10 easy ways to be more sustainable with your water usage

Welcome back to my 10 easy ways to be more sustainable... series. I took a little break from my regular weekly series over the holidays, but I'm finally back in the swing again.

Water. We all use it. Here in the U.S., it's easy to come by in most areas. Just turn on any tap and there you have it. I don't live in an area that has frequent drought problems so sometimes its hard to make conserving water a priority. Still, conserving water is important.

I need to remember that all of the water that goes down the drain in my home has to go to a treatment plant to get cleaned and put back into the system. That takes a lot of resources and energy to do. So while there isn't an urgent, immediate need in my region to save water for fear of losing our supply, there is still an environmental reason to conserve it.

Here are 10 easy ways to more sustainable with water use.

1. If you are washing dishes by hand, turn off the faucet unless the dish is under the water at the moment.
   
2. Always do a full load of laundry, or if you simply don't have enough to fill the washer but want to use it, adjust the fill level so it only fills to the point necessary.
   
3. Turn off the faucet when you are brushing your teeth.
   
4. Use water used to boil pasta or vegetables (but not water that meat has been in) to water inside and outside plants.
   
5. If you're letting the kitchen faucet run until the water gets hot, catch the water in a pitcher and put it in the fridge. Then use that water for drinking and cooking.
6. Put a low flow shower head in your shower.
7. When you are done with your bathroom towels, hang them immediately so they don't get all musty. You can go longer between washings.
8. Moderate the time of your kids' showers.
9. Place a toilet tank displacement device in older toilets so they don't use as much water when they flush.
10. Don't wash your car often. When you do, take it to a car wash that recycles its water.

10 Easy Ways to Be More Sustainable in the Bathroom

You've probably seen this on a t-shirt or a bumper sticker somewhere - "Conserve Water - Shower Together." While the idea is appealing, let's face it - showering together usually leads to an extra long, hot and steamy shower, right? There may be a lot going on it that shower, but water conservation ain't gonna be one of them.

There are however, plenty of easy ways you can be more sustainable in the bathroom. Here are ten of them:

1. Take navy showers. Turn the water off when you're soaping up, shampooing your hair or shaving your legs and turn it back on to rinse off.
2. Install a low flow shower head.
3. If you've got an older toilet, put an old milk container filled with water in the tank to displace some of the water that would go in there. It saves water every time you flush.
4. Speaking of saving water when you flush - flush less. You've heard the phrase, "if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down" right? If you're family can handle that, go for it.
5. When you use a towel, hang it right up to dry. If towels are dried properly they won't need to be washed as often.
6. Use toilet paper made from recycled paper (which is different from recycled toilet paper - ew!). I use the Marcal brand - $.80 for a 1000 sheet roll.
   
7. Use only the amount of toilet paper necessary to get the job done and teach kids to do the same.
8. Got boys? Then you've probably got a canister of wipes in your bathroom to clean up "misses." Method offers an eco-friendlier version of those Clorox or Lysol wipes.
9. Turn the water off in the sink while you are brushing your teeth.
10. Make sure that the things that can be recycled from the bathroom such as toilet paper tubes, shampoo bottles, and the boxes toothpaste or soap do get recycled. Sometimes, it's easy just to throw them in the bathroom trashcan. Make the extra effort to ensure that these things get recycled, too.

See - easy.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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