Water is essential to our daily routines, but are you using too much? The conversation around climate change and the impact of unnecessary waste has accelerated in recent years, and water waste can play a big role.
Many of us waste water without even realising, but with just a few small changes to your daily routine, you can do your bit to save water and protect the environment – in an escalating situation, every little thing helps.
With this in mind, here are four ways to save water in your daily routine:
1. Swap Baths for Showers
A long bath can be incredibly relaxing, and a great way to practice self-care. But did you know that the average bath uses around 30 gallons of water? In contrast, a shower will use approximately half of this.
Swapping baths for showers can help you to save time in your routine, as well as a lot of water, and your water bill will be thanking you too.
This doesn’t mean you can’t ever enjoy a bath – maybe just go limit them to once or twice a month instead of several times a week.
If you have small children, installing a low flow tap can help to reduce the amount of water you’re using, meaning they can still enjoy a splash and a soak, but you won’t be wasting too much water unnecessarily.
2. Take Shorter Showers
Reducing the amount of time you spend in the shower is an easy way to cut down on the amount of water you’re wasting. The beauty of a shower is that you can wash your body and your hair, brush your teeth and even shave all within just a few minutes.
If you usually like to have a long shower as an act of self-care, simply make time for self-care elsewhere in your day instead; just go for an activity that uses less water instead.
3. Recycle Water
More and more people are recycling their water these days. Think about how much water you typically waste every day while waiting for the shower to come to temperature, for example.
Place a bucket or other container in your shower while you’re waiting for the water to heat up, and save this excess water for later. You could use it to water plants or even to flush your toilet.
4. Use Less Water When Shaving & Brushing Your Teeth
Do you leave the tap running the whole time you’re shaving? You’re not the only one, but this can waste a lot of water.
Get into the habit of turning the tap off apart from when you’re rinsing your toothbrush or your razor blades in between shaving strokes – it simply doesn’t need to be left running the rest of the time.
You don’t need to fill the sink with water before you start; instead, just make sure you’re rinsing your blades after every few strokes to prevent a build-up of excess hair and shaving gel.
Being mindful of how much water you use is just one way to live more sustainably. Get more tips on how to lead a more sustainable lifestyle here:
