In this blog about how to make your household green, I wanted to give some good ideas on how to conserve water.  My favorite water saving campaign was when I was living in LA during one of the many drought years… “Save water, shower with a friend.” But on the chance that this is not an option, here are some other avenues of conservation to explore. (maybe not as fun, but certainly effective!)

Many of these suggestions, by themselves, seem trivial. But when you put them altogether, I believe they can make a real difference!

1.  When washing dishes by hand, don’t let the water run while rinsing.  Fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water. Or, fill a large container and rinse when all the dishes have been soaped and scrubbed.

2.  Run your dishwasher and clothes washer only when they are full.  Different sources quoted different amounts of water you could save by doing this ranging from 7,300 gallons per year to 1000 gallons per month!

3.  Use the garbage disposal sparingly.  If you garden, explore using vegetable food waste as compost for your garden instead of synthetic fertilizers.

4.  Water your lawn and garden in the morning or evening when temperatures are cooler to minimize evaporation.  And, avoid watering on windy days when most of the water blows away or, again, evaporates.

5.   Wash fruits and vegetable in a pan of water instead of running water from the tap.

6.  Collect the water you use for rinsing fruits and vegetables and then reuse it to water houseplants.

7.  Shorten your shower by a minute or two and you’ll save up to 150 gallons per month.

8.  When running the bath for yourself, or your kids, plug the tub before turning the water on. Then, adjust the temperature as the tub fills up.

9.  Don’t use running water to thaw food.  Defrost food in the refrigerator for water efficiency and food safety.  I admit, at the restaurant I manage, we are guilty of using this as a quicky defrost, but we are trying to move away from the use of the technique.

10.  When doing laundry, match the water level to the size of your load.

11.  Know where the master water shut-off valve is located.  This could save water and prevent damage to your home.   Ummm… I don’t actually know this one – that is what a husband/BF is for, isn’t it?

12.  Avoid recreational water toys that require a constant flow of water.  (sorry kids, we all have to give a little…)

13.  Turning the water off while brushing your teeth can save 5 to 25 gallons per day.  Across the country, this could add up to 1.5 billion gallons of water saved each day – more than enough to fill New York City.  My kids were really bad about this, but they are doing much better now!

14.  For you forgetful types (ok, that would be me), set a kitchen timer when watering your lawn or garden to remind you when to stop. A running hose can discharge up to 10 gallons a minute!

15.  When your kids want to cool off in the summer, use a sprinkler in an area where your lawn needs it the most.

16.  Wash your car on the lawn, and you’ll water your lawn at the same time.  Ok, this one really makes me laugh picturing those of you who live in suburbia driving your car over the curb, onto the lawn and proceeding to wash!  However, for those of you that live in the country, like myself… hey, half the cars around are on the grass anyway – why not wash them there too!

17.  Listen to dripping faucets and running toilets.  Fixing a leak can save 300 gallons a month or more.  And, try to pay attention to outdoor faucets, sprinklers and hoses.

18.  Re-use the water left over from cooked or steamed foods as a stock for soup or stir fry.

19.  When you give your pet fresh water, don’t throw the old water down the drain.  Use it to water your trees or shrubs.

20.  If you accidentally drop ice cubes when filling your glass from the freezer, don’t throw them in the sink.  Instead, drop them in a house plant.  I know this sounds like a very limited amount of conserving, but for those of you with kids (and careless husbands), you will know how common an occurrence this really is!

21.  To save water and time, consider washing your face and brushing your teeth in the shower.  Anyone remember one of Vanna White’s beauty tips?  Let the water jets from the shower run over your teeth for a whiter smile?  Ok, possibly I am dating myself here, but since she took a lot of flack for it (and rightly so), I thought I would give her a shout out!

22.  When staying at a hotel, or even at home, consider reusing your towels.  Many hotels now offer a great system for this and we always take them up on it even though I suspect that they are doing it more for their own pocket books rather than the environment.  In the end, I guess it doesn’t really matter.

23.  And last but not least, Save on flushing, Pee in public.  Don’t believe me?  Check out this commercial made by Ogilvy Advertising London for MTV…

I took most of these water saving tips from a site that listed 111 ways to conserve water.  Here is the link for those of you wanting to see the whole list.  Many that I did not include had to do with outdoor and gardening ways to conserve water.  I tried to focus on more household conservation.

http://www.wateruseitwisely.com/100-ways-to-conserve/index.php

Next time:  Paper and Products

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