Reuse your water

We are heading into the third week of no rain for Wellington and it is still only November. (Just) It would be wise to start conserving water, so I thought I would share some of my water conservation tips.

Reusing your water doesn’t have to mean installing an expensive grey or black water system that filters water from the bathroom and kitchen. (Although that would help a lot towards conserving water.) I am talking about the un-drunk water from your glass, the water from your drink bottle you didn’t drink yesterday, the cold water from the tap while you wait for the hot water to come through, and the water you use to rinse your dishes. DON’T just let it go down the drain and out to sea, never to be used again.

Fill a small jug to collect water

We have a small jug next to our kitchen tap, where I tip any un-drunk water into it. I heat up my son’s food in a bowl in a saucepan of water, (avoiding the microwave) so I tip that water into the jug too.

Reuse to give your plants a drink.

Reuse to rinse your dishes.

Reuse to soak dishes

Reuse to rinse your recyclables.

I use the water in the jug to water my plants, rinse dishes, to soak the frypan straight after cooking to make washing up easier, and to soak burnt pots. (which I am pretty good at doing, just ask the significant other)

Wash cleanest to dirtiest

Even though we have a dishwasher, we still have a significant amount of dishes that need hand washing. So I use my intermediate home economics teacher’s trick; wash your cleanest dishes first and proceed to the next cleanest dish. This saves filling the sink numerous times. And I also use this technique to rinse the recyclables.

Don’t rinse everything

I know of some people who rinse their dishes with a brush under a running tap and then put the dishes in the dishwasher. Save yourself the hassle and don’t rinse all your dishes. And if you really need to rinse the muesli off the breakfast bowls; put the plug in the sink while you do it.

(not so) Fun Fact

Did you know that only 2.5%* of the worlds water is actually drinkable? And it is fast becoming depleted due to diminishing rain forests around the world and climate change. Water is a precious resource so we need to treat it as such.

When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will we realize that one cannot eat money. – North American Indian Proverb *