natjtan Sometimes you don’t realise how much you take something for granted until it’s gone. Like when the water pump in my building fails and left without water for an afternoon.
That means no flushing the toilet, no washing hands, no drinking water, no cups of tea, no washing up, not even boiling a pan of water to cook vegetables. Just a feeling of feeling dirty, how much you rely on water out a tap on demand and to be honestly helpless. Now for those just in case afternoons which have only happened 3 times in the last few years, I have a 6 litre water bottle just in case stored away. I should probably learn how to filter water too as a survivalist. Those moments of not having any water make you think about how you’d survive without water or electricity if you didn’t have clean water skills or knowing how to build fires to cook and be warm or even a generator. I wouldn’t survive long!
However I’m always trying to save on water. More so for the environment. The water bill followed. That’s risen so much in the last few months as energy costs have soared in Europe. I don’t even want to talk about the electricity bill. I’m using the same amount of electricity yet it’s approx €63 more a month. Now I for sure unplug the toaster and kettle when not in use.
The past few years I’ve been using the following tips that have now become second nature. They do save, yet it doesn’t help the hot water takes so long to come through!:
When shampooing and conditioning my hair I turn off the shower. This saves quite a lot of water. Yes, might be chilly in the winter but honestly you get used to it.
When cleansing my face in the shower I again turn off the shower while applying cleanser.
Shaving my legs, again you guessed it I turn off the shower!
Turn off the tap/faucet while brushing teeth.
Turn off the tap while washing hands. It doesn’t need to be on the whole hand washing sequence. I know however with older turn/compression taps as opposed to lever taps this is tricker to impossible.
When just washing my face in the sink at night, I again turn off the tap when I don’t need it.
I know and understand 2 showers a day are needed for some. In the summer I’m 2 showers a day to remove sunscreen and salt water from the sea, but I try to keep the second shower short. In the winter I just as my mum says, top and tail plus wash my feet. If my feet have had a little hot water shower I feel warm and clean!
While washing the dishes I again try not to have the tap running constantly. I soap up the dishes, then rinse them with running water. It doesn’t always work this way, but I try! This kitchen is probably the number one place where water’s lost.
When cooking vegetables I only put what water’s needed in the pan, or try too. There are days when I’m not concentrating!
Hand washing clothes again I try not to over fill the bowl. Rinsing however is where the water’s lost so I try be as efficient as possible rinsing. The trick is not to use too much hand washing detergent initially.
Watering plants inside and on the balcony, when AJ and Dd (my cats!) were alive I’d use their previous day water for some plants. Now the plants get filtered water via Brita On Tap. When I can I use water left over in my water bottle too.
This one might gross some people out: If it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down! If it’s just a pee it can wait a few more pees until a flush. This saves so much water! I don’t leave it longer than an hour as I don’t that yellow water mark line in the toilet bowl or the smell. Once you start noticing how much you flush the toilet after each use, you’ll be surprised by how much. In Europe most bathroom toilet flushes have 2 options. A larger flush button and smaller flush button indicating a larger or smaller volume of water used flushing. To be honest the smaller flush option in public bathrooms never works and yes, I don’t let anything mellow in public bathrooms. I flush!
These are just a few tips I started to incorporate daily that became habits to saving water, both in energy costs and to the environment! If you have any tips on saving water, please comment below. Thank you for stopping by!