Going green, or making your home eco friendly is all the rage right now, and for good reason. Creating an eco friendly small home can help the environment, have a positive impact on your energy bills, and even help your health. These ideas can help you build a new bathroom or redo a current bath in your small home plan, or even a large home.

Cabinets and Counter Tops - Normal cabinets are created with urea-formaldehyde that gives off VOCs which include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short and long-term adverse health effects according to the EPA. Cabinets made from Wheatboard are an eco friendly, healthier alternative.

Stone counter tops are popular choices in a green bathroom as well as recycled tile.

Baths and Showers - While acrylic and fiberglass shower surrounds are easy to clean, they are not eco friendly. Recycled glass or tile are better options and choosing an epoxy grout will make it easier to clean with less mold and mildew than traditional grout. Your bath will also have more personality with the wide range of choices in tiles.

Lighting - Just like the rest of your house, natural light not only looks better, it saves on energy bills, so adding a window or skylight will instantly make your bathroom more eco friendly. In your light fixtures, use fluorescent lighting with electronic ballasts.

Ventilation - Including a window for light can also help with ventilation if it’s a working window that can be opened for natural ventilation during and after showers. Choose a vent fan that is less than one sone (the level of sound created by the fan) to remove moisture, odors and irritants in the air.

Floors - Tile to the eco rescue again! Natural linoleum is also a good choice for the moisture in a bathroom. Cork and bamboo are great natural products for portions of your bathroom exposed to less water as well.

Caulk, Adhesive, Building Materials - A lot of the products used to install your bathroom products contain mildewcide to help prevent mold and mildew and make the bathroom easier to clean. Go greener by looking for Low or No VOCs labeled products.

Tankless Hot Water Heaters - Tankless water heaters use up to 20 percent less energy and take up less space. Perfect for a small green home.

Toilets - Composting toilets use less water and create fertilizer making them eco friendly and money saving, even if you might be squeamish at first. Kohler has also introduced a waterless urinal for the home.

Grey Water Recycling - Collecting water from the sinks, baths, showers and laundry in your home to be used to water your garden or even flush your toilets helps eliminate waste.

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