Water Conservation: Five Ideas That Are So Old School They Are New
Water conservation is a familiar topic.
Low flow shower heads, high efficiency toilets, turning off the tap when brushing teeth, is there anything else you can do to save water? Look over these ideas that are so old school they are new and see.
1.
Reinstate "play clothes".
With casual wear in many offices, it's easy to get home and jump into the tasks at hand without changing first.
This means your work clothes need more frequent washing since they get dirtier at home than they do at work assuming you work a desk job.
Hang up the work clothes to let them air out and put on play clothes which don't need to be dryer fresh every wearing.
Speaking of dryer fresh, string a clothesline.
You'll understand why when we get to idea five.
2.
Use an apron.
Great grandma didn't wear an apron just to look quaint.
Aprons were practical because they were inexpensive and washed well unlike her (and your) everyday wear.
Then and now, clothes covered in aprons will need less washing.
And don't worry.
Aprons are not frumpy as long as no bun or black oxfords are involved.
3.
Don't dump out ice cubes from your drink in the sink.
Put them in your pet's water dish or on your plants, not the hothouse orchid, please, but something a little more cold tolerant.
Rule of thumb, as little clean water as possible should go down the drain.
A sink sized tub can help capture gray water.
4.
Fill a pitcher and put it in the fridge for cold water that does not require running the tap.
Ok, this idea isn't old school as much as it is an excuse to go to a thrift store and buy a retro-cool glass pitcher.
Word of advice: the pitchers where you have to hold the fridge door open and fill your glass from a spigot may look convenient but they will cause your refrigerator to run more.
This in turn uses more energy.
Which brings us to...
5.
Reduce your energy consumption.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Producing energy requires water.
Producing potable water requires energy.
Water and energy are so intertwined in a nexus that conserving one means conserving the other.
For more information, search "water energy nexus" in your search engine of choice.
If you only implement one water conservation idea among many others, implement this one.
Low flow shower heads, high efficiency toilets, turning off the tap when brushing teeth, is there anything else you can do to save water? Look over these ideas that are so old school they are new and see.
1.
Reinstate "play clothes".
With casual wear in many offices, it's easy to get home and jump into the tasks at hand without changing first.
This means your work clothes need more frequent washing since they get dirtier at home than they do at work assuming you work a desk job.
Hang up the work clothes to let them air out and put on play clothes which don't need to be dryer fresh every wearing.
Speaking of dryer fresh, string a clothesline.
You'll understand why when we get to idea five.
2.
Use an apron.
Great grandma didn't wear an apron just to look quaint.
Aprons were practical because they were inexpensive and washed well unlike her (and your) everyday wear.
Then and now, clothes covered in aprons will need less washing.
And don't worry.
Aprons are not frumpy as long as no bun or black oxfords are involved.
3.
Don't dump out ice cubes from your drink in the sink.
Put them in your pet's water dish or on your plants, not the hothouse orchid, please, but something a little more cold tolerant.
Rule of thumb, as little clean water as possible should go down the drain.
A sink sized tub can help capture gray water.
4.
Fill a pitcher and put it in the fridge for cold water that does not require running the tap.
Ok, this idea isn't old school as much as it is an excuse to go to a thrift store and buy a retro-cool glass pitcher.
Word of advice: the pitchers where you have to hold the fridge door open and fill your glass from a spigot may look convenient but they will cause your refrigerator to run more.
This in turn uses more energy.
Which brings us to...
5.
Reduce your energy consumption.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Producing energy requires water.
Producing potable water requires energy.
Water and energy are so intertwined in a nexus that conserving one means conserving the other.
For more information, search "water energy nexus" in your search engine of choice.
If you only implement one water conservation idea among many others, implement this one.
Source...