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You are here: Home / Home / 33 Easy Ways To Save Water At Home

33 Easy Ways To Save Water At Home

Last updated: February 23, 2016 by Jacob Olesen

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easy ways to save water at home

The average family consumes and wastes nearly 100 gallons of water each week. Imagine how much this adds up to per year and across millions of households! Saving water is the need of the hour; scores of people from around the world do not have access to clean water. Global warming and climate changes are also rapidly depleting Mother Earth’s supply of fresh water which we so take for granted. So try and make these 33 easy ways to save water at home a way of life, after all; there won’t be a tomorrow if there is no water.

Tips to save water in the bathroom

  1. If you live in a cold country it might take some time for the hot water to start through the faucets. So try to catch the cold water instead of letting it run down the drain. You can use a bucket to do save the cold water. You can then use that collected water for watering plants or washing the car or for other useful things.
  2. Replace regular showers with low flow showerheads and save nearly 230 gallons per week.
  3. Shower for less than 5 minutes each day.
  4. Keep the water off when shaving, brushing or soaping/shampooing. This can save nearly 8-10 gallons of water per use.
  5. Avoid tub baths-they use up tons of water (70 gallons as against 20-30 gallons of a short shower). If needed, only fill the tub to 1/3 rd of its capacity.
  6. Flush the toilet only for solid waste.
  7. Replace older toilets with water saving ultra-low-flush models that can help you save hundreds of gallons of water. Look for the WaterSense® mark which indicates water saving toilet models.
  8. Another easy way to save water at home is to detect and fix leaks immediately. To know if your toilet tank is leaking, put some food color in the tank water. Leave the toilet unused for an hour then check the toilet bowl. If the water in the bowl is colored, it indicates you have a leak. Get it fixed immediately.
  9. Repair dripping showerheads which can waste nearly 3000 gallons of water each year.

Tips to save water in kitchen

  1. Use a sprayer or short bursts of water when hand washing dishes. Use very limited detergent so the amount of water needed for rinsing is less.
  2. Do not run the dishwasher on small loads. Run it only at the end of the day or when you have a full load capacity. As far as possible, use the dishwasher only once or twice a week and hand wash rest of the time. When using the washer-set the machine on short/water saving cycles.
  3. Scrape/clean the dishes first by pushing leftovers with a spoon/fork in the waste bins. This will cut down on amount of rinsing water needed. If you are planning to wash dishes after a few hours, soak them with little water so that the leftover food does not harden requiring more water later for washing.
  4. Defrost frozen food with the microwave or plan ahead first and keep it outside to let it thaw instead of using hot water for defrosting. This is another of the simple and easy ways to save water in the house.
  5. Rinse veggies and fruits in a pan. Use the saved water to water the plants. This method can save gallons of water.
  6. Run garbage disposal on alternate days to save nearly 25 gallons per week.

Tips to save water around the house

  1. Repair leaky faucets and save nearly 25 gallons of water per day.
  2. Wash full loads of clothes-saves up to 100 gallons per week. Use energy saving and water-saving washing machines. Look for the EnergyStar® labels on washing machines if replacing older models; these tend to use up to 50% less water and electricity.
  3. Use minimal detergent.
  4. Collect washing machine water in a utility sink which can later be used for flushing the toilet bowl or for running the garbage disposal.
  5. Try and hand wash several smaller items together such as socks, underwear, handkerchiefs etc. This is one of the easy activities to save water around the house which can be done while bathing.

Tips to save water in the garden and outdoors

  1. Water your lawns only in the cooler hours of the morning. This will help reduce evaporation.
  2. If using sprinklers, go for the soaker hoses or drip irrigation ones which save more water than other models like mist producing sprinklers.
  3. Set the sprinklers so that they target the lawns and gardens and not your sidewalk or driveways.
  4. Different plants need different quantities of water-learn these things so you avoid watering unnecessarily. This is one of the easiest ways to save water in and around the house.
  5. Avoid using chemicals and fertilizers unnecessarily. They increase the plant/soil’s need for water.
  6. Keep grass trimmed to 3 inches height. Avoid closed cropped grass as taller grass has better moisture retention.
  7. Plant only native or local plants which need less water compared to other exotic varieties of plants. Group together similar plants based on their watering needs.
  8. Use mulch, chunks of bark, peat moss or gravel around the roots as it helps decrease evaporation thereby reducing the need for watering. This can save nearly 200 gallons of water per month.
  9. Report all leaky pipes, faucets outside the home.
  10. Avoid washing patios and balconies.
  11. Do not allow kids to use the hose and waste water.
  12. Cover up the pool to prevent evaporation. This will also keep your pool cleaner and reduce the need to add chemicals.
  13. If washing the car at home, use a bucket and mop. Rinse with as little water as possible. Do not keep the hose running when washing the car. If possible, find a carwash that uses recycled water for washing cars.

