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Summer is the season for wasting water – swimming in the pool, running through a sprinkler, washing the car, watering plants and the lawn and taking multiple showers to wash off the sweltering heat. For my next good deed, I decided to find ways to conserve water and hopefully make up for some of the water that I will inevitably waste this summer.
Here are 10 unusual ways to conserve water:
1. Reuse rinse water. I clean my greens by putting them in a salad spinner full of water. I pull the strainer with the lettuce out of the water, and I am left with a bowl of water. From now on, I am going to use that water to water my plants!
2. Keep a bucket in the bathroom. I am guilty of letting the shower run until the water warms up. But what a waste of water! From now on, I am going to keep a bucket in the bathroom and let the shower run into that. I plan to use it to water indoor and outdoor plants and to refill my son’s fish tank.
3. Pee in the shower. I’m not so sure I will be able to force myself to do this one but I think my husband and son will have no problem!
4. Make a rain barrel. We don’t have a rain barrel but I am finally going to invest in one. Pinterest also has some great tutorials for DIYing a rain barrel.
5. Shower together. I am planning on more showers with my husband – to conserve water of course.
6. Reuse water glasses. When my husband and son leave half-empty water glasses sitting around the house, I will either put them in the fridge for later or use the water on our plants.
7. Compost. I will compost my kitchen waste (see Good Deed #17). Believe it or not, this conserves water because I am not washing food down the garbage disposal.
8. Reuse cooking water. I am going to buy a steamer/strainer basket or a pasta pot. I have been wanting one of these for some time now. I hate trying to drain out the water from one of those huge stock pots. I always have to get my husband to help me by holding the strainer while I pour out the liquid. Pasta pots have a strainer that fits nicely inside of the pot so you can simply lift out the strainer with all of the pasta or vegetables or whatever inside, leaving the water behind. The added benefit is that you are left with a pot full of water that can be reused in some way. There is no reason you can’t cook pasta in the same water you used to boil vegetables or vice versa. And when you are done cooking, the water can be used to water plants or frozen to be used in soup.
9. Reuse towels. I will reuse towels at least once. This will also save time spent doing laundry.
10. Stop flushing. I will urge my family not to flush after they pee. I know this sounds gross but there really is no reason to flush the toilet unless it starts to smell or you have solid waste in it. My son forgets to flush most of the time anyway so this won’t be too hard.
What are some weird ways that you save water?
When you use water in the garden, watch out for toxins that could be leaching into your water supply. And just say no to plastic water bottles.
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