water conservation

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Save and reuse your water

September 14, 2009 in Water by Jennifer | No comments

Conserving and reusing water is essential. Water is not a never ending resource, even though it may seem like it. In reality, water is not technically becoming more scarce, but we are using more and more of it than ever before. As the demand goes up, there’s always a chance supplies could dwindle. For example, now when various areas experience a drought, the effects are more easily felt than when a drought occurred in the past.

You can save water easily by…

  • Pouring your cooking water into a jar – say you steam veggies – save that water.
  • Installing a rain barrel.
  • Placing a tub into the shower with you and letting it fill as you wash. Just don’t trip on the tub!

You can reuse water for all sorts of things such as…

  • Watering the garden or houseplants or lawn.
  • Washing a car.
  • Mopping the floors.
  • Cleaning windows.
  • Filling the kiddie pool – use the shower water for this one.
  • Cleaning off tools in the garage or muddy boots in the fall.
  • And more.

Sneaky bathroom water saving tips

August 7, 2009 in Water by Jennifer | 1 comment

The saving more water issue really isn’t all that complicated. In fact, you can sum it up in three little words – use less water. Wow. Right? However, for those of you who might like more substantial tips, here ya go…

  • Don’t assume showers save water: Yeah you may have heard this in the past, but know that there are major variables. For example,  according to the Environment Agency, “A 5-minute shower uses about a third of the water of a bath. But remember that power showers can use more water than a bath in less than 5 minutes.“  Now, if my son takes a shower he messes around, takes forever and wastes a lot more water than he might in the bath. But a person who just jumps in and out may save more in the shower. It all depends. If you’re fast a shower is likely your best bet. If you lag, a bath could be more efficient.
  • Shower with a buddy: I couldn’t shower with my son when he was little because he was a hot water hog, but if you’ve got easy going kids or a willing partner, showering together may be more efficient.
  • Lower your time in the shower: You don’t need a daily shower. If you’re not working construction, how dirty are you really getting? Try taking a shower every other day or only washing your hair a couple of times a week.
  • When shaving your legs, scrubbing up, or applying hair treatments turn the water off.
  • Put all your kids in the tub at once.
  • I hate using timers for showers, but I don’t take long ones anyhow. If you do, a timer can really help you to save water.
  • Hot water is bad for your skin; it can dry your skin out. Plus cold water makes your hair shiny. With this in mind, turn the water temp down, which one, saves energy, and two, being that it’s cold you may get out sooner.
  • Place a reusable bin in the tub with you as you shower – be careful not to trip over it!). Collect shower water and use it to water house plants or outside plants or wash the car or mop the floor.

7 Ways To Conserve Water and Energy in the Bathroom

August 4, 2009 in Save Energy, Save Money, Water by Jennifer | 1 comment

Keep it green from the get-go. If you’re building or remodeling, invest in an earth-friendly tub. Diamond Spas and Durat both have eco-friendly options. Durat is especially cool making tubs of solid material with recycled plastics (see Durat tub example above). Check for water leaks: You can do this by checking your water meter say, at 8am. Wait two or three hours but run no water during that time. Re-check your meter and if it’s changed, there’s a leak.

Insulate hot water pipes for hotter water even after changing your heat to a lower setting.

Insulate the water heater tank: It only takes about a year to get back the money you save on this investment and you’ll conserve energy.

Water softeners may cost you: Only use if seriously necessary. According to American Water & Energy Savers, you can “Save water and salt by running the minimum amount of regenerations necessary to maintain water softness. Turn softeners off while on vacation.”

Install water-saving low-flow shower heads.

Take shorter showers – technically you should wash up and get out not linger.

Buy an inexpensive tank bank or float booster for your toilet. This alone could save you ten or more gallons of water per day.

Michelle Kaufmann – Embracing Thoughtful, Walkable Neighborhoods

May 10, 2009 in Uncategorized by Jennifer | No comments

Michelle Kaufmann, one of the major darlings of the green prefab movement, released a white paper this last January, “Embracing Thoughtful, Walkable Neighborhoods,” which offers ten proposed EcoPrinciples for Communities. The ideas revolve around ideas that “Delve into some of the best practices that city planners, developers, architects, and builders can employ in order to design and build green communities that ensure the health of our neighborhoods and our planet over the long-term.”

Green is not some flash in the pan idea, and I like that Kaufmann’s paper addresses the long-term. Plus it’s cool that it focuses on whole community efforts vs. simply focusing on building one green home and calling it a day.

Below is one image from the white paper that points out some of the discussed incorporated green community factors.

A overview of Kaufmann’s ideas about green communities is discussed as well as 10 EcoPrinciples for communities. Three EcoPrinciples include:

Smart design: Which looks at’ “Design to use less, to collaborate with the landscape, and for longevity as well as flexibility”

Energy efficiency: Such as, “Sealing building envelopes with super efficient insulation and glass”

Water conservation: Like, “Making water “challenges” into water “features” and, “Sculpting bioswales into the land”

You can download Embracing Thoughtful, Walkable Neighborhoods for FREE to see all the great ideas offered.

[image via Michelle Kaufmann]

Build a rain barrel for your home

September 10, 2008 in Water by Jennifer | 4 comments

Rain barrels are very cool green home accessories. One simple rain barrel can save around 1,300 gallons of water in the summer months – so once you consider the year round savings, it’s pretty outstanding.

Other reasons to use a rain barrel?

  • Reduced water pollution because a rain barrel reduces stormwater runoff.
  • The water saved in a rain barrel can be used for a multitude of tasks.
  • Rain barrels are low cost to build and use.
  • Rainwater used for lawn and garden help to replenish groundwater – but naturally.

Once you build your rain barrel you can paint and decorate it anyway you choose, and children can be taught how to gather water for the garden from a rain barrel (a good lesson in early water conservation).

To see a video and a link to written instructions about how to make your own rain barrel read: Building & Installing a Rain Barrel.

[image and more information available from Pathway to Water Quality]