Creative ways to reduce water consumption in your home

The lower the water levels, the higher the water rates. So, you’ve restricted your shower time, you are sticking to the “permitted sprinkler hours”, you’ve installed a JOJO tank to collect rainwater and you’re collecting “grey water” to water your plants. But how do you further cut back water usage in your home to ensure that figure at the bottom of your monthly water statement stays as low as possible?

Here are a few creative ways you can reduce water consumption in your home, while still keeping you and your home clean:

1. Reduce the amount of laundry by re-wearing clothing. Not all clothes are dirty after wearing them once. Wear it until it stinks.
2. Clean up nasty spills, wipe down dirty bodies and messes on countertops with wet wipes rather than wetting a cloth.
3. “If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.” Don’t flush the toilet each time it is used. Each day toilets use about 30% of the daily water used in homes.
4. Try dry shampoo and leave-in conditioner – Give your hair a break. No need to wash your locks every day.
5. Take a shared ‘bird-bath’– Place a bucket in the shower under the shower hose. Open the hot water tap and capture the cold water. Turn off the tap. Using the cold water, wet your body, lather your body with a soapy sponge and then rinse off the vital body parts with hot water from the tap. Save even more water by doing shared family baths and showers.
6. Stop using your dishes, glasses and silverware. Save on water and dishwasher usage by using paper supplies and plastic utensils. Alternatively, stick to doing dishes with a FULL dishwasher rather than washing in the sink.
7. Only do laundry once you have a full load. Invest in a high-efficiency front loader as they use a significantly less water than top loaders.
8. Purchase bottled water for drinking. Fill up the empty bottles at restaurants, the gym, work or the local ‘spring.’ Alternatively reduce water wastage by filling up several water bottles and placing these in the fridge for family members to drink from when they are thirsty, rather than having them fill up cups/glasses of water from the tap.

We would love to hear any creative ideas you have up your sleeve. Please leave a comment below or let us know what you are doing to save water in your home.