Learning to live the dry life
Water reserves are down to dangerous levels. There are more people using the limited water we have. All the while we are pouring drinking water on our lawns and landscapes as if we live under Niagara Falls. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California begs us who live in dry, chaparral country to knock it off. Are we saving water yet?
21 ways to live with less water:
• Turn off water while you brush your teeth
• Shorten showers to three minutes, shave while you’re in there
• Fix leaky faucets in showers and sinks
• Wash only full loads of laundry
• Don’t use your toilet to discard trash
• Don’t use the garbage disposal. Compost kitchen scraps instead
• Don’t rinse dishes headed for the dishwasher. Scrape them instead.
• Use a clean bucket or bowl of water to wash produce then dump it on your potted plants
• Pour dirty fish tank water on potted plants
• Learn to love a fashionably beige lawn
• Water your yard in the evening or before 8 a.m. twice a week, tops
• Install a smart sprinkler system that waters only when you need it
• Use a kitchen timer when watering with a hose or sprinkler
• Don’t water your entire landscape on the same schedule — lawns twice a week; side yards that stay moist, once a week; shrub borders every other week
• Use a broom to clean driveways, gutters and walks
• Check your sprinkler system for leaks and over spray issues
• Aerate your lawn so it absorbs more water and reduces runoff
• Mulch planter areas like mad
• Don’t ignore the weather. Water more when its hot, very little when its not
• Don’t wash your car at home, use a car wash that recycles water
• Refuse water in a restaurant if you don’t intend to drink it
Find out more ways to save water at bewaterwise.com.
Read news about the District’s warning. Read Sciencedude on latest drought news.
More about saving water
I don’t do all of the things above, but many I do. Along the lines of the fish bowl water, I pour my dogs’ water dirty bowl water onto the plants outside the back door before refilling it with fresh water. I also have started keeping a bucket under the kitchen sink to catch the water when I’m wait for the hot stuff. I pour what I catch into my fountain in the backyard. It’s large (5′x8′) and the evaporation makes me feel a little guilty filling it up, so I figured it was a good compromise so I can still enjoy the sound without filling it up so frequently.
Wow, two good ideas.
If I use a kitchen timer when watering with a hose how long do you seggest I set the timer for? The yard space is about 600 sq feet.
P.S. I soded my lawn 24 days ago, can I mow it now?
10 minutes per area, and go for the mowing.
i recycle about half of my bathwater (shower most days, bathe 1x a week) by scooping it with a bucket and pouring it out on the lawn. it’s good upper-body exercise, too. and of course when i dump out the kids’ wading pool i make sure the water flows into the garden. i’ve also torn out the small, totally neglected front lawn (weeds and crabgrass 4 or more inches deep!) and will be putting down weed barrier, planting native grasses and mulching the heck out of it.
i love colleen’s idea! i will be remodeling my bathroom soon and when i put in the tub i can divert dirty tub water to the garden! i live in unincorporated so i can get away with it…
We dug up our front lawn and have planted all california native plants.
We water once a week with a hose only when and where needed.