shape
carat
color
clarity

drought, what do you do to conserve water

@missy You wash your nightclothes every day? Freshly washed nightclothes every night? God, I must be really dirty - I change mine once a week!
 
Didn't have kids!

This is the second best thing a human can do to reduce the consumption of everything.
The very best thing to end your carbon/water/everything footprint is to suicide, even better if you do it before reproducing.
 
@missy You wash your nightclothes every day? Freshly washed nightclothes every night? God, I must be really dirty - I change mine once a week!

LOL I just love the feel and smell of freshly washed nightclothes. It's a real luxury for me. In Brooklyn we couldn't do so many loads daily as the machines were in the basement and shared with other shareholders so I was mindful of not hogging the machines. But here, in our beach house we have two washing machines and two dryers and they are all ours. It is a luxury I can do this and I am grateful for it.
 
Didn't have kids!

This is the second best thing a human can do to reduce the consumption of everything.
The very best thing to end your carbon/water/everything footprint is to suicide, even better if you do it before reproducing.

Yes, true.
We didn't have kids either so I think I am OK doing a few loads of laundry a day. :bigsmile:
 
@missy - I know someone who also loves the feel of fresh bedlinen - I mean, don't we all; I certainly do, but not enough to do laundry every day - anyway, the person I know says the best feeling is when the sheets are dried outside on the line or whirligig, and then they are even fresher. Just wanted to put that out there since you are a fresh-laundry person!

ETA: I do change my nightclothes more often if I was sweaty or if I lounged around in them too much. I love the feel of clean jammies.
 
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.)

you know lemon trees are quite partical to um er
human pee
 
Is each cat dressed in a sumptuous and complicated outfit?? :lol: Underpants, bloomers, a corset, socks, oversocks, thermal undershirt, overshirt, pants, vest, sweater, coat??

Poor Missy
it was trully dreadful
wormgate got worse by the day and i hope no one i know every goes through it

i have found cats love fresh laundry so i used to wash Tiny's blankets just so he could enjoy them

=)2

the i would warm them on the heated towel rail so they were all nice for him
(he was trully a prince amoung men)
 
Didn't have kids!

This is the second best thing a human can do to reduce the consumption of everything.
The very best thing to end your carbon/water/everything footprint is to suicide, even better if you do it before reproducing.

Amen to this. People don’t want to hear it, but it’s the truth.
 
i dont have children, im all for human exstintion but i kind of liked this idea in theory a whole lot more before things got so dire
i want there to be a world worthy for the alligators and crocodils of the future to inherit

there are just a few too many billion of us now
but no one asks to be born

right now its surposed to be still winter
we are having terrible flooding and land slides, not so much were i live, we just got wind and a few trees down
but it has been 20 degrees the last couple of days
hot and humid does not make a winter

all i want to do is stand in a very tepid shower for an hour and cool off
 
I hesitated about whether to post this but since another PSer mentioned it in her thread I figure I'll be brave and own up.

Skip a shower. Saves lots of water!

During the drought I showered every second day. I'd make sure to shower if I was meeting the girls or going on a date but generally it was every second day. Really effective way to save water!
 
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.

That scotch and NO water is the best idea yet!!!! :P2 :wavey:
 
HI:

The water capture in the shower is brilliant. Not sure about watering a flushing toilet tho......our toilets are "low flow" Toto's. Most new appliance these days are low flow(ish).

I never run the taps while washing my face or brushing my teeth.

cheers--Sharon
 
HI:

The water capture in the shower is brilliant. Not sure about watering a flushing toilet tho......our toilets are "low flow" Toto's. Most new appliance these days are low flow(ish).

I never run the taps while washing my face or brushing my teeth.

cheers--Sharon

You don't flush the toilet with the handle at all when you use the bucket of water. Gravity works its magic when the extra water is poured in quickly and it flushes itself. However, you are left with a bowl with a lower than usual water level until you flush the toilet normally, or you can add a little more water afterward, but slowly, so it stays in the bowl.
 
You don't flush the toilet with the handle at all when you use the bucket of water. Gravity works its magic when the extra water is poured in quickly and it flushes itself. However, you are left with a bowl with a lower than usual water level until you flush the toilet normally, or you can add a little more water afterward, but slowly, so it stays in the bowl.

