Bargain Moose

The following tips will be really helpful if you pay for your own water, or if you are just earth conscious.

The Bathroom Tap:

• Do not leave the tap water running while brushing your teeth.
• When washing your hands, turn the water off while lathering. 20 seconds of water going down the drain is a waste.

The Shower/Bath:

• Turn the water off in the shower while lathering up your body and hair.
• Most people do not need to wash their hair every day, this saves on shower time.
• If taking a bubble bath: make it for two. Share the bath with your loved one, or trade out halfway through bath time.
• Take cold, or lukewarm showers. Your shower will probably be shorter!
• Turn the water off when shaving in the shower, or shave before shower.

The Toilet:

• Put a bottle full of water in your toilet to reduce the amount of water necessary for each flush.
• Consider just flushing for number 2, not number 1.

The Kitchen:

• When washing dishes, don’t just have the tap running constantly to rinse them off. Partially fill the second sink with rinsing water.
• Consider putting your dishwasher on the water economy setting.
• Use dishes more than once between washes. Works well for cups and saucers.
• Eat without dishes. This is a controversial one in my household, but I hate to dirty a dish when eating finger food.
• Don’t let the water run just to get a glass of cold water. Either a) use ice cubes, or b) keep a jug of water in the fridge.

General:

• Only water your lawn at dusk or night, to minimize evaporation and increase absorption.
• When washing your car use a bucket and cloth, do not a hose.
• When having a water fight use water balloons, not hoses.
• When disposing of dirty water that is chemical free, consider using that to water your lawn or plants (example: kiddy pool water, old tea, etc).

Do you have any great suggestions for conserving water in your daily household routine?