Save Some Green While You Save Some Blue

Today’s Easy Eco Idea is saving water or more precisely, different ways to save water.

We waste far more water then we realize and there are lots of easy little things we can do to change that.

Turn off the water more. You probably already do it when you brush your teeth but what about when you wash your hands? In 5 seconds ¾ of a cup of water is used and you’re supposed to wash for 20 seconds, that’s a lot of water over the course of a day. If you wash your face at the sink, turn the water off between washing and rinsing. When you wash dishes either fill the sink up or be sure to turn the water off between washing and rinsing as well.

The shower is another big water waster. First get a low flow shower head. They can range in price from $10-$40 and up, so no matter your budget, there’s one for you. The second thing to do is to get a shower timer. You can get one for $5 on greenfeet and it couldn’t be any easier to use. I got one because Tyler took marathon showers and no amount of me telling him to hurry up worked. Since buying the timer I haven’t once had to hurry him and I think he actually races the timer to see if he can be done before it is. In case you think you already take a fast shower, so did I until I set the timer.

You may already know that you should shower instead of taking a bath, but if you have little kids showers aren’t an option, and to be honest, sometimes a bath just feels good. When you fill up the tub plug it up right away instead of waiting to plug it after the waters heated up, it really will all even out once the hot water kicks in.

If you have a faucet mounted water filter you have to let it run 5 seconds before it activates which again is ¾ of a cup of water. So instead of making many single use fill ups, fill up a pitcher and keep it in the fridge or on the counter if you prefer. I like this one because it saves time as well as water.

So technically this was more than just one Easy Eco Idea but it was all one topic. Anyways, I hope I’ve given you a few ideas and if you have any other water saving ideas please feel free to add them. And if you’d like a little more info about water click here.

Ok, there is one other thing. If you really want to save water just remember to let it mellow when it’s yellow. Dylan’s a big believer in this one.