Oh, that's interesting. I was wondering how that worked.
 
Some great ideas on here already.
  • Install a rainwater tank
  • Short showers <3mins
  • Bucket in shower to collect excess
  • Brick in loo cistern
  • Don’t run tap when brushing teeth or washing veg.
  • No lawn, drought proof plants
 
My town has now banned serving water in restaurants, unless it is specifically asked for. Here are our newest restrictions
customers must adhere to Stage II-A water restrictions.
Use of public water supply for any of the following purposes is prohibited:

  • Watering shrubbery, trees, lawns, grass, plants, or other vegetation EXCEPT from a watering can or another container not exceeding three-gallon capacity.
  • Washing vehicles or other mobile equipment EXCEPT from a watering can or another container not exceeding three-gallon capacity.
  • Washing of streets, driveways, parking lots, service station aprons, or the exterior of commercial or residential buildings EXCEPT from a watering can or another container not exceeding three-gallon capacity.
  • Operation of any ornamental fountain or other structures making similar use of water.
  • Filling (from an empty or less than three-quarters full condition) of swimming and/or wading pools, EXCEPT for home wading pools not requiring more than five gallons of water.
  • Service of drinking water in restaurants, EXCEPT on request.

Plant nurseries, golf course greens, and commercial agricultural activities are exempt from the above restrictions.


It's getting pretty dire, it seems. Now you can't even water your vegetable garden unless with a 3 gallon container, which I assume can't be filled up from your outdoor hose. Hoping for rain and not just the short showers that they predict (and don't seem to come).
 
Oh @Lookinagain I'm so sorry

We spent so many years in drought prior to the floods so I know what you're going through. I really feel for you. I used to check dam levels every day like a crazy person. And it was never something I discussed with people. Just me going crazy as everything dried up and burned!

*Hugs*
 
@Lookinagain Wow. Well, at least the drought issues are providing excellent cover for me not being as insanely clean as some. I mean, obviously I'd like to shower four times a day and launder everything I own six times a day but, yanno, drought! :lol:

ETA: I think you can fill your 3-gallon container from the outdoor hose. I don't think it matters which outlet the water comes from, I think it's about not using the hose itself to water, since it's too tempting to use a lot that way.

And five gallons for a home wading pool?? Who can wade in that? A garden fairy??
 
Last edited:
This is a very interesting thread, though. Before this, I hadn't thought about how to save water. I already don't shower every day and I save up huge loads of laundry to be done once every 2-3 weeks, and I have quite short showers. I guess I could ensure I turn off the faucet during teeth-cleaning and face-washing, and do the "if it's yellow let it mellow" thing, which skeeves me out more than a little but makes sense.

When I boil the electric kettle for a cup of tea, I only boil what I need, instead of boiling the whole kettle.

Someone mentioned putting a brick in the cistern. My toilet is already pretty low-flush, I think. Would the brick thing hamper it's flushing ability? Does anyone know?

If I do the brick thing and remember to turn off those faucets while washing, I think I would be at peak water savings. I don't have a yard or plants, so saving the shower water in a bucket wouldn't help. I guess I could use it to flush the toilet though.
 
and do the "if it's yellow let it mellow" thing, which skeeves me out more than a little but makes sense.

I admit it's kind of gross, but I figure that this is what the toilet seat cover is for. Also, we have 2.5 bathrooms, but try to use/mellow only the upstairs master bath, so the other two are always fresh.
 
Wow. Well, at least the drought issues are providing excellent cover for me not being as insanely clean as some. I mean, obviously I'd like to shower four times a day and launder everything I own six times a day but, yanno, drought! :lol:

Yes, I decided not to wash the kitchen floor this weekend, to save water! :mrgreen2:
 
We actually got some rain today, real rain, for about 2 hours. Yeah!
 
My grandfather always said, "If it's yellow let it mellow. If it's brown flush it down."
He grew up with a well that would run dry in summer if they weren't careful.
 
Yay, it’s thrashing down here, so we’ve put out lots of containers to catch as much as we can.
 
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Top