Conserve: Water in the Laundry Room

There are not quite as many ways to save water in the laundry room as there are ways to save energy, but I still felt that the subject deserved to be explored.

1. Run the washer only with a full load
• It might mean that you have to go out and buy a few more packs of panties to make it through the month without doing your laundry every week, but if I can do it, you can too!
  
2. Adjust your settings to accurately reflect the size of your load
• If you have a smaller load (like your delicates) make sure that you adjust the load size thingy on your washer.
• Do you really need to fill up the whole washer for a load of three sweaters? I don't think so.
3. Wear your duds more than once before tossing them in the hamper
• Most of the time your clothes are just fine to get folded and worn a few more times before they are really dirty (or smelly) enough to warrant a washing.
• My personal rule is that everything (with the exception of pants which get worn for a few weeks) gets worn at least 3 times before it gets washed.
4. If you're in the market for a new washer, consider this ...
• Front load washers use a lot less water than top loaders (why? I'm not really sure.)
• Getting a front load washer that has an energy star label? You are going above and beyond my friend.

Conserve: Water in the Garden

So now that you've got your shower bucket catching all the water that you were wasting before, and you have your nifty container garden started, it's time to talk about how you can use the water your saving more effectively.

• This little snippet talks about conserving water in your container garden. It's important to keep in mind that your container plants have limited root systems, which means that they don't get watered as much as plants in the ground do.
  
• Watering in the morning means that more of your water will be absorbed in the soil instead of evaporating into the air. Watering at night can invite pests into your garden, which is not something that you do not want to do.
• Adding some organic matter, like compost or peat moss, is almost like adding a sponge to your soil. It will help retain water, which means that you can water less often.
• Water by the roots. It's where the water is needed and it avoids getting the leaves wet, which can lead to fungal diseases.
• Be sure not to over water your veggie plants! Looking for signs that your plants need water, like wilted leaves, is a good sign that it's time to water.
• This fact sheet from the University of Georgia is quite helpful and easy to read and neatly summarizes everything I've read about how to conserve water in the garden.
• Here are a few last tips from eHow.com on how to save water in the garden. I found their idea on how to clean your garden tools without water quite helpful.

Conserve: Water in the Kitchen

Since I recently looked at the many ways that you can conserve water in your bathroom, I thought I might look into conserving water in the kitchen. And when you look at conserving water in the kitchen you can't help but stumble upon the question that everyone is asking ...

Is it better to hand-wash dishes or use the dishwasher?

Well, I am here to tell you that every website I looked at said the same thing. Dishwashers use less water overall than you would if you were hand-washing your dishes. Especially if you have a energy star dishwasher. There was even a study that proves that using a dishwasher is better for the environment than if you were to wash your dishes by hand. This is a link to an article on Tree Hugger than also has a link to the study.

So now that we have that figured out, are there any other ways to save conserve water in the kitchen? You bet there is.

1. Make sure the dishwasher is FULL before you run it.
• It not only saves water, it saves you money and the time that you would spend putting away those 5 loads that could have all gone in at the same time.
  
2. Don't let water run down the drain.
• Don't defrost meat by running water on it. Plan ahead and let it thaw in the fridge or use the defrost feature on your microwave.
  
• When you rise your veggies, do it in a plugged sink or in a bowl of cool water.
• Consider keeping a jug of tap water in the fridge so that it's just the right level of chilly so that you don't have to wait for the tap to get really cold.
• Save all the grey water you can! You can use it to water the garden or anything else you can think of.
3. Use your garbage disposal sparingly.
• You will save quite a bit of money by not running the water to wash all the nasties down your sink.
  
• What is your other option? Start your own compost bin! Save water and make your own dirt for your garden.
  
4. Get an aerator for your kitchen sink.
• By these work like a low flow shower head and can significantly cut down on the amount of water you use.
  
5. Be sure to have any leaks fixed.
• Leaks = wasted water (and a higher utility bill).

I found these and other fabulous tips at the Queensland Government site, Savewater.co.au, and The Town of Cary site.

Conserve: Water in the Bathroom

If you want to take your water conservation out of the shower and into your bathroom as a whole, I found some great tips and ideas for that too! Below are the best 4 that I found.

1. Watch your toilet bowl!
   
• If you have the money and the desire, go to your nearest home improvement store and buy a new low flow toilet to replace the water guzzler you have now.
  
• If you don't have the cash to replace all your pottys don't fret, you can put a bottle or bag of rocks in your toilet tank to reduce the amount of water you use when you flush.
• While it may make you think of college boys being lazy, you might want to consider this rhyme: "If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down". Not flushing every time can save water and money for you. Just make sure that you don't let it sit forever because that's gross and it'll probably start to smell. And any house guests you might have will probably be a little put off if they were to discover it.
2. Get an aerator for your sink faucet.
• They act like a low flow shower head and mix a little bit of air with your water so that you end up using less water overall. Check out this little beauty on Green Feet.com
  
3. Check for leaks and get them fixed.
• A leaking facet or toilet can waste a ton of water and cost you more on your utility bill.
• By finding and fixing leaks, you can save yourself from wasting around 400 gallons a month.
• To find a leak in your toilet, just drop some food coloring into the tank. If it ends up in the bowl without a flush involved, you've got a leak.
  
4. Don't let the water run!
• Now I'm sure that once in childhood you were reminded not to let the water run while you brush your teeth, and you really shouldn't.
  
• While it may not save you a ton of water, you can still save about 3 gallons a day by just turning off the water when you aren't using it.

Keep working to save water and save the planet!

Conserve: Water in the Shower

I am all about greening up my life style, but I am not about to suggest that we all stop showering or something. I want a clean Earth, not a smelly one. So I decided that I would go out onto the world wide web and bring back for you the best water conservation tips I could find about saving water in the shower.

#1. The number one most important tip to saving water in your shower is to install a low flow shower head. You can find them at The Shower Head Store, Evolve Shower Heads, or you might even head over to your local Home Depot or Lowe's to see what they have if you don't feel like ordering your stuff online.

#2. The next thing you should consider doing is using a bucket to catch the water that runs before your water warms up. You can use this water for any number of things like watering your container garden or flushing your toilet. Personally, I'm going to use it to water the garden ... when I get it started.

#3. Also, consider shortening your shower as much as your can. Even a minute or two will help. Some ideas to shorten your time under the water are ...

1. Cut out the conditioner.
   
1. I've stopped using it in the shower and just use a pray on when I get out. It works great and I don't have to wait two minutes before I rise it out.
2. Shave out of the shower.
   
1. This might not be a problem for you guys out there, but when I shave my legs in the shower I usually end up adding 5-6 minutes to my overall shower time. Use some of the water you collect in your shower bucket for your shaving. You can warm it up on the stove and off you go!
3. Multi task when you can.
   
1. I put on my body wash and then put on my face wash while I'm rising off my back. It works great and saves me a little time.
4. Don't mess around.
   
1. When I was a kid I could take 45 minute showers because I wanted to play in the warm water. If you want to enjoy the water and take your time, consider taking a bath instead. At least that way you're using a fixed amount of water instead of having a running flow the whole time.
   

I use these tips myself and I can say that I have cut my shower time down by about 4 minutes. It's great in the mornings because I hate getting up early. So the faster I can shower, the later I can sleep. It's incentive enough for me!

Want more ways to conserve water in the bathroom? Check out my next article where we take conservation bathroom wide!