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The following post is from Emily of Live Renewed: Baby Steps for Going Green in the Bathroom

It’s the smallest room in the house, the bathroom, but making even small changes to your routine in this room can impact your journey toward going green. There are so many different opportunities to change products or habits, making it easy to start with just one small change and then move on to others after that has become a natural and normal part of your routine.

Changes in Cleaning

Cleaning the bathroom is probably not a chore that most of us jump up and down about doing.  It’s a thankless job, but one that needs to be done with regularity.  Switching to green and homemade cleaning products will simplify your cleaning routine and save you money as you remove toxic store-bought cleaners from your home.

Getting started is easy because you probably already have the two main products you need in your cupboards: white vinegar and baking soda.  You’ll also need an empty spray bottle or two, and an empty, clean parmesan cheese container.

Mix vinegar and water in a 1:1 ratio in one of the spray bottles. On the other, you can easily make your own homemade multipurpose cleaner. And then fill up the parmesan cheese container with baking soda.

Here are some ideas for switching to homemade and green cleaners:

As you can see, it’s easy and simple to switch over to green, natural, homemade, and frugal cleaning in the bathroom. I love that I have simplified my routine from 5+ different cleaners to just a few simple ones that I use to clean my entire bathroom.

Changes in Personal Care Products

There are so many different products for our hair, skin, faces, and bodies on the market today that it can definitely be overwhelming.  Not to mention that many of them include ingredients that are toxic or harmful to us in some way.

Even products labeled as “natural” or “organic” aren’t regulated, so it can be hard to make good decisions about what products to use for ourselves and our families.

Making changes in this area takes a little more guts, a little bit of a leap of faith, but once you’ve switched over to using homemade and natural personal care products, I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll never want to go back.

And fortunately, again, many of the products you need to make the change you already have in your cupboard.

Here are some ways you can switch from conventional personal care products to more natural and frugal options:

I know this can seem like a long and overwhelming list.  But just pick one personal care product to replace with a natural alternative and work it into your routine until it becomes a habit, and then move on to making other changes.

Personally, I’m still trying to figure out the best way to cleanse my face.  I’ve tried the Oil Cleansing Method and didn’t have great results, so I went back to my normal “conventional” face wash and was still having problems with my skin.  I recently switched to a natural face soap bar, and I’m still not thrilled.

I am planning to go back and try the Oil Cleansing Method again and see if it works better this time around.  Sometimes you just need to try a few different things, take a few baby steps, and see what works best for you.

There are so many different ways that you can “green” your bathroom routine. Any change you make toward using natural products in place of toxic ones is a good thing.

How have you gone green in your bathroom?