Bear these 33 easy ways to save water in mind and start saving 100’s of gallons of water each day.

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About Jacob Olesen

Jacob Olesen is the founder of easyWays. One of his goals is to get more out of life with minimal effort, and he built this site to share his experience through practical, actionable and powerful guides. So, are you ready to start living life the easy way? Read More…

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Many travelers do not have the luxury to get over jet lag naturally. Most have to report to work or have short trips in which they want to get a lot of work or sightseeing done. In any case, ‘jet lag, can’t sleep at night’ is a common complaint travelers have upon returning home or while visiting a foreign country across time zones. So let us take a look at some ways to reduce jet lag symptoms and overcome jet lag insomnia. 1. Prepare before you travel This method is known as the Henry Kissinger method as it was apparently used by Henry Kissinger when he had to attend an important meeting in a foreign country. In hopes to systematically adjust his body clock to the local time in that country, he would start sleeping an hour earlier each day and try to rise an hour later as well. This he would do at least a week before boarding the plane. This is an easy way to overcome jet lag insomnia but it might not always be convenient for people with professional/family duties. 2. Adhere rigorously to your hometown schedule Another way to beat jet lag symptoms is to eat when you would at home and sleep when you would at home at your destination. To an extent, this method works but it requires iron will and also you’d need to be in total denial of events around you! 3. Adjust the illumination Light plays a major role on the body’s circadian rhythm. Exposure to bright light in the morning will help you advance the circadian rhythm-meaning you’d want to sleep earlier (useful when flying eastwards). Conversely, exposure to bright light in the evening would retard the circadian rhythm and help you sleep later (useful when you fly westwards). 4. Exercise You can hardly expect to sleep when you are exercising. And physical exercise will help keep your body alert for an hour or two. So exercising is a must to adjust to new schedule. It is best to exercise at the times of the day when you are more prone to sleepiness. Similarly, it is best to avoid physical exercise less than 2 hours before bedtime if you find it difficult to fall asleep (Eastward flights). 5. Take naps Naps can produce surprisingly powerful waking effects. However, it is important to time your naps properly to reduce jet lag symptoms. A power nap of 15 to 20 minutes can considerably reduce the urge to sleep that was present before and that made concentration difficult. Try not to sleep for over 25 minutes as it could induce slight degree of drowsiness. Longer naps during the day can also delay your adaptation to local time and won’t help overcome jet lag insomnia. 6. Use social cues Social interactions can help stimulate the brain and prevent sleepiness. Watching movies, talking to friends, making new acquaintances, playing games, listening to audio books, reading books or magazines from cover to cover can help you resist sleep. Some people do these things weeks before they travel so that they can sleep later and later each day in order to adjust to new schedule and also stay asleep longer once they are at their destination. 7. Foods and beverages Eat high protein foods at breakfast time and eat high carbohydrate foods at night. Likewise, restrict intake of stimulants like coffee and tea to mornings upon arrival at the destination. Dehydration aggravates fatigue and increases symptoms of jetlag. Therefore, stay hydrated throughout the day. Also take care while consuming caffeinated and alcoholic beverages as they tend to have a diuretic effect. 8. Melatonin supplements Many athletes are prescribed melatonin supplements to help overcome jet lag insomnia. Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland. It affects the body’s sleep-wake cycle and research has shown that taking melatonin an hour before bedtime can help induce sleep. Oral doses of 0.5 to 3 mg of melatonin are safe but you need doctor’s prescription for it. Some side effects of these supplements include morning grogginess and dreamy sleep. If you plan to take Melatonin, it is better to start taking them before you travel so you can ensure that it suits you. 9. Mental activity Mental activity can also play an important role in changing bodily rhythms. Having to get up, perform at a meeting or on stage, catch a bus etc can all unique neurotransmitters that help you stay awake. So keep walking, talking and socializing to help your body speed up the resynchronization process and get your body clock in synch with local time. 10. Get adjusted psychologically This is an important way to get over jet lag from Asia or Europe etc. Adjust your clock/wristwatch the moment you get on the plane. Follow the destination schedules and soon your new time givers will help your body clock adjust faster. Jet lag is real and even though you sleep better on the second or third night, you might still awake sooner than needed on the subsequent nights. So continue using the jet lag remedies discussed above even if you feel you have adjusted. Avoid driving or operating machinery and give your body the time and tools it needs to adjust.

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