Save Water

A big part of green living comes from conserving resources wherever you can. I’m constantly on the look out for new ways to conserve things like electricity and water. Whether or not you pay a monthly water bill, doing whatever you can to save water is important and the right thing to do.

Here are 10 things you can do to save water today:

1. One of the easiest and best things you can do is to install aerators on all of your faucets. Aerators are super cheap and will help to reduce the flow of water when you have your faucets turned on.

2. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth and teach your kids to do the same. We waste many gallons of water each day simply by allowing the water to run while brushing teeth.

3. Do you find half full glasses of water all over the house every day? I have kids and they are constantly drinking water and then leaving it lay around. Don’t dump that water down the drain – instead use it to water house plants.

4. While waiting for your shower to warm up, put a bucket of water under the flow. When you are done using the shower, use that water on your house plants.

5. Don’t clean vegetables under running water. Instead, use a container with water to clean them and turn the water on and off only to rinse.

6. Plan your meals ahead of time and take meat from the freezer to thaw early enough that you won’t be thawing at the last minute under running water.

7. Only run your dishwasher when it’s full. You’ll use the same amount of water no matter what the load size, so wash full loads only.

8. Buy this nifty Shower Timer for your kids. Buy one for yourself too! It’s a great reminder to get out of the shower after 5 minutes.

9. Speaking of the shower, if you really want to be green, turn off the shower while you lather up and wash your hair and then turn it back on to rinse.

10. Start composting. Composting saves water on two levels. First, composting keeps food out of your disposal – which means that you’ll use less water in your kitchen sink. Second, plants that are given a layer of compost have better water retention, so you’ll have to water them less. This
Exaco Trading ECO-2000 Kitchen Compost Waste Collector
offers a great place to store compost before bringing it to your compost pile and has charcoal filters that eliminate odor.

There are many, many more ways to conserve water – many of which are free or very cheap, and others that you may want to consider when remodeling – like low flow toilets and shower heads.

And, as always, if you are doing something really cool to save water or be more green, please share your ideas. We love to learn from others.

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Be More Green

My friends and family know that I’m all about being “green.” As a result, I’m often asked about what changes they can make in their lives, quickly and easily, that will make them more green.

Here’s ten QUICK and EASY things you can do to become more green right away.

1. Start Composting. It’s easy, it’s free, and it saves money and energy.

2. Start recycling. This is really as easy as getting a few bins to hold different types of recyclables and then finding out where/how to drop them off.

3. Change your light bulbs from regular incandescent bulbs to CFL’s. You’ll save money and your light bulbs will last longer.

4. Start washing your clothes using cold water. Very little of what we need to wash actually has to be washed in hot water and many manufacturers make laundry detergent designed to work in cold water.

5. Start a garden. If it’s winter where you live, start a herb garden indoors. It’s easy, fun, and you’ll eventually save money on all the spices or vegetables you buy.

6. Install aerators on all of the faucets in your home. These cost a few dollars each, are easy to install, and will save lots of water.

7. Make it a habit to turn off water and lights when you aren’t using them. Teach your children to do the same.

8. Put appliances and other items on surge strips – this way you can turn the entire strip off when you aren’t using them. Many items in your home use electricity even when you aren’t using them.

9. Turn your heat down a few degrees all the time. Wear warmer clothes when you are in the house. If you have a timer on your thermostat, program the heat to turn down when you are sleeping and when no one is at home. Do the same thing with the air conditioning in the summer. If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, invest in one – they are not expensive, and you’ll get your money back in savings on your electric bill.

10. Sit down and figure out how you can drive less. Make it a point to combine trips and to plan your outings so you don’t spend all of your time driving around and wasting gas. Consider carpooling to work or having your children carpool to school. Almost all of us can figure out at least a few ways to reduce the amount of time that we are on the road.

Let us know what you’re doing to become more green!

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