10 Handy Water-saving Tricks
Not tricks exactly, but they’ll work like magic to keep you from wasting water. Most of us know about low-flow shower heads, but have you thought of all the other little ways to save water?
Didn’t finish that glass of water? Pour it into your window box or the flower bed outside instead of down the sink.
Drop an ice cube? Your dog or cat might like that in the water bowl, or you can place it in the bird bath.
Changing the water in the fish tank? Feed it to the plants. They’ll love the nitrogen!
The kids insist on running through the sprinklers? Have them do this early in the morning or later in the afternoon. The lawn will be able to absorb more water before it evaporates.
Need hot water from the tap? Keep the container you use for watering house plants close by the sink. When you’re letting water run to heat up, stick the watering can under the tap.
Didn’t drink the whole pot of coffee? Save it for frozen coffee drinks or popsicles. Yum.
Runny nose? Remember to throw tissues in the wastebasket, not toilet. Extra flushes waste water.
Don’t have the extra cash for mulch? Use pine needles to help plants retain water. If you don’t have a pine tree, you probably know someone who does.
Do you need to thaw some food before cooking? Don’t run hot water in the sink. Use your microwave’s defrost setting or thaw in the refrigerator overnight if possible.
Having trouble rinsing all the shampoo off your dog’s coat during baths? Fill an empty shampoo or dishwashing liquid bottle halfway with water, then add a couple tablespoons of shampoo. Shake. Squirt this on your dog instead of full-strength shampoo. It will lather very well and rinse quickly! (Don’t do this for medicated shampoos.)
Image via flickr.
Tags: coffee treats, dropped ice cube, free mulch, ice cube in bird bath, kids sprinklers, leftover coffee, thaw food, thaw in microwave, time to water lawn, water conservation, water footprintRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Water
5 opinions for 10 Handy Water-saving Tricks
ROY NORMAN
Jul 17, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Sounds likke sone of the things I heard on the farm as a child and a few from my mother.
Kisha
Jul 17, 2008 at 8:51 pm
A lot of these are things that I have just started to do, mainly at work. We have quite a few plants in the window at school and at the end of the day whatever water is left in the kids cup (usually very little) gets put into a plant. I’ll have to remember that about the dog soap though.
OuterBanksMom
Jul 18, 2008 at 3:49 pm
OK, so we do most of those but being huge coffee drinkers, I never thought of the frozen coffee idea! I”m loving that! My husband and I are gonna try that tonight! I must admit to pouring lots and lots of old coffee out. I never saw it as water :(
Peggy
Jul 18, 2008 at 4:49 pm
OuterBanks, cool! : ) Hope you like it.
Kisha, the shampoo trick is used at some animal hospitals. But never with medicated shampoos. That’s sweet about the kids’ water in the plants.
Roy, some of these are probably old-fashioned, like the pine needles. I grew up on a farm too!
Hil
Jul 21, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Peggy, my hubs is going to love you for that coffee tip. lol
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: