I decided I was tired of standing at the sink running the water down the drain, while I waited on it to change to hot water to use. My goodness what a surprise I had when I used a pitcher to catch the water! I was wasting almost a gallon every time I was waiting on the water to get hot. Now I keep a pitcher nearby, and I save the water to use during the day.
Calculating the savings: 2 gallons a day (AM and PM) = 14 gallons in one week or 14 x 52 weeks = 728 gallons a year I was throwing away. Now I simply use the pitcher of water to make tea, coffee, or to water plants. I cannot imagine how much the gallon of water was costing me while I waited on the water to turn to hot. This is the most simple "going green water" solution I have come across yet, and all you need is a pitcher.
By Marsha Fleenor from Greenville, NC
This page contains the following solutions.
I live in the desert. Water is like gold, but is wasted more times than I care to mention. Here's some insight on how I "repurpose" water.
During the stormy season, keep barrels at the ends of the house for water run off. This can be used to water the garden, water the animals and other outside things.
I hate wasting water trying to wash my slimy, messy hands after mixing ingredients. So just before I turn the water on to wash, I take a paper towel or paper napkins and wipe off as much of the mess from my hands and under my finger nails.
Practicing water conservation saves you money, protects the health of your family and reduces the risk of damaging your access to quality drinking water. Water conservation also prevents water pollution-which hurts the environment and ultimately costs money to remedy.
A friend recently put me onto catching the water that my air conditioning unit produces. Living in Florida, I have been able to recycle at least two gallons of pure water daily.
After you've hand-washed your vehicle, don't pour out the bucket of soapy water solution just yet-there's still a lot of cleaning power in those suds; pour it on dirty spots on your patio, carport/gargage floor, picnic table, you-name-it! Scrub the dirty spots with a stiff broom, then rinse with clean water. Voila! You've gotten double duty from your bucket of detergent! By Becky
As we run the water to the correct temperature before showering, we gather the cold water in a bucket. We pour that bucket of water into our washing machine, ready to use for the next load of laundry.
Water, being such a valuable resource, should never be wasted. When running the faucet to get hot water, collect the water in a bucket or cut-up gallon milk bottle.
Instead of rinsing dishes under running water when dishwashing, fill a basin with rinse water and a small splash of vinegar (the vinegar neutralizes the dish detergent and leaves the glasses sparkling).
Almost all toilets can be easily retrofitted to allow a extra low flush by adding some plumbers putty to the inside of a hollow flapper which most 'cheap' toilets have. This makes the flapper heavy and not allow it to float.
Instead of letting your tap run for a cooler drink of water, save the water that runs as you wait for warmer or cooler water in a clean milk jug or pitcher (glass will keep it even colder). Put the jug into the fridge.
Water conservation is an ecologically responsible choice, but can it also be an economically sound choice? Of course it can! Whether you pay for a city water bill every few months or the electric bill for a well water pump, the less water you use the less money you pay.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How are people finding new ways to conserve water in the home?
Saving shower and bath water and using that to flush toilets.
Conserving water is a good thing but many people find the recommended methods too tedious and so they are "short lived".
This page is about conserving water in the garden. There are many ways to use less water on your garden, and still have a bountiful harvest.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Use a water timer for all plants, lawns, trees, and shrubs. Save water by using a drip system.
