This week’s theme for Ways to Save will cover how we can save money and continue to think green while in our bathroom.
A friend of mine was at the kitchen sink the other day and I noticed while she was putting the dishes in the dishwasher she left the water running.
We started talking about saving money and I told her when the water is running, pretend dollar bills are coming out of the faucet. If your hands aren’t touching the water, those dollar bills are going down the drain.
She quickly picked up the concept as did the rest of her family. One other item we discussed was to turn the water on halfway rather than full blast, especially if you have good water pressure.
These tips can be applied in the bathroom as well. When you are brushing your teeth, washing your face or hands, turn the water off.
Remember, if your hands aren’t getting wet, you are throwing money down the drain.
According to the “The Green Book” (Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen), if you turn the water off while brushing your teeth, you will save up to five gallons per day. If everyone in the U.S. did this it would save up to 1.5 billion gallons of water per day.
For men who shave in the sink, brush your teeth while you are waiting for the water to get warm for your shave. You can save time and money.
Have you ever thought about the plastic liners you purchase for your shower curtains? You can Zbuy them almost anywhere for a couple of dollars.
However, they really aren’t necessary and the PVC that is used to make them is not recyclable. Save the landfills and use a shower curtain that isn’t made of plastic. Your bathroom will look nice, too.
As for saving in the shower, you can get five-gallon buckets and fill them up while you wait for the water to get warm. Use that water to fill your washing machine or water plants.
When lathering up, turn the water down or even off. If you prefer to take a bath, plug the drain before turning the water on.
OK, we have to address the toilet. It can be an embarrassing subject, but one we must touch on. Just try this — flush one less time per day and you’ll save about 4.5 gallons per day. That is as much water as the average person in Africa uses for a day or, 1,609 gallons of water saved per person, per year.
Here’s an easy one, did you know you can buy a tube of toothpaste at the dollar store for a buck? These are regular-sized tubes that you would pay $3 to $4 a tube for in the store and are brand names.
Saving water is one of the easiest and rewarding ways to save money. With all the rain we’ve had this winter you may think saving water is a far fetched notion.
However, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor drought.unl.edu/dm as of March 30 the western portion of the United States is experiencing some level of a drought, from extreme to moderate.
Surprisingly, California looks OK from their maps, with the exception of the central valley, as abnormally dry.
Whether we are in a drought or not, saving water is a good thing to do. Try it, you may enjoy the rewards.
Kristi Meyer is a real estate agent with HomeTown Realtors in Auburn. She has been serving the Placer and Sacramento counties for the past six years. For questions, comments or tips, contact Meyer at seekristi@seehometown.com.
