The weather in our area varies wildly in the spring and fall. Every time it dips below freezing we have to turn off and drain our sprinklers. It is a time consuming process. It is also painful for me to watch all of the water being wasted as it is draining into the pasture. After draining the sprinklers one afternoon I read a post about some of the ways people living in drought stricken areas conserve water. I realized that I could implement some of the ideas in my household to save time, money, and maybe even some water!
My daughter has named my current conservation plan “recycling spit”. A lot of water is wasted while waiting for it to warm up before washing your face. I decided to collect this clean water from the sinks and use it to water our trees and bushes. My son admitted that he sometimes forgets to pull the bowl out when he brushes his teeth… So far toothpaste spit does not appear to be adversely affecting my trees.
I also put a large dish pan in the kitchen sink. I scrape the food off of the dishes into the counter top compost crock pot (this is another post for another day!) so they require very little rinsing before they go in the dishwasher. After the dishes are done I empty the dish pan on one of our trees. This not only conserves water, by not continuously running the faucet while rinsing dishes, it reduces wear and tear on the garbage disposal and decreases the work load on the septic system.
Jae says
I love your title! When I first read you title, I thought “this might be taking conservation a bit over the top!” When reading the blog, it made perfect sense. Then I chuckled out loud at the creative title!