drought, what do you do to conserve water

[Lookinagain]

So, my area is in a severe drought right now which is unusual for us. I know many of you in the U.S. and other countries have dealt with this before or are currently dealing with it. I'm trying to be as conscious as I can about my water usage. I'm not referring to the outdoor watering ban that is imposed by the town, but what I can do to reduce my water usage. I feel like I should make my best effort to use much less water than I typically do, so please give me any tips you may use. I already save the cooking water from things like potatoes, rice, veggies, and put that in my potted plants. And I try to really limit how much laundry I do. I use the dishwasher instead of hand washing dishes as I've read that it uses less water. But if there are more ways for me to contribute, I'd appreciate knowing them as I want to do my part. Thank you for your recommendations.

 

[jaysonsmom]

We put a bucket in the shower, and catch the water while water is heating up. My husband carries the buckets of water and uses the shower water to water plants inside the house and front yard planter. We converted our backyard to drought tolerant xeriscape, and we have turf instead of real grass.

 

[LilAlex]

Spouse keeps two buckets in the shower to catch the warming water and we use that to (almost) flush the toilet . This is a work in progress...

 

[Lookinagain]

Thank you. Most of my landscaping is dying. I don’t know if it will come back but if not I will definitely replant with drought tolerant plants.

 

[Lookinagain]

I’ll add the shower tip to my routine.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

We went through this a few years ago (and then we flooded after the drought but that's another story).

*Bucket in the shower
*If you take a bath, save all the bath water and bail it by buckets to water the garden or flush the toilet. Just leave the tub full and scoop to flush the toilet each time until you use up the entire bath
*Bucket in the sink when you wash your hands to collect water for the garden. I've found a bit if soap doesn't hurt the plants or grass.
*If you wash rice or vegetables, save all the rinsing water for the garden.

I'll post more if I think of anymore!

 

[yssie]

Publicly shame anyone with a pool or a green lawn.

And/or move to the east coast, where humidity is currently sky-high, it's so muggy that you feel like you're getting a facial whilst walking from your car to the office, and the mosquitos are thriving.

(Glad I could assist.)

 

[Lookinagain]

Oh, I am on the east coast. New England. Terrible heat for here. All of the lawns are dead. And yes, high humidity, but no rain except for a drip here and there. When I drive through my town, there are one or two (very large) homes who actually have sprinklers going. I'm sure they should be fined, so next time I see it, I'm reporting them.

 

[yssie]

Oh, I am on the east coast. New England. Terrible heat for here. All of the lawns are dead. And yes, high humidity, but no rain except for a drip here and there. When I drive through my town, there are one or two (very large) homes who actually have sprinklers going. I'm sure they should be fined, so next time I see it, I'm reporting them.

We're in different parts of the northeast apparently! It's been raining like mad lately where I am!

 

[Lookinagain]

I'm in the red part. Even when I see gray clouds, nothing happens. They say we are getting rain and nothing happens. I need to be where you are. I think if I got some rain, I'd stand outside and do a happy dance.

 

[yssie]

Omg!!

I’m in the mid atlantic. It was hailing Wednesday! And there have been a few storms the past week. And I’m not THAT far from you!

I left that mat out to air out and I forgot to bring it back in, sigh.

Fingers crossed for you to take some of my rain soon!

 

[Lookinagain]

Fingers crossed for you to take some of my rain soon!

we will gladly take it! And thanks for the offer

 

[vintageinjune]

We have the toilets with different buttons for flushing liquid versus solid, I put the leftover tea kettle water into my distiller that I use to make distilled water for my horrifically picky house plants. Xeriscaped the back yard. Looking at options for xeriscaping the front yard, my state did pass laws against HOAs preventing people from xeriscaping yards to conserve water but I know I'll get some push back regardless. We also purchased low water use, high efficiency appliances for the washer and dishwasher.

Never thought to capture the "warm up" shower water with buckets, gonna have to add that to my list. That and saving the water from rinsing produce to also add to the distiller. Man, I've been slacking.

Shaving off my tailbone length hair has saved a lot of water, I can do a full shower in 3-4 minutes now.

