watersaving ideas that dont cost
February 26th 2007 02:04
I find it hard to comprehend what we as individuals can do to save water or assist in protecting our environment.
There are so amny ideas everywhere. Many of them don't make sense, require council permission or will cost $, lots and lots of$.
This is silly, why should it cost a fortune?
In years gone by people lived much more 'green' than we all do now and they certainly didn't have to financial freedom we have today.
I have some basic ideas, many of which we do around our home and have spent very little money making these changes.
FIRSTLY - YOU must be prepared to make these changes and stick to them. You may also like to do 1 or 2 things to start you off, then in a few weeks, add to this. Often if you start someting and it's too much, we just stop doing it once the novelty wears off.
SAVING WATER
* get a water saving shower head.
- I know, I know you like to have loads of pressure, you aren't prepared to sacrifice this. Well stop being so darned selfish and think of our world.
-we found, as we don't have a lot of pressure, that we had increased pressure using one of these showerheads.
-you can often get this for free (wort around $50) with the Government incentives that are around.
-Check web-sites or look out for their displays in shopping centres.
*Reduce your shower time.
-It only need be 2 minutes and this will make a huge difference.
-Yes, it's nice to stand under the shower and dream, relax, sing or play tiddly winks, but you can do all this without the water running.
-share your shower - why not? could be just the thing you need.....
*Turn tap off while brushing your teeth.
-How many of us put water on our toothbrush then leave the tap running while we stand there looking in the mirror and brushing our teeth?
*Use a bucket or container while shaving, brushing your teeth or washing your hands.Your text goes here
- this will help stop the water being wasted down the drain.
-once you have finished, empty it in the garden, water your plants with it.
*don't rinse your glass with water.
-this is a pet hate of mine. Before using a cup or glass, so many people rinse it first. If you must clean it, why not just use a bit of paper towel or a dishcloth?
-if the glass reall y does need to be rinsed make sure the water goes into a tub and use the water for your garden.
*use a bucket in the shower.
- i can't do this becasue i almost fall over anyway with my disability, but I have heard of lots doing this without too much inconvenience.
-Empty the water onto your garden.
*place an ice-cream container in the kitchen sink.Your text goes here
-This can be used for so many things:
-when peeling and rinsing potatoes and vegies, the water along with the peelings can go straight into the compost.
-when washing the dishes
-when washing your hands or rinsing a cup
-many, many other suggestions in the kitchen.
-empty the tub into the garden when done.
*Flush the toilet less often.
-most of us have the 1/2 flush button now and hopwfully we all use it??!!
-when we are all going to bed, have everyone use the bathroom, then flush after the last one has completed.
-of course this isnt such a good idea when #2s are involved. lol.
-flush every 2nd time during the day.
*Use Grey Water
Grey water usage is an area which many councils have made way too hard and that's why we don't bother.
-Put your washing machine hose out the window and place a wheelie bin under it. The bin will fill with water which can be later used in your garden.
-another washing machine idea: buy a long hose and connect this to your washing machine hose, have it on your lwan or garden bed. You need to be sure the hose is close to the same thickness as the machine hose. It can be connected with a clam, you probably have one laying around in your garage, otherwise the hardware store will have one.
-put holes in the extended washing machine hose. We got a big nail and put loads of holes all over the hose (starting where it was on the lawn). The effect of this was when the water came thru, it came out of the hose (similar to a sprinkler) are well as out the end. The lawn and garden gets watered every day because of this.
*place some plants at the front door and back door, these can be watered easily with the tubs of excess water in the house.
-we have a couple of nice green plants, but also some herbs.
-This not only gives us fresh herbs for cooking, it saves us lots of money and looks nice at our entrances.
-it will encourage you to empty the used water from inside the house.
*Start a compost bin/pile.
-no matter how big or small your family or home is, everyone can do this and it doesn't have to cost any money to do.
-just chose a discreet corner or area in your yard to begin.
-we found it worked better if it was closer to the house. origonally we had a compost way up the back of the yard and we all couldn't be bothered walking up the back every day to empty it.
-have a bucket, tub or even an icecream container on your bench near your sink. Put all scraps into this and when full, straigh out to the bin.
*start a small vegie garden.
-i said small because i thin kif you make it too big, you may not be inclined to look after it.
-we started with some corn and pumpkin. Both are very easy to grow and we all eat these vegies.
-use your compost for fertiliser.
-this will help the environment as 'home grown' vegies are less likley to have loads of chemilcals and large machinery isn't used to grow it.
-it's also good for the home environment too!
*Don't wash your car
-ok, I know we all want our car too look great, but there are other options and really, is it that important to have a sparkly car?
-use a cloth to wipe the dirt off.
-if you have to wash, use a bucket of warm water and try not to use chemicals.
*clean without water and chemicals.
*use paper towel to clean up mess rather than a cloth and loads of water.
-If the towel has been used for food/drink spillages, instead of throwing this in the bin, put it into the compost.
8Dont use your dishwaher.
-you will hate me for this one I know.
-Use it only for big loads and consider having the grey water re-used.
-wash dishes by hand with smaller loads.
-try washing all the dishes by hand 1 night a week, at least this will be some asistance.
Ok, so there were some basic hints for you. Of, course there are many more and so many ideas stem from this.
