Conserving water is something we all need to do any way we can. The ways my family and I conserve water may not be sexy or glamorous, but they definitely make an impact. If there is something you do to conserve water that I didn’t mention in the video above, please share in the comments below OR on my YouTube channel.  

In the meantime, for you visual types, here is a recap of those tips: 

1. Get Warm Water from a Tea Kettle

It’s nutty crazy for us to let gallons of perfectly good, clean, fresh water run down the drain while we are waiting for it to warm up! If we just need a little bit, like for washing our face or taking a sponge bath, warm water in a tea kettle (a microwave also works, but I try to minimize my use), and then place it in a bowl. By doing this, we’ll barely use any energy to create the warm water and we’ll conserve GALLONS (yes, I’m shouting!) of water! 

2. Capture Shower Water with a Bucket

While the cold water is running out of the shower head or faucet, place a bucket underneath it to capture that perfectly good water! Any bucket will do, but if you want a big, pretty white bucket like I showed in the video, you can pick one up at your local home improvement store for under $5. Put that extra water to good use and use it for:

• watering plants
• soaking dishes in the kitchen
• running the garbage disposal
• flushing the toilet
• washing out yicky recycling and compost bins

3. Wash Hair Once a Week or Every Few Days

It’s actually good for our hair if we don’t wash it every day, so don’t do it! Experiment with how many days you can go without washing your hair. Think of all the water you’ll conserve and the time you’ll save! 

4. Shave Your Legs Only When You’ll Be Embarrassed If You Don’t

This rule is simple, if nobody is going to see our hairy legs, let’s delay shaving until we can’t stand it any longer. It probably takes me about 5 minutes to shave my legs. If I kept the water running for 5 whole minutes, that’s a lot of water down the drain! Yes, I could turn off the water, but I get cold when the water isn’t running. Which leads to goosebumps. Which leads to cuts on my legs. Which leads to blood. Just go hairy and when you do shave, capture some of that water in your shower bucket!

5. Take a 3-Minute Shower

If we aren’t washing our hair or shaving our legs every time we shower, we can probably take a 3-minute shower. Time yourself the next time you take a shower and see how long it takes. I actually have fun seeing how quickly I can take a shower. Now our teen. That is a different story. He isn’t quite capable of a 3-minute shower despite the fact that he always smells like he took a 30-SECOND shower!

6. Hold the Flush

If we don’t flush every time we pee, our toilets will survive. Our pee can sit there for a few hours without causing major harm, such as stains, but still, keep the lid down. Of course, poop is an entirely different story. Always flush! 

Looking to ditch your current toilet? Consider a dual flush toilet. Prices now are comparable to conventional toilets. 

7. Brush Your Teeth with a Dollop of Water

Just like tips #1 and #2 above, we don’t need to let perfectly good, clean, fresh water run down the drain in order to wet our toothbrushes every 30 seconds and rinse down the sink to clean up toothpaste residue. You can do the job with a cup of water. 

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Lori Hill

Lori Hill is a plant eater, trash picker upper, climate activist, wife, and mom to 2 human boys, 2 cat boys, and 1 dog boy. On a mission to do all she can to take better care of the planet, Lori created Sister Eden Media, a green lifestyle company, to inspire others to give a damn and live more gently on Earth. She shares tips on her YouTube channel, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and also frequently appears on television.

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