Slippery floors and hard surfaces make the bathroom one of the most dangerous rooms in the house. It's a fact that's build a virtual cottage industry focusing on simple improvements to increase that room's safety. But now that the climate change is for many a far more frightening prospect than a broken hip, Grist Magazine has released a list of simple modifications you can make to turn your bathroom into the greenest room in the house.

Many people wildly underestimate the climate impacts of water use, and nowhere is that more evident than in the bathroom. Wastefully powerful showerheads, leaky toilets, and constantly leaking faucets plague American bathrooms. But modifications, ranging from the simple—a 50-cent water aerator—to the curiously-conceived variable flush toilet are widely available and fairly easy ways to cut back on the water consumption.

A little elbow grease can make your bathroom a greener place, too. Instead of driving to the local drug store to buy industrially produced soap that's been shipped across the country, consider making your own soap—at the very least, it'll make for a cool Fight Club reference, right? Similarly homegrown approaches to everything from toothpaste to toilet cleaner can build your bathroom's climate-friendliness—and your bank account at the same time.

Sadly, the thing that could green the bathroom the most is also them most difficult to change—behavior. Leaving the water running while shaving or brushing teeth, taking long, hot showers, and similar wasteful habits account for a tremendous amount of needless water use. While I think expecting people to urinate in the shower in the name of water savings is a bit much, some simple changes could go a long way.

The thing is, none of this is really news. People have known for years how to save water in the bathroom, and yet continue in their long-established habits. Water restrictions and heavy monetary penalties have worked well at curbing military water use; perhaps similar measures in a civilian environment, or tax credits for lower use, could provide the same benefit.

Workplace incentives could also help improve American's carbon-unfriendly bathroom habits. Better parking spots for employees with proof of low water and natural gas consumption, and actively encouraging employees to use facilities at the office, where they'll be less prone to linger, could each reap impressive environmental benefits.

In the end, though, it may take a sweeping cultural change to affect bathroom behavior on a national scale. But until a steamy, luxurious 35-minute shower becomes as socially unacceptable as dumping the leaves in your neighbor's yard, the tips above will allow a courageous few to set the trend in motion.