Water is a precious resource and when you are trying to Green Your Living it is one of the things that become very important to us. Even if you are not trying to go green yet it is still important. It is sometimes easy to forget about conserving this very important resource as for most of us it flows readily whenever we turn on a faucet. Yet water is vital to the environment, and conserving water helps our critical ecosystems, but saving water also saves you money. You don’t even have to make major lifestyle changes to conserve water in your home.

You can save water in the bathroom, kitchen, and laundry areas inside your home, as well as outdoors. There are 100’s of easy ways to accomplish this environmentally friendly task. Here are a few tips to get you started.

1. Fix any leaks promptly. It has been shown that leaking faucets and toilets account for 14 percent of all indoor water use, which can be gallons of water per person per day.
TIP: Put food coloring in your toilet tank. If it seeps into the toilet bowl without flushing, you have a leak. Fixing it can save up to 1,000 gallons a month. Don’t forget to check outdoor faucets, pipes and hoses for leaks as well.

2. Try using an osmosis or water purification system for your drinking water. This prevents you from having to buy and misuse bottled water. Often when bottled water is used, there is always some water left in the bottle that was then just thrown out. You are saving the landfill sites as well.

3. If you have an older toilet, say installed before 1980, try installing a toilet dam or filled bottle to save water during each flush. Make sure you’re not affecting any operating parts by this installation. You maybe should even consider installing a new water saving toilet that uses less than 1.6 gallons of water per flush.

4. Limit the length of showers you take by setting a time limit for yourself. Maybe take a bath instead. When taking a bath, avoid letting the cold water just run while you are waiting for the hot to warm up. Bucket it and save that cold water for use for watering plants, you can save an additional 200 to 300 gallons a month.

5. You can also limit the amount of water you are using every time you brush your teeth or wash your hands, by making sure the water is not left running while you’re brushing your teeth or scrubbing your hands.

6. Install a water saver showerhead. Look for models that save water without compromising the shower experience. Delta has one that actually changes the thermal dynamics of the water, and delivers larger water droplets while using 36 percent less water than a standard showerhead.

7. The next time you need new taps for your sink look for water-efficient faucets certified by the EPA’s WaterSense program. Some can save as much as 30 percent over a standard faucet.

8. Our lawns and flower beds account for 20 to 50 percent of all residential water use so choose drought-resistant and low water consuming plants. You need to find ways to conserve water but not at the expense of your plants dying! I think drip systems or soaker hoses are the best way to water plants. There is no reason to have water shooting up in the air the way it does when using a sprinkler. Also the best time to give plants a drink is in the evening, not in the morning. There is less evaporation in the cool of the night than during the heat of the day. Try using the bath water to water the plants. The plants won’t mind at all in fact they’ll thank you.

9. When cleaning the driveway or sidewalk use a broom instead of a hose and save up to 80 gallons of water each time.

So as you can see there are lots of ideas and the ideas above are just the beginning. The real thing is what are you going to do about it? Don’t put it off, start making changes today.

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