I look forward to adding more hints and tips on our environment and encourage you to add your own.
There are so amny ideas everywhere. Many of them don't make sense, require council permission or will cost $, lots and lots of$.
This is silly, why should it cost a fortune?
In years gone by people lived much more 'green' than we all do now and they certainly didn't have to financial freedom we have today.
I have some basic ideas, many of which we do around our home and have spent very little money making these changes.
FIRSTLY - YOU must be prepared to make these changes and stick to them. You may also like to do 1 or 2 things to start you off, then in a few weeks, add to this. Often if you start someting and it's too much, we just stop doing it once the novelty wears off.
SAVING WATER
* get a water saving shower head.
- I know, I know you like to have loads of pressure, you aren't prepared to sacrifice this. Well stop being so darned selfish and think of our world.
-we found, as we don't have a lot of pressure, that we had increased pressure using one of these showerheads.
-you can often get this for free (wort around $50) with the Government incentives that are around.
-Check web-sites or look out for their displays in shopping centres.
*Reduce your shower time.
-It only need be 2 minutes and this will make a huge difference.
-Yes, it's nice to stand under the shower and dream, relax, sing or play tiddly winks, but you can do all this without the water running.
-share your shower - why not? could be just the thing you need.....
*Turn tap off while brushing your teeth.
-How many of us put water on our toothbrush then leave the tap running while we stand there looking in the mirror and brushing our teeth?
*Use a bucket or container while shaving, brushing your teeth or washing your hands.Your text goes here
- this will help stop the water being wasted down the drain.
-once you have finished, empty it in the garden, water your plants with it.
*don't rinse your glass with water.
-this is a pet hate of mine. Before using a cup or glass, so many people rinse it first. If you must clean it, why not just use a bit of paper towel or a dishcloth?
-if the glass reall y does need to be rinsed make sure the water goes into a tub and use the water for your garden.
*use a bucket in the shower.
- i can't do this becasue i almost fall over anyway with my disability, but I have heard of lots doing this without too much inconvenience.
-Empty the water onto your garden.
*place an ice-cream container in the kitchen sink.Your text goes here
-This can be used for so many things:
-when peeling and rinsing potatoes and vegies, the water along with the peelings can go straight into the compost.
-when washing the dishes
-when washing your hands or rinsing a cup
-many, many other suggestions in the kitchen.
-empty the tub into the garden when done.
*Flush the toilet less often.
-most of us have the 1/2 flush button now and hopwfully we all use it??!!
-when we are all going to bed, have everyone use the bathroom, then flush after the last one has completed.
-of course this isnt such a good idea when #2s are involved. lol.
-flush every 2nd time during the day.
*Use Grey Water
Grey water usage is an area which many councils have made way too hard and that's why we don't bother.
-Put your washing machine hose out the window and place a wheelie bin under it. The bin will fill with water which can be later used in your garden.
-another washing machine idea: buy a long hose and connect this to your washing machine hose, have it on your lwan or garden bed. You need to be sure the hose is close to the same thickness as the machine hose. It can be connected with a clam, you probably have one laying around in your garage, otherwise the hardware store will have one.
-put holes in the extended washing machine hose. We got a big nail and put loads of holes all over the hose (starting where it was on the lawn). The effect of this was when the water came thru, it came out of the hose (similar to a sprinkler) are well as out the end. The lawn and garden gets watered every day because of this.
*place some plants at the front door and back door, these can be watered easily with the tubs of excess water in the house.
-we have a couple of nice green plants, but also some herbs.
-This not only gives us fresh herbs for cooking, it saves us lots of money and looks nice at our entrances.
-it will encourage you to empty the used water from inside the house.
*Start a compost bin/pile.
-no matter how big or small your family or home is, everyone can do this and it doesn't have to cost any money to do.
-just chose a discreet corner or area in your yard to begin.
-we found it worked better if it was closer to the house. origonally we had a compost way up the back of the yard and we all couldn't be bothered walking up the back every day to empty it.
-have a bucket, tub or even an icecream container on your bench near your sink. Put all scraps into this and when full, straigh out to the bin.
*start a small vegie garden.
-i said small because i thin kif you make it too big, you may not be inclined to look after it.
-we started with some corn and pumpkin. Both are very easy to grow and we all eat these vegies.
-use your compost for fertiliser.
-this will help the environment as 'home grown' vegies are less likley to have loads of chemilcals and large machinery isn't used to grow it.
-it's also good for the home environment too!
*Don't wash your car
-ok, I know we all want our car too look great, but there are other options and really, is it that important to have a sparkly car?
-use a cloth to wipe the dirt off.
-if you have to wash, use a bucket of warm water and try not to use chemicals.
*clean without water and chemicals.
*use paper towel to clean up mess rather than a cloth and loads of water.
-If the towel has been used for food/drink spillages, instead of throwing this in the bin, put it into the compost.
8Dont use your dishwaher.
-you will hate me for this one I know.
-Use it only for big loads and consider having the grey water re-used.
-wash dishes by hand with smaller loads.
-try washing all the dishes by hand 1 night a week, at least this will be some asistance.
Ok, so there were some basic hints for you. Of, course there are many more and so many ideas stem from this.
I look forward to adding more hints and tips on our environment and encourage you to add your own.
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