Lori’s Best Ideas on How to Conserve Water

I am bad about this one. I will leave the water running when I'm brushing my teeth, not realizing how many gallons of water I waste per year. According to gogreeninyourhome.com, the average person wastes 13,129 gallons per year brushing their teeth.  Wow that's a lot of wasted water and money.

When you decided to run your dish washer or do a load of laundry make sure you have a full load. When you do partial loads you are wasting water, by doing full loads you are saving up to a 1,000 gallons per month.

Let's face it the saying, "if its yellow let it mellow, if its brown flush it down," doesn't work. Face it, an unflushed toilet is just plain gross. I will flush the toilet each time, because I just cannot stand the thought of an unflushed toilet. Luckily there are ways to be smarter about your flushing. According to ebaygreenteam.com here are a few ideas on how to conserve water involving your toilet - If you’re building a new home or are considering a remodel, there are many great, environmentally friendly options for dual-flush toilets that conserve water with every flush. For a DIY low-flow version, place 2 plastic bottles weighed down with pebbles and water inside your toilet tank (away from mechanical parts). Just make sure there are at least 3 gallons of water remaining in the tank so it flushes properly - otherwise you’ll have to flush twice and miss the whole point!

Also, check for leaks, To check if your toilet is leaking, put a few drops of food coloring in your toilet tank. Wait 15 minutes - if you see color in the toilet bowl without flushing, you have a leak!

When you are watering your lawn make sure you have the sprinkler set to only water your lawn and not the sidewalk or driveway. Also early morning is the best time to water your lawn. According to allaboutlawns.com, 5am is the best time of day to water.  Of course, I'm not that early of a riser but if you have a sprinkler system  set it to come on that early or go turn the water on before you get dressed in the morning, then turn it off when you leave the house.

I love a long hot shower, its good for winding down, but I have realized that taking a shorter shower is a better way to help conserve water. Also combine things, like shaving into your shower routine and kill two birds with one stone. When it comes to showering you might also check into purchasing a low-flow shower head. According to Lowes.com, with a low-flow shower head you save up to 35 gallons of water per 10-minute shower.

I am horrible about drinking half a glass of water then letting it sit out overnight or drinking half a bottle of water then let it get stagnate. Instead of wasting the water and pouring it down the drain, I use it to water my plants.