This isn't going to be prohibitively expensive for us even if we go over the 90%, but I'm trying to think of ways to ratchet down our water use. I try not to waste in general, but I have gotten a little lazy on a few points. There are a few things I won't compromise on--the kids need clean sheets every week, and the new plantings need to establish their root systems if they're going to be xeric later--but I'm making some vows to cut back on our water usage.
What I'm trying first:
- Put more items in the dishwasher; hand-wash fewer items.
- For plates that need hand-washing, remember to use the spray head instead of the faucet. It uses less water, and it works better anyway.
- Wash hair every other day. I do need to wash the rest of me pretty much every day, but hair often benefits from less washing.
- Stop using the warm shower as a place to work out muscle stiffness; do a little tai chi every day instead.
- Collect water left from heating shower water and use it to water houseplants and garden.
- Using bibs, washcloths, and kid clothes of the color due for the next washing. This will keep me from doing extra OxiClean soaks or doing laundry before a load is full.
I found a site that has a lot of clever ideas for conserving water and finding leaks in the home, too. I'll have to try some of their recommendations.
It's kind of nice to have an impetus to cut back on water use. I'm big on conserving in general, but working at home and having kids has really let our use of all utilities balloon. I have found it pretty easy to look at the bills and say, "Well, of course it's high. It's because we have kids." But we may not really need to do a load of laundry every day. We may not need to hand-wash all the kids' dishes. It's time to re-examine our patterns and see if they couldn't be more efficient.
Profile
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
jaderabbit- jaderabbit
Comments
Since the goal is to limit use to 9 gallons for every 10, I think you have a good plan.
Since your house is newer, you might not need to worry about this but check to make sure no toilets have slow leaks, and that all faucets in all sinks close completely.
Yes, it sounds like you have some very good ideas,
I'm glad we have a few months to try this stuff out so I can see if it's working.
But now, even though I'm reading it correctly, I'm still puzzled: does the amount of water you are permitted use just happen to be 90% of your previous use, or are they telling everybody to "cut down by 10%"? If it's the latter, that sounds like it's punishing the people who were conserving all along, and that's incredibly fucking irritating.
And yeah, it does seem pretty unfair to the people who were already doing really well. But that's not us, at least not totally. I never ran the faucet while brushing my teeth, but I must now use showers as a hygiene necessity instead of a luxurious wallowing.
That said, we've been over baseline since we had the kids, so this will be an interesting challenge.
It's not really environmentally-friendly of me to suggest using disposable products so that you can wash fewer things, is it? :) And, of course, there are cheating ways where you're not using less water, but you're using less of it at your house, like going to a laundromat. Even eating out would help in that regard, as someone else is doing your dishes! And bottled water... :) Sad that these are so easy to think of!
My husband has a "one pot" theory of cooking. He really doesn't believe in using more than one pot. You could try to cut down on dishes by using fewer pots, I suppose. :)
I must confess that I have had evil thoughts like, "Maybe if I went to the gym more and used the shower there, it would help." But all it would help would be *our* water bill. And ditto for bottled water; you look into all the water used in bottling and packaging and shipping, and you see why the Brita pitcher is a responsible thing.
I'll have to try the jug of water in the tank. Or a flask of a tasty alcoholic beverage, if the restrictions drive me that far. ;)
Rocks in the tank could work, too. Doesn't have to be water, just the easiest thing to do, because you can take that water right out of the tank into the jug as you set it in, and then cap it.
Tonight I even collected the water in which I boiled the carrots, let it cool, and poured it on a new planting outside. Hey, it's all vegetable matter...