Where I live, there is a big push to get people to upgrade to the lower water per flush toilets, because that really does add up.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

this is the first time in my life i have lived somewhere with no water restrictions
i feel very greatful
because i do know what its like to run out and turn on the tap to not a drop

we were never allowed sprinklers
my mum would save washing machine water for the garden
we never had baths, always showers
we never had a waste master

also modern dishwashers do not need the dishes to be pre-rinced - just scarp off any left over food



the most visible thing we do to not waste waster is
we dont mow the lawn (its called rewilding)
honestly last summer we had 5 months of hot and we had the only green lawn left in our town !
the looks not for everyone but the birds love it
or just dig up the lawn and plant drought tolereant plants

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

you can put a brick in your toilet cisten if your not quite ready to upgarde
quite a lot of people do that

 

[missy]

My DH said instead of scotch and water he just drinks scotch. LOL JK

We are following the rules. We have a mild drought in our county.
We are allowed to water the lawn every other day.
I take quick showers. No baths.
I used to do four loads of laundry a day (cycling clothes/workout clothes, towels, etc) and have reduced that to one or two loads a day depending.

Of course if the drought becomes more severe I would take more drastic measures. But for now we are not in a bad situation. One positive of living in the Northeast I suppose. And rain is on the way for Monday so hopefully that puts us where we need to be re the water situation.

 

[Crimson]

Such good ideas. My sister lives in MA. Her usually lush lawn is all brown.I live in Singapore, which doesn’t have water security - so water-saving is a national Issue. Everyone here is encouraged to:
Wash clothes on a full load.
Use a half flush or flush with re-used water.
Turn off the shower when soaping, keep showers short and capture the water if possible.
Turn tap off when brushing teeth, rinse with a mug or cup.
Rinse fruit and vegetables in a container and re-use the water,
Check for leaks, buy appliances that use less water, and install water-saving thimbles.
Singapore recycles water nationally — the waste water is treated and used again.

404 | PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency

We have moved! You may like to browse for information via our home page or pose your questions to Ask Wally at the bottom right of the page.

www.pub.gov.sg

Let’s hope it rains as predicted!

 

[Jambalaya]

I don't think there's anything more I could do to conserve water. My lifestyle conserves it naturally. I have no yard, and I take really short showers because I hate standing up for extended periods. My showers are a maximum of five minutes, and more like 2-3 mins if I'm not washing my hair. I never stand under the water for the hell of it - I wash and go. God, I'll never forget when I friend came to stay and she would have a twenty-minute shower if she wasn't washing her hair and a forty-minute shower if she was, and damn anyone else who wanted hot water for a shower! How can anyone have a forty-minute shower!!!! Standing there is NOT relaxing!

Baths, on the other hand....But I rarely have them.

In my building we have two large commercial washing machines. I save up all my laundry until I have two full loads, meaning that I only do laundry once every 2-3 weeks.

@missy - four loads a day!! For two of you! That's crazy!

 

[RMOO]

We do not live in an area with water restrictions, but why waste it? To conserve on our water bill, we water outdoor plants with vegetable/fruit washing water. And it may be kind of gross, but it's just the two of us now in the house, so we don't flush every time (unless we have guests.)

 

[yssie]

@missy - four loads a day!! For two of you! That's crazy!

Plus a petting zoo number of cats!!

We’ve got a petting zoo too, they generate an astonishing amount of laundry (and paper towel expenses)!!

 

[Karl_K]

Unless one has to wash hair do a sponge bath instead of a shower. Many people wash their hair way to much and a sponge bath of stink zones is better for your skin than a shower.

 

[Austina]

Publicly shame anyone with a pool or a green lawn.

And/or move to the east coast, where humidity is currently sky-high, it's so muggy that you feel like you're getting a facial whilst walking from your car to the office, and the mosquitos are thriving.

(Glad I could assist.)

Funny you should mention the pool. We went to a meeting at our water supplier on Monday. The owner of a large pool company attended with the facts and figures concerning pools. Whilst a pool is under construction, (4-6 months) the area where the pool will be will typically have been grassed and therefore will no longer be watered. Once the pool has been built, with an appropriate cover, the evaporation of the water from the pool and the subsequent top up, is again, considerably less than water used to irrigate what was the grassed area.

