Walthall

    This is a great post! I personally also use glass jars in my bathroom for all of my little bathroom things. We just replaced our soap pumps with refillable ones and it’s so much nicer looking and it’s cheaper to buy in bulk!

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      That sounds great, and you’re right, they look very nice as decoration as well.

      Like

  27. Chrissy | Minimalist Maximalist Avatar

    These are such great ideas! I’ll have to try out the cleansing oil idea; I’ve never tried it before but it sounds promising! x

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      It really was life changing 😊

      Like

  28. The Queensights Avatar

    Thanks for sharing ideas! I will never understand the people who ALWAYS take much time in the bathroom. It’s a waste of energy and water.

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      Oh I feel you! I know of people who shower for 20 minutes twice a day, no idea why!

      Like

  29. millieandmommie Avatar

    WOW! I had no idea they had shampoo bars! So cool! We have bamboo toothbrushes!

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      Shampoo bars from Lush are a great way to start 😛

      Like

  30. Under Flowery Sky Avatar

    Love the suggestions, just looks so neat and cozy.

    Like

  31. Miki Esme Avatar

    The bamboo toothbrushes looks so cute dear!
    Thanks for sharing

    ♡————————————————————–♡
    Fashion┊Lifestyle┊Japan ― HappyEsme.com

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      Thank you, I love them!

      Like

  32. Fadima Mooneira Avatar

    I love this eco-friendly bathroom idea. Must be good for meditating as well eh. Thank you for sharing your tips.

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      Thank you for reading 😊

      Like

  33. Emily Avatar

    I am so on the hunt for new ways to become eco-friendly, and like you I am getting them slowly but surely! I recommend getting a safety razor, it’s made of metal usually and uses a single blade which come in large packs for very cheap – this means they’re recyclable! x

    Emily | emiliamarlowe.co.uk

    Like

    1. Marissa Belle Avatar

      I’ve heard of how good safety razors are, somehow they’re quite hard to find in Singapore – but they’re a great alternative!

      Like

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