 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| photo credit |
- I don't have a dish washer, so I fill one side of the sink with soapy water to wash the dishes in, and the other side with hot water to rinse. You can add a bit of vinegar to kill germs and cut back on water spots too. This way you don't have water running contiuously. You simply dip your newly washed dishes down in the hot rinse water and there you have it...
- Instead of dumping the dirty water from your fish bowl or tank when cleaning it out, use it to water your household plants. Believe it or not, it's actually good for your plants!
- Invest in a front loading, or energy efficient washing machine. Always wash a full load so that you don't waste any of the water on half loads. {If you're like me, you won't have a problem finding a whole load!} You will see a difference when you get your next water bill!
- Collect rain water to water you garden.
- Chose perennials that don't require as much water when landscaping your yard. {You can ask for help at your local nursery, if necessary.} This will save you money when you get your water bill and you'll save money and time next spring when you don't need to re-plant!
- Let the kids play in the water sprinkler in an area that need to be watered. It's fun for them and serves your purpose too!
- Put mulch down around shrubs and bushes. It looks pretty and keeps water from evaporating as quickly.
- Don't water the entire lawn. I just water the flowers, herbs, and vegetables when it's needed. The grass will be fine...and it's not necessary. And it saves you mowing time!
- Water the lawn/garden in the evenings or morning while it's cool enough to allow the water to soak into the soil and not evaporate right away in the sun/heat.
- Set a timer to remind you to turn the water off when you're finished watering. I always get busy and forget about it... Not only does this run up the water bill, but you can kill plants from over watering too.
- Fix leaky faucets and running toilets as soon as possible. It may not seem like such a big deal, but you can save around 200 gallons a week and reduce your water bill.
- If your toilet was installed before 1992, you can put a displacement tool in the tank, such as a brick or something. This way you save water every time you flush.
- Only flush your toilet when necessary. Used tissues can be thrown in the trash. They don't need to be flushed. Hey, every little bit helps!
Please leave a comment with your favorite water saving ideas below! We can always use more ideas!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you're new to Hidden Treasures, we'd love to invite you to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter. Or you can choose to have our post delivered directly to your E-mail or RSS feed. Thank you so much for taking the time to read our posts!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now I can show my wife why we don't need a dish washer! Here is another great way to save if you are a gardener, it has saved us a bundle. Go to: http://theredeemedgardener.blogspot.com/2012/01/making-rain-barrel.html
ReplyDeleteI always use a soda bottle filled with water as a displacement in my toilet tanks :0) Works great and easy to take out if you need to.
ReplyDeleteI would also recommend turning the water faucet OFF when you are washing your hands (soaping them up), while you're brushing your teeth, and while you're soaping up your body in the shower. Small steps like that help, too :) :)Have a great week. Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat tips, Angela!!! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jill! And thank you all for your wonderful ideas! I love to get new ideas! {and comments!}
ReplyDeleteGreat practical ideas! I love them. Found you through Titus 2sday link-up! I'm hosting a link-up on Tuesday as well. Come on over and join me!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up, Angela!! Great reminders for saving money on the water bill--mine has gotten a bit out of hand lately (too many rounds of dishes through the dishwasher!!)
ReplyDeleteI used to do the dish water in one side, rinse water in another when I lived overseas, more as a matter of necessity than anything, but I haven't done it lately. I'm going to try it again, and also do the toilet-bowl displacement idea. Our toilet is old and uses up huge amounts of water to flush!
ReplyDeleteI just paid our water bill--- and it was higher than normal. Thanks for the tips. We don't even have a yard that we water, but maybe it's the showers. I just started exercising regularly again and the hot water feels so good on sore muscles! Haha, going to have to set a timer!
ReplyDelete(oh, and thanks so much for linking up at Thrifty Thursday!)
ReplyDelete(oh, and thanks so much for linking up at Thrifty Thursday!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind comments everyone! Our water bill was actually low this month!! My husband was pleasantly surprised and asked me what happened...I told him the water bill was too high before,so the kids and I stopped taking showers! =O
ReplyDeleteBe careful using a brick as a displacement -- it can disintegrate and cause plumbing issues. You can use a brick and put it in a zipploc baggie or fill a soda bottle like Ann suggested!!
ReplyDelete~Kristen @ Trial & Error Homemaking
What a great idea, Kristen!! Thank you for sharing!! Better safe than sorry, right?? :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your water saving tips, Angela! The simplest thing that I do to conserve water is that, every time I drink, I make sure to get only what I can consume. This one's very simple, but most people forget to execute.
ReplyDelete