Green Challenge #3 – Water Conservation
Okay, its that time yet again! I feel like the months are just flying by! Its December first and you know what that means. Its time for the next Green Challenge. And we’ve come up with a pretty good one, and one that is probably the most important!
Challenge #3 – December 1, 2010 – December 1, 2011
For one year, conserve water by doing the following:
- Take “military-style” showers. These are showers where you turn off the water while you wash your hair and body. Chris has already been doing this to save water, so it won’t be much of a challenge for him, but for me, it will be! I’m used to taking my time in the shower (around 10-15 minutes). Stopping the water while I wash my hair, etc. will be a bit weird for me at first, mostly because it will probably be hard for me to remember to do it, as I’m just so used to showering the way I normally do. But taking military showers will cut down on water. According to Water Use it Wisely, “Shorten your shower by a minute or two and you’ll save up to 150 gallons per month.”
(source)
There are hundreds of small things you can do to reduce the amount of water you use, here are just a few more helpful tips. We are going to try to follow these as well.
The following tips are from Water Use it Wisely:
- Designate one glass for your drinking water each day or refill a water bottle. This will cut down on the number of glasses to wash.
- For cold drinks keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap. This way, every drop goes down you and not the drain.
- 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.
- Don’t use running water to thaw food. Defrost food in the refrigerator for water efficiency and food safety.
- Use a water-efficient showerhead. They’re inexpensive, easy to install, and can save you up to 750 gallons a month.
- Soak pots and pans instead of letting the water run while you scrape them clean.
- Turn off the water while brushing your teeth and save 25 gallons a month.
- Washing dark clothes in cold water saves both on water and energy while it helps your clothes to keep their colors.
- To save water and time, consider washing your face or brushing your teeth while in the shower.
- While staying in a hotel or even at home, consider reusing your towels.
- When you are washing your hands, don’t let the water run while you lather.
- When you save water, you save money on your utility bills too. Saving water is easy for everyone to do.
The average American uses 140-170 gallons of water per day (source). Obviously there are tons and tons of more tips to follow, but by doing a few of these small things you could cut that back your water usage immensely! [Check out this PDF for some more interesting water conservations facts.]
So, who’s with me?
Share this:
7 Comments
Julie @ Honey B.
Thanks for the tips. I’m happy to say I do MOST of these things. I don’t know about the military shower, though… I will try but the warm water feels so nice, especially in this cold weather!
Jen
those were my thoughts too. that’s why this is a challenge. hence the term “green challenge” 😉
Christina @ Food.Fun.Fabulous.
I’m glad I do a lot of these too! Great tips! 🙂
Melissa G
Great post! I like the idea of “military-style” showering. At first glance, I thought this meant shower together to save water, but I get it now. LOL
Additional water saving tip…when I have left over water in my cup, instead of tossing it down the drain, I feed it to my plants. They love me for it!
Cynthia (It All Changes)
I love this challenge. I do most of these things. But instead of military showers I lather up my hair and then do my body. While the conditioner is “conditioning” I do my face. Multitasking 🙂 That way I still enjoy the warm water in the cold but my showers are usually between 5-8 minutes.
Mardi
I do a little over half (55%) my laundry in cold water, and I hang things to dry as much as possible (45% of the time), especially in cooler weather, when the heats on in the house. Helps gets some moisture into the air. Washing machines use a lot of water – I wish someone would design one that would make it easy to re-use some of that hot water when I wash my bedding.
And I’m all about soaking dishes – much easier that way! I don’t have a dishwasher.
I also turn the thermostat down on the water heater during the warm months.
Emily
I do a lot of those things on the list. I do about 80% of my laundry in cold water, except for towels which I use warm water for. I also hang dry a good amount of my laundry… not necessarily for energy purposes, but I know it helps conserve too 🙂 I’m so spoiled with my long hot showers though, I feel like in the morning its what helps me wake up. I’m sure a bone cold shower would do the trick though too, lol