We are under stage 3 restrictions, (was stage 4 a few weeks ago due to local brush fires). We are only allowed to use the sprinklers once a week, and we keep each cycle to an absolute minimum in order to keep the grass alive. We put a large plastic storage box in the shower to catch any water cast off, which we use to water the plants (it’s all new planting), as well as any cold tea, and any other liquid waste. We both pee before flushing the toilet, and make sure the dishwasher is full before running it. I also will only do washing when I have a full load, typically, 2 loads a week, one lights, one darks.

Once we get round to landscaping the back garden, we’re going for xeriscaping to keep the need for watering to an absolute minimum.

 

[Jambalaya]

We do not live in an area with water restrictions, but why waste it? To conserve on our water bill, we water outdoor plants with vegetable/fruit washing water. And it may be kind of gross, but it's just the two of us now in the house, so we don't flush every time (unless we have guests.)

To quote Dustin Hoffman in Meet The Fockers: "If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down!"

 

[Jambalaya]

Plus a petting zoo number of cats!!

We’ve got a petting zoo too, they generate an astonishing amount of laundry (and paper towel expenses)!!

Is each cat dressed in a sumptuous and complicated outfit?? Underpants, bloomers, a corset, socks, oversocks, thermal undershirt, overshirt, pants, vest, sweater, coat??

 

[missy]

I don't think there's anything more I could do to conserve water. My lifestyle conserves it naturally. I have no yard, and I take really short showers because I hate standing up for extended periods. My showers are a maximum of five minutes, and more like 2-3 mins if I'm not washing my hair. I never stand under the water for the hell of it - I wash and go. God, I'll never forget when I friend came to stay and she would have a twenty-minute shower if she wasn't washing her hair and a forty-minute shower if she was, and damn anyone else who wanted hot water for a shower! How can anyone have a forty-minute shower!!!! Standing there is NOT relaxing!

Baths, on the other hand....But I rarely have them.

In my building we have two large commercial washing machines. I save up all my laundry until I have two full loads, meaning that I only do laundry once every 2-3 weeks.

@missy - four loads a day!! For two of you! That's crazy!

Well we are very active and wash our workout clothes daily and our cycling clothes daily. Have to because we sweat a lot working out and cycling too. Two different activities we do daily. I also like to wash towels daily and microfiber cloths daily. So our cycling clothes, workout clothes, clothes I wear at night hanging around the house and my nightgown, PJs daily and cat stuff daily. It all adds up.

 

[missy]

Plus a petting zoo number of cats!!

We’ve got a petting zoo too, they generate an astonishing amount of laundry (and paper towel expenses)!!

That's true! The cat stuff adds up and they are dirty little creatures

OMG remember ringworm gate? That was easily six plus loads of laundry daily. And vacuuming and mopping daily (floor and walls!) and doing our king size bed linens daily... It was truly a nightmare.

 

[yssie]

That's true! The cat stuff adds up and they are dirty little creatures

OMG remember ringworm gate? That was easily six plus loads of laundry daily. And vacuuming and mopping daily (floor and walls!) and doing our king size bed linens daily... It was truly a nightmare.

Your ringwormgate has put ringworm at the very top of my "worry" list when bringing home a new animal

 

[missy]

Your ringwormgate has put ringworm at the very top of my "worry" list when bringing home a new animal

I am glad my experience has helped others! Believe me I tell everyone who rescues or adopts animals to separate them for a full month or more just in case. It can take over 30 days to show up. Unreal.

And @yssie it went on for over 6 months.

 

[yssie]

I am glad my experience has helped others! Believe me I tell everyone who rescues or adopts animals to separate them for a full month or more just in case. It can take over 30 days to show up. Unreal.

And @yssie it went on for over 6 months.

God. I remember the thread. Vividly. It was horrifying just to read. You and Greg are saints.

 

[missy]

God. I remember the thread. Vividly. It was horrifying just to read. You and Greg are saints.

Haha well my parents do call him Saint Greg...

And by the way thank you for all your support in that thread and through the years. XO