for instant use, you have to keep the water from being wasted.
Keep a jug near the sink, and when you run the tap for hot water, just hold on to the water. Then use that supply next time you need water.
And while we’re talking about running taps, you should take care not to let any dripping ones go untended. A dripping faucet can waste hundreds (if not thousands) of gallons every year. A wrench and a new washer is probably all you need to green up your taps.
One last tip: if you tend to run a lot of water when rinsing things off, add an aerator to your faucet. You’ll get more spray but use less water. They’re easy to install, and typically just screw on to the end of your faucet.
This might not be the most appealing tip on Monday morning, but cutting back on your shower time can help save water. Quite a bit of water, actually.
You are likely using around 2 ½ gallons of water for every minute you are in the shower. If you want to save water, time your showers. If you shorten your shower by 2 minutes, that adds up to about 150 gallons of water saved each month. Shaving off just a minute or two will make a difference.
The main environmental savings is reduced water usage, but don’t forget that you will also use less hot water which means less wasted power.
Shorter showers aren’t your only option. A low-flow shower head can help you cut back on the gallons without actually getting less shower time. The average model will reduce your water consumption to around 1 ½ gallons per minute. They’re not that expensive and just screw on in place of the old head. You won’t even need a plumber.
You might try showering a little less often as well. The cultural norm in North America is to shower daily. That’s 25 gallons of water gone each day. Maybe you can change your thinking a bit and cut that down. Unless you a doing a lot of physical (i.e sweaty) labor, most people can stay perfectly clean with an every-other-day shower.
Any combination of these ideas will improve the environmental impact of your shower, and save hundreds (if not thousands) of gallons of water in the process.
Turn Off the Computer at Night
Older folks in the 1990s will remember hearing the standard tip that you should leave your computer running through the night. The problem was that the powering up sequence would surge a large amount of energy through the components, actually causing more wear and tear on your computer.
Today, that no longer applies. Computers use more power if they sit idle all night instead (even when asleep or on standby). Aside from the financial losses, that wasted power can equal about 20 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions to produce all that electricity.
It really only takes a moment to properly shut down and turn off your computer each night, and it’s easy enough to make it a usual habit. Not only will you use less power, you will extend the life of your computer. It needs the chance to cool down. If you do need to leave it running because it’s doing something necessary, turn off the monitor.
There is one instance when letting your computer run at night may be the wiser choice, and that is when you have to run a particularly long process (like a big backup, download, or virus scan). If you live in an area that has electricity charges based on the time of day, it will cost you less to do these things at night.
Don’t roll your eyes at this tip just yet. The library may not be as relevant in this cyber age of paper-less Kindle books, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a place in an eco-enthusiast’s life.
Granted, switching your book choices to digital ebooks is a fantastic way of reducing paper consumption and waste, there is still room for the benefits of a library.
For one thing, the books are free. Though it is possible to populate your ebook reader with free books, it’s not always that easy. If you enjoy reading the latest novels, you’ll almost always have to pay for them. On the other hand, they’re always free at the library. And generally, just having the feel of a physical book in your hands is enough of a reason to stick with “real” books.
How many books are we talking about here? Billions. Even with recycled content, that’s a lot of trees. Getting books from the library means fewer new books need to be created.
