These days, it seems like sustainability is on everyone’s minds and evident in every facet of our lives. The upcoming White House Easter Egg Roll will feature “eco-eggs” made with environmentally friendly materials, Coca-Cola is replacing its current vending machines with a new model that will help reduce its carbon footprint, and environmentally-minded “The Cove” took home this year’s Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

You, too, can make a difference for the environment. Taking even the smallest steps – buying locally grown produce or bringing your own reusable bags to the grocery store – can help. Feeling motivated to do your part for the environment? Check out these five green versions of common household products.

1. USB Cell battery: By now you’ve gotten it pounded into your head that alkaline batteries should not be thrown away because they leach toxic materials into the environment. The alternative? Recycle your used batteries and start buying rechargeable batteries like the ingenious USB Cell batteries, which conveniently plug into your computer’s USB port for recharging.

2. Oxygenics showerhead: A 10 minute shower uses approximately 25 gallons of water. With water resources becoming scarcer by the day and access to clean drinking water severely limited in parts of the world, do your part to conserve water by shortening your showers and replacing your showerhead with an Oxygenic showerhead, which reduces water consumption.

3. Motion activated wall switch: You try to switch off the light whenever you leave the room, but sometimes you just forget. No problem – invest in some motion activated wall switches for your home, and they’ll do the work for you.

4. Sun oven: When the weather gets warm, you’ll probably want to take advantage of the sun and host a grill-out or two. Since you’ll be enjoying the sun, why not harness its power and use it to cook your food too? Sun ovens run on solar power and neither contaminate the air with smoke nor with greenhouse gases. Better yet, they are versatile – you can bake, broil or steam your food – and powerful, reaching temperatures of up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

5. Solar-powered speakers: In keeping with the warm weather theme, don’t underestimate the importance of a good soundtrack at your next grill-out, picnic or beach outing. Soak up the sun and enjoy your favorite tunes with a solar-powered speaker.

This is a guest post from Xenia Shih, Be Connected