45 Ways to Conserve Water in the Home + A GIVEAWAY!

When thinking about water conservation the saying goes: reduce, repair and retrofit. Many of the suggestions below are easy to do, even for the laziest cornucopian. Some of the ideas are on the fringe but not impossible. I was tempted to include a running commentary on each point but I figured nobody wants to know that sightings of a short yeti means I have subscribed to #12 or that our Lenten chants have turned into “if it’s yellow let is mellow, if it’s brown flush it down” (tip #1). I have also included a GREAT GIVEAWAY below.

1. Flush less often. 
2. Run the showers for less than 5 minutes. 
3. Avoid brushing your teeth in the shower.
4. Shower less often.
5. Wash your hair less often. 
6. Skip hair washing all together and go No-Poo.
7. Install a water saving showerhead.
8. Install an on/off valve between your showerhead and showerarm. 
9. Turn the water off when soaping or shampooing.
10. Turn the water off when shaving your legs.
11. Shave your legs less often.
12. Rinse off your razor in a small basin of water instead of under a running tap.
13. Stop shaving.
14. Bring a bucket in the shower to collect excess water and use it to water plants.
15. For baths, only fill as much as you need (1/4 full)
16. When running a bath plug the drain before running the water and adjust the temperature as you fill.
17. Make sure your bathtub plug doesn’t leak when bathing.
18. Reuse bathtub water for outdoor plants. 
19. Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth, washing your face or shaving. 
20. Install a low flow tap aerator on the bathroom faucet. (cheap and easy)
21. Repair those leaky faucets.
22. Don’t use the toilet as a garbage can.
23. Insert a water displacer in your toilet tank.
24. Retrofit your toilet by installing a dual flush converter.
25. Upgrade your old toilet for a water efficient one.
26. Check to see if you have a leaky toilet.
27. Fix that leaky toilet.
28. Upgrade to a water saving dishwasher.
29. Only run the dishwasher when it’s full.
30. Full dishwashers use less water than hand washing, so if you have one use it.
31. Scrape food off plates instead of rinsing.
32. Don’t use a kitchen garbarator, compost instead.
33. Soak pots and pans before washing.
34. Install a low flow tap aerator on the kitchen faucet.
35. Plug the sink when rinsing dishes with water.
36. Keep a pitcher of cold water in the fridge instead of running the tap.
37. Reuse cooking water for steaming vegetables by making it into stock or watering plants.
38. Brew tea or coffee in smaller amounts so less goes to waste.
39. Don’t drink water directly from the tap, use a cup.
40. Wash fruits and veggies in a bowl of water.
41. Don’t use running water to thaw frozen food.
42. Catch running water in a basin while you wait for it to warm up.
43. Operate the laundry machine with full loads.
44. Use a high efficiency laundry machine.
45. Know where you master water shut-off valve is.

In order to help one lucky person in their water conservation efforts I am giving away a Water EcoKit.

This kit includes a Earth Massage showerhead (1.5 GPM), teflon tape, leak detection tablets, kitchen swivel aerator (1.5 GPM), two (2) bathroom aerators (1.0 GPM), flow meter bag kit, toilet tank bank and a toilet water saver. The kit is valued at $39 and comes from the goodness of my heart (i.e. this giveaway is not sponsored).

To enter the giveaway follow the prompts in the Rafflecopter widget below. The giveaway is open to residents of Canada and USA and will close on Monday, March 11, 2013. Good luck!

If you leave a comment below please make sure you inform the Rafflecopter widget so that your name will be in the draw. After leaving a comment you can unlock other entry options.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Liking up to Barn Hop, Natural Living Monday and Better Mom Monday.