Photo by discoodoni

Some time has passed since we published our first article on the subject of water-saving; therefore, we think it's about time to present you with another handful of useful tips!

Last time, we wrote mostly about changes that require some kind of special effort, or maybe even investment. Nonetheless, there are some ways to save water that require only a minor change of your habits. For example, you can simply:

1. Take shorter showers. A long, hot shower is one of the most enjoyable times of the day for many people. However, spending less time in the shower equals saving a lot of water. Another way to cut down on water use is to turn off the shower before soaping up, and when you're done, turn it back on to rinse. Finally, you should prefer taking a shower to taking a bath in order to save water. This doesn't mean you should forget about bathing totally, but by showering most of the time instead, you can save 400 litres of water per week.


Photo by doug88888

2. Turn off the water after you wet your toothbrush. It's pretty simple thing — so simple that you might easily forget. The water doesn't have to be running while you're brushing your teeth. Just wet your brush and fill a glass for mouth rinsing. Letting the water just pour down the sink wastes up to 9 litres per minute.
3. Rinse your razor in the sink. It's a similar case to number 2. There's no need to rinse your razor with pouring water. Fill the sink with warm water instead. It works just as well as running water.
4. Wash dishes without water pouring down the sink. Washing dishes can be done without having to let the water run all the time. If you have a double-basin, fill one with soapy water and one with rinse water. If you have a single-basin sink, put washed dishes in a dish rack and rinse them with a spray device, or in a pot full of hot water. You can apply a similar strategy to cleaning vegetables: rinse them in a stoppered sink or a pan of clean water.
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Kettle
by followtheseinstructions

6. Stop using the toilet as an ashtray or wastebasket. This probably isn't the most common problem, but there are people who have this bad habit. If you're one of them, keep in mind that every time you flush a cigarette butt, facial tissue or other small bit of trash, more than 20 litres of water gets wasted.
7. Boil only as much water as you really need. Don't overfill the kettle when making a single cup of tea. Another option is to boil more water than usual, make more tea and leave it in a vacuum (thermos) bottle afterwards. This way, you're not just saving both water and energy, but you can also get a hot cup of tea anytime you want!

That is all for today. Stay tuned — more advice about water conservation in your garden is on the way!