Save Water! Shower with a Friend!

Water conservation always starts at home.  Each minute you spend in the shower uses 5-10 gallons of water.  So here are some tips to help green up your clean up time!

1. Shower with a friend! The little ladies and I usually all shower together. We try to keep it under 15 minutes and I think that's pretty good when you divide it by three.  Someone rinses while someone soaps and the preschooler usually just plays in the bottom with her water toys.

2.  If you are up to it, try a "navy shower." Talk about your water saver! The concept is simple: hop in, get wet, turn the water off, soap up, turn the water back on, rinse off, turn the water back off. I think that it's a perfect way to shower in the heat of summer, but in the thick of winter, I'll take a steady stream!  Which ties into #3...

3. When taking a regular shower, use a bucket to collect the water running as you wait for it to heat up. We all do it - let the water run until it reaches a nice hot temp and then (and only then!) hop on in the shower.  You can then use this water to fill the toilet tank, water plants, wash dishes, etc.

4. Upgrade your shower head to a low-flow model. You should be able to find one for under $40.

5. And lastly - take shorter showers.  A four minute shower uses approximately 20-40 gallons of water.  A 20 minute shower uses up to 200 gallons of water! Yikes!