The Skinny

Blue gold, H2O, The Source of Life…yup we’re talking about water.  Without water, we don’t have anything—no marine life, no plant life and certainly no human life.

Water is one of the most precious resources on the planet, but in many parts of the world, including right here in the U.S., there is less and less of it (just check out this map to see the areas of the country that are abnormally dry or in drought already).

So, wise up and waste not with some of our favorite simple tips for saving blue gold!

Work It:

Challenge yourself to adopt these six simple habits before boot camp ends:

1. Turn Off the Faucet:  You don’t need water running when you brush your teeth, shave, and lather. Bam! You just saved a lot of water and didn’t do a thing.  Plus if you fix any dripping faucets you can save 20 gallons a day per leak stopped.

2. Get a Low-Flow Shower Head:  They’re cheap and super easy to install.  Plus many municipalities give them away for free.  That’s how I got mine.

3. Wash Only When Full:  When it comes to the wash (whether we’re talking dishes or laundry), wait till you have a full load to push the start button and save between 15 to 50 gallons every spin.

4. Shorten Showers:  If you shave just a minute or two off your suds time you can save up to 5 gallons.  Wouldn’t you rather spend your time doing something else anyway, like reading the latest boot camp article?

5. Flush Less:  Don’t use the toilet as a trashcan. Also, put the old adage “if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down” into practice.

6.  Don’t water your lawn during the middle of the day when the sun is at its prime.  You can save up to 25 gallons of water if you do your watering in the early morning or early evening therefore avoiding wind interference and evaporation.

Earn Your Stripes

If you’re already a water saving machine, learn more about water access issues.  Here in the states, we don’t think twice about having clean drinking water flow from our tap.  In many developing countries, they do.  It is estimated that 1.1 billion people rely on unsafe drinking-water sources. So what can you do?  Get involved! Visit World Water Day.org.

Go even further. If the water in your municipality has been shown to be safe (and you can always filter it), skip out on buying bottled.  We could tell you all about why you should do it, but this video from Annie Leonard, The Story of Bottled Water, paints the picture much better.

Resources:

• YDT Faceoff Lawnternatives: Article, Native, Drought Tolerant and More
• When in Doubt, Turn off the Spout:
• Charity Water, a non-profit organization dedicated to bring safe drinking water to developing countries around the world.
• Film Recommendation, “Flow” and “Blue Gold: World Water Wars”  Documentaries highlighting the startling future of our world with a shortening water supply.

Missed a Few Boot Camps? Catch Up Here >>

Enjoyed this article but aren’t a bootcamper yet? Sign up for YDT’s 20-day on-line Going Green Boot Camp to receive free daily tips on how to go green.

Missed a Few Boot Camps? Catch Up Here >>

Enjoyed this article but aren’t a bootcamper yet? Sign up for YDT’s 20-day on-line Going Green Boot Camp to receive free daily tips on how to go green.