GreenDeals Daily

Envirosax, makers of reusable shopping bags we've had the chance to review here before, are branching out with a new product line: shower timers. These colorful timers available in pink, green, grey and blue keep tabs on your water consumption by counting down four minutes from the time you hop in the shower and flip 'em over. By minimizing the time you spend cleaning you bod you'll save huge quantities of water as well as the energy that goes into getting it all hot and steamy.

I have to admit to not always having the most eco-friendly hygiene habits. I used to luxuriate in my daily showers, listening to the radio and shaving with my shower mirror. I've been working on getting rid of my green-guilt though and recently switched to shaving at the sink after my shower - sure it's a bit chillier but it reduced the length of my showers by half. Now since I can't quite bring myself to shower every other day I decided to try out the shower timer. The result? Even shorter showers. Four minutes isn't very long but it's long enough if you don't dawdle. To be honest I had no idea how long my showers were before but the Envirosax Shower Timer helped me realize how quickly those minutes tick by.

The timers themselves seem well constructed with a suction cup on the back for easy mounting. The brightly colored sand inside makes it easy to see where I'm at even without my glasses on, although it could be a tad bigger.

Showering against the clock definitely takes some getting used to but at $2.95 each, these shower timers are sure to pay for themselves many times over (you can even get one free with the purchase of an Envirosax pouch). In fact, according to this, the average 10-minute shower costs over $1! So even if using this timer only reduces your shower time by 1 minute each day, it will pay for itself in under a month.

Envirosax shower timers are a simple, low cost product which could save you hundreds of dollars a year. In terms of GreenDeals, it doesn't get much better than that. Here's how the timers scored:

• Green: 3.75/4
• Value: 3/3
• Quality: 2.75/3
• Final GreenDeals score: 9.5/10

Do you time your showers or any other way of limiting the impact of your morning routine? Let us know in the comments!