Wow! My efforts for sleeping without the air conditioner has definitely paid off! My energy bars in my carbon-o-meter are now lower than Carbon Ninjas Sarah and Sharon! SATISFACTION! Now, my next goal is to reduce my water usage as my consumption is still relatively quite high.
From my previous post on food wastage to Sarah’s post on “Saying No To Cars” and Sharon’s post on “Eating Organic”, it is indeed possible to go green in every aspect of our lives. In fact, if you look into your own homes, there are many options available for becoming more environmentally friendly.
From my previous post on food wastage to Sarah’s post on “Saying No To Cars” and Sharon’s post on “Eating Organic”, it is indeed possible to go green in every aspect of our lives. In fact, if you look into your own homes, there are many options available for becoming more environmentally friendly.
The bathroom is the first place I go to as soon as I wake up. You see, brushing my teeth and splashing water on my face is a great way to freshen me up and drive away any traces of sleep. However, that’s where huge amounts of water consumption and water wastes occur. Be it showering, or flushing the toilet, the bathroom accounts for the biggest portion of water usage in our home. As such, it’s a great place to start going green and I have decided to go water-efficient and water-conscious from the bathroom!
Did You Know...?
- We probably use 153 litres of water a day.
- Bathrooms consume the most water - 65% of total indoor water used at home.
- 17 % this amount is used for showering, taking more than 1.2 trillion gallons of water each year.
- Around 30% of water in an average household is used to flush the toilet.
- A running tap uses about 16 litres of water per minute.
- Each week, an average family of 4 uses 881 gallons of water just by flushing the toilet.
What Is Water Efficiency?
Water efficiency means thinking about the way you use water - your water management. The key is to try to reduce your water use where possible and not waste water.
Why Is Saving Water Important?
- Water is scarce
- Water is an important resource
- Wasting it could mean big shortages in the future.
- By using less, you can save money and lessen the impact of drought on our environment.
My Bad Habits
- I always leave the tap on while brushing my teeth, washing my face and washing my hands
- I take long showers
- I tend to use the full-flush mode when flushing the toilet
My Challenge
1. Save water using the basin
- Turn the tap off when brushing my teeth and washing my face
- Wet my toothbrush and use a glass for rinsing.
- Turn off the water while washing my hands.
- I could save between 3-5 gallons of water each minute!
2. Save water in the shower
- Take shorter showers.
- Limit my time spent in the shower to soap up, wash down, and rinse off.
- Shave my legs before taking a shower. Use running shower water to rinse off.
- Shorter showers save on energy costs associated with heating water.
- Reducing showering time by 1-minute can save 1,000 gallons of water a year!
3. Save water using the toilet
- Use the low flush mode instead of the high flush mode.
- Avoid using the toilet to flush things like facial tissue and other items that can easily be tossed in the trash, in other words, do not use your toilet as a garbage can.
Taking It Further
- Upgrade your existing toilet- install an ultra-low flush toilet
- Flush less often
- Install low-flow shower heads
- Install a faucet aerator in your sinks
- Encourage water conservation practices within your family
- Maintain your water savings habits while away from home, in restaurants, hotels, friends' homes, and wherever you go
Water crisis is a serious problem the world is facing today, but you can help fight it from your home! Using water filters and other devices to make your water use more efficient is a good place to start. Also, educating your family and friends on the importance of water is useful as well. I hope you guys can apply some of these tips in your daily lives and join me in this water challenge! It would probably be too late if you wait until an actual water crisis occurs. So let's start working on it now by monitoring our water use! Remember, you CAN make a difference!
Sound off in the comment boxes if you have more tips to help green our lives a little more!
Sound off in the comment boxes if you have more tips to help green our lives a little more!
I will keep working on my water and energy usage to slash more blocks off my carbon-o-meter and take my fellow Carbon Ninjas on! Watch out Sharon and Sarah, I won’t give up! Oh yes, you both better work on your energy bars, it's too high! :P
See you next week! Tata~
Lotsa Green Love,
Amelia
See you next week! Tata~
Lotsa Green Love,
Amelia
RSS Feed