Getting Creative

Take shorter showers and turn off your faucet while brushing your teeth. When discussing water conservation and things that I can do to use less water, I think I have heard those two phrases more times than I can count. Maybe it’s just me, but I am getting pretty tired of hearing the same thing over and over again. This is what I am here to fix. I will list a couple creative ways that are easy for everyone save water without having to hear the same thing repeatedly.

·      Make it a game: This is perfect for families with kids, especially those at a young age. Instead of just telling your family to take a shower no longer than 10 minutes, give them an incentive to do so. Have a competition among every person in your family and record how long each person’s showers are. At the end of the week, add all of them up. Whoever has the smallest amount of time in the shower gets a prize. Saving the environment does not have to be a task that isn’t the least but fun; but it is up to you to make it something you want to do.

·      Always finish the cup: You know when you are at home and grab a glass of water but don’t finish the whole thing? Next this happens to you, which I am sure will be in the next few days, think about what to do with that left over water. Instead of just throwing it down the drain and wasting it, think of another way it can be used. Something’s that my family does around our house are using it to water plants or putting it in our dog’s water bowl. At school, however, I am a big fan of water bottles, but just like my glasses at home, I never finish it all in one sitting. But guess what? WATER DOESN’T GO BAD! Stick that water bottle back in the refrigerator, and finish it later. Next time you have a glass of water, don’t put it in the dish washer or recycle the bottle until it is 100% empty.

·      Rainwater!!!!: I don’t think people realize how much useable freshwater falls for the sky every time it rains. It is extremely simple to set up a rainwater-collecting system. That way, the extremely valuable water that comes out of the sky doesn’t go to waste. Some examples of how you can use rain water is for gardening, cleaning your home, washing your car, and in some cities, you are even allowed to use it for your toilets (just double check that that is allowed where you actually live). I see no reason to not collect this precious water. Instead of getting water from a tap or hose, where you probably take way more than you need anyway, set up a system in your yard that collects rainwater.

These are just a few, different, creative ways that you can save water. While they aren’t ideas that you hear everyday, they are small steps that you can think of on your own. My challenge for you this week is to think of some other easy, non conventional ways, on your own to save water in your house.

A.M.Y.