I ran across this article/infographic on Pinterest over the weekend and wanted to share. Because we strive to live as frugally as possible, these things have become a habit here. We can't afford to live any other way, so I am grateful that living frugally intertwines with taking care of the earth. Also, I think that after you become a parent conserving the earth becomes more real, so to speak. I know it did for me.
Great ways to conserve:
50 Ways to Conserve Water from Wholeliving.com
Articles from National Geographic on Conserving Water
100 Ways to Conserve Water
A few ways we conserve water:
1- Washing our towels once a week and using the same towel for the rest of the week.
2- Re-using the bathwater from bathing the girls to water my plants.
3- When its going to rain I try to remember to set some buckets/bowls on the porch to collect water.
5- I wear my clothes several times before washing, unless they need it. (stain, smell, etc)
6- We bought a water-efficient shower head right after moving into our first apartment in 2009 and have been using it ever since.
7- Washing our car at a drive-through (it uses less water and the chemical runoff is minimal, comparatively) I read somewhere that another family washes their car in the rain so that they aren't using any extra water and they have a fun family activity. Sounds fun to me!
8- Bathing together. (Obviously) The girls always bathe together and sometimes Ocean showers with me. (I am planning on keeping a bucket in the shower to catch water to reuse.)
9- Don't let water run while you are soaping up or when brushing your teeth.
10- Using only cold water to wash clothing.
Things I am working on:
- 5 minute showers. I am bad about using my shower as "me" time and probably wasting water.
- Hand-washing dishes efficiently. (when I do hand wash)
What are things that you do to conserve? I am always ready for a challenge in this area.
These are really good tips!
ReplyDeleteI'll be the first to admit that I'm really bad about wasting water. : /
This probably sounds silly, but when I'm washing dishes or brushing my teeth, the sound/feel of the water is soothing to me.
That's something I definitely need to work on!
I feel like I take water for granted too often as well,
DeleteSo glad you were inspired!
One of the things on my list to do when we have our own house, is to set up rain barrels to collect rain water to use around the yard. This will really come in handy now that we live in Texas and the lack of rain and heat, I will still be able to water my garden/animals!
ReplyDeleteI have always been interested in setting up a gray water system as well to catch all the reusable water from the house to use in other places.
I have thought about how I should probably cut back on how long I shower, but I realized that I only get a shower like once or twice a week, and I usually have to get in and out anyway, so I am probably using the same amount of water as taking a 5 minute shower 7 days a week. (plus the fewer showers makes my hair nicer. haha)
hahah! Same here with the shower. It only happens about 2-3 a week.
DeleteI'm glad I'm not the only infrequent showerer--when I'm in there I savor it! :)
DeleteThat is all stuff our family practices too because we can't afford to live any other way, and of course because we feel a huge responsibility to environmental stewardship of the earth. We want to nurture and give back to the source of our adventures, appreciation of natural beauty and animals, and set an example for our daughter of what is REALLY important in life. So funny, the things you are working on are the ones I have the hardest time with too. Especially since I only shower every 3 days, I feel entitled to at least 20 minutes!
ReplyDeleteMolly! I am the same way! I always think, this only happens once a week, I can do this...but feel guilty. I've started doing baths instead.
DeleteI love these tips. Sofia and I still usually try to bathe together, but the one thing I know I need to work on is when I hand-wash dishes. Especially when I have a large sinkful, I need to try to turn the water on and off while I'm washing... or at least keep it running at a lower pressure than normal. Lots of things to try this week! Thanks for all the info! xo
ReplyDeleteI hand water the garden rather than using a sprinkler or hose. This allows me to control the water I use, ensures it gets to the roots, and cuts back on leaf burning. I also do square foot gardening rather than rows. It takes up less space, is easier to work in, and uses less resources in general. The plants are closer together (but not crowded) so they shade the soil, leading to much less evaporation. I just made sure to plan the layout so the plants did not shade each other! As an added bonus, I did companion planting, which eliminated the need for pesticides since pests were controlled by the good insects :)
ReplyDeleteWe catch the water from the shower with a bucket and use it to flush the toilet or water plants :) since my dad grew up in Australia where water is scarce he is use to conserving water :) we also don't wash our towels more than once a week and we wear our clothes a couple times until they have a stain or smell :) so cool there are others that try conserve water too!!
ReplyDeleteThis isn't for the faint of heart...or much of the modern population but our plan is to eventually use a humanure toilet. Saves water, energy, and recycles your, ahem, business for later use. We've found an off the grid cabin that we're hoping to make ours come spring and there's no toilet so perhaps that plan isn't too far off. But truthfully I think I could only use the humanure on flowers, never my vegetables. I just...couldn't. Maybe after a few years in the woods, though?
ReplyDeleteIs humanure the same as a compost toilet?
DeleteWe've used one (while living and working on farms) off and on for years, but never as fertilizer for our edibles. :) I don't know why, but it just isn't done, I guess. Well, maybe it is, but I've never done it.
Good luck! (with the cabin, and the humanure, of course)
Great post! We do 1,3,5,8,9,10. We never, and I mean never, wash our cars. This is especially hard living in northern New England, with how they salt the road in winter time. I have been really good with showering as well. I shower on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and sometimes Saturdays to wash my hair. These showers are about 3-4 minutes long (except Saturdays, it takes me longer to do my hair). In the summer time I shower once a week. We used a rain barrel,exclusively,this summer to water our garden. We made it ourselves. This was a huge success for us because we didn't use a drop of tap water! Thanks for sharing! xoxo ♥
ReplyDeleteThis post was so convicting to me. I fail at all these pointers! It's a wake up call to be more responsible with what we've been given.
ReplyDeleteThese are great tips. I tend to not think about conserving water very much. I only shower about twice a week (but I do wash my feet and hands before bed...), and I wash cloth diapers with our clothes, but I've never recycled bath water.
ReplyDeleteHow do you get it out of the bath, post-children?
Just old yogurt containers. haha. I just scoop out what was needed and keep some to water with.
DeleteI used to leave the water running while hand washing dishes, and felt bad every time because I knew I was wasting so much. My mom taught me to first: rinse off all of my dishes as best I could, and then: fill the sink with water, turn off the water, and wash all of my dishes in the sink with the same water! I honestly can't believe I didn't think of this before. Loved the post :-)
ReplyDeleteHow have I never thought to reuse bathwater for plants?! We do most of the items on the list, however we only wash our car in the winter (Northern Maine climate insists we do). I start my mp3 player on a song that is just over 5 minutes (6 is prime) and jump in the shower. When the song is up I need to get out. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThats such a good idea! I need to do that too!
DeleteMy cousin used to cover old gallon jugs with black paper and fill them with water then set them out in the Arizona summer sun for the day. In the evening she would have piping hot water to wash her dishes, bathe the kiddos, etc. :)
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