Set your washing machine to drip dry and bucket out the rinse water
No elaborate grey water systems are need for this one, just a few minutes towards the end of the wash cycle. Have a look on the washing machine and somewhere near the button for cold/warm/hot wash (please use the cold wash setting) there is probably one for drip dry. This means the washing machine will stop before the rinse and spin dry cycles. Keep a bucket handy as then press the normal button and direct the rinse water into a bucket. For me, once it is full I simply lift the lid and it stops rinsing. I then empty the bucket on the garden and repeat the process about five times. That equates to nearly fifty litres of water then goes on the garden rather than down the drain.
A couple of things to keep in mind. Buy a washing detergent designed for cold water washing and with a low phosphate level. You don’t want to end up ‘poisoning’ your garden. As an added measure, don’t always empty the buckets in the same area and try to avoid getting it directly on the leaves if possible.
Keep a bucket in the shower to collect the water before it warms up
If your shower takes a while to warm up, so you stand there waiting to jump in, keep a bucket handy and let the water fill it up while it is warming up. Then just place the bucket outside the shower while you do your cleaning and use it on the garden when you have finished the shower. Because it is just water (no soap because you placed it outside the shower) you don’t have to be as conscious about where you use it.
If it’s yellow, let it mellow – another way to save water
All right, this one might not be for everyone and porbably better for those that live alone. Try not flushing the toilet after each visit if you have just urinated. Even just doing it every second time will save a few litres a day. Of course this one is a personal choice. The other option is to do it in the garden. Again, perhaps it depends the privacy of your garden. Oh yeah, much easier for men rather than women.
Don’t fill the kettle all the way if you just need one cup of boiling water
The savings are twofold with this one because you are not using as much water and as it takes much less time for a cup to boil compared to a normal eight cup kettle then you are saving energy costs as well. The recommended minimum for most kettles is more than enough water for your cup of tea or coffee. If there is any left over, let it cool and use it on the garden or if you have some weeds you wish to get ird of then poor the boiling water on them for a natural weed killer.
Don’t buy bottled water, take it from home in a reusable container
That one litre of bottled water probably took about three times as much water to produce and get to your hand. There is the water involved in making the container and not to mention the oil-based ingredients too. Then there’s the transportation costs and most likely the shop refidgeration costs as well. Isn’t it easier to just grab a bottle of water before you leave home? Sure, it’s not always practical, however, for thos times that you can do it, why not do it. Add the fact that at least 25% of the bottles aren’t recycled and there is the added cost to the environment of all these bottled clogging up waterways and ending up floating around the oceans.
