Water Saving Tactics: A Jar Beside The Sink
A simple, reliable, effective workhorse. Save three water barrels of water per summer.
Heat and drought are big threats where I live, so we're constantly doing what we can to conserve water. Multiple times in the past we have had pipes, pumps, or other water infrastructure break and be unusable for several days to several weeks. Thankfully this has never meant that our water fully stopped flowing *so far*.... It has simply been lower pressure with very long wait times, or lower total amounts available for the day. But I want to be conscious, capable, and ready for when it stops.
There are a lot of important, high-level strategies for storing and conserving water. I believe every house should be built with a cistern, like pioneer houses 100 years ago. Our cistern unfortunately got filled in during past house demolition and construction, but we might get to reassess that some day.
One Small Jar
One small but very effective tactic for saving water has been: keep a container beside the sink.Â
In my case we simply keep a 2 Litre / 2 Quart canning jar (half a gallon) sitting on the kitchen counter next to the sink. Whenever you have or use water that is mostly clean and could be used to water plants, put it into the jar instead of dumping it down the drain. For example:
Rinsing out a container to clean it? All of the rinsing water goes into the jar.
Washing vegetables? Water goes into the jar.
Emptying leftover water in a cup or water bottle? Goes into the jar.
It's surprising how quickly it fills up. I haven't kept stats but I've certainly filled the jar two to four times per day on most days, and then taken that outside to water plants.
Water Math: Three Rain Barrels
At two trips per day over five months of summer that's 140 to 150 gallons / 280 to 300 Litres saved. About the same as three full rain barrels. Not too bad.
This action is free, fast, easy, and makes a big difference. Plus you're saving money and resources by not having to use even more tap water to water your plants. I could probably even double the jar size to make it easier, if that didn't take up too much counter space.
Two generations ago, my grandparents lived in a very dry area and had no running water. They had to haul water on a sled from the creek for everything that they used. This encouraged them to make careful use of water, and they had a strict trickle-down order for what to do first and how to make multiple uses. For example: start with rinsing food and cooking, then use that same water for washing dishes, then use it for washing clothes, then washing the floor, and finally watering the garden outside.
Thankfully I don't have to worry quite that much, and I have the luxury of just turning on a tap. But it still feels good to save what I can.
Other Water Saving Tactics
Take bucket showers. Keep a large, five-gallon bucket with you in the shower, and use it to catch all of the water. This can be used to flush toilets. You can use buckets to haul out the water from baths too.
Turn the shower off while soaping up, and only use it to rinse. I've also heard of people getting special 'water wand' type showerheads that let you more easily control the water from just the end, rather than the wall.
Use a cup or container to rinse your shaving razor while shaving, rather than running the tap.
Re-use the same cup, glass, or drinking bottle for the whole day, rather than taking a new one each time you need a drink. This can cut down on a lot of plates, bowls, and cups that would otherwise need to be washed.
Happy Water Saving