Day 317 of our Green Year: Using Shower Water To Wash Clothes

Today we have a surprising tip that came to us from one of the readers of our column in the local paper. It is surprising because we did not think of it, despite how much we use our shower water. Right now we collect shower water to use to water plants, the garden and provide for the pets. However, there is something else we can use the shower water for.

Layla and I wash our clothes by hand, so this helpful reader suggested we use that shower water to wash our clothes and we could not agree more!

So, from today on we will also be using our shower water to wash our clothes, since that will save even more water because we will not be wasting anything.

Also, I would like to give a shout out to Heather, one of our loyal readers who we are very appreciative to have as a reader and follower. Heather told us about Fever Resort + Cruise Wear, which is a company that is helping people travel in a green manner, not through how they travel, but in what they take. They sell clothing that is made of bamboo that can be washed in a hotel sink and hung out to dry. This clothing can easily be fit into a carry-on and the company also makes donations to We Conserve.

Day 171 of our Green Year: Lo-Flo Showers

As many readers will see, we have done a few things to try and conserve water with the shower. We have limited our showers to five minutes and under, and we also collect the shower water (while the water warms up) so that we can use it again elsewhere, like in animal water or to water plants.

We have decided to go another step further now and put in a shower head that is low-flow. Having a low-flow shower head is a great option, especially if you enjoy long showers because it will give you the ability to conserve water, while you stay in the shower for longer. It is possible to have a ten minute shower and only use the amount of water you would in a five minute shower.
However, it should be noted that even with a low-flow shower head, we will not be taking longer than five minute showers and will stick with that rule.

With a low-flow shower head, a family of four can save 160,000 liters of water per year. Old shower heads use about 20 liters of water per minute, while new shower heads use about five liters of water per minute. That is one-quarter of what the old shower heads use and that means a lot of saved water.

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Bad news if you are a penguin. According to the WWF, if the worldwide temperature rises two degrees Celsius, penguins will be extinct. Already, the temperature in the Antarctic Peninsular has risen 2.5 degrees Celsius in the past 50 years, which is five times the global average. Also in the past 50 years, penguin populations have fallen by half.

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Got a photo of you doing something green? Want to send us a letter about your own green journey? Drop us a line at craigbaird@wildmail.com!

Day 92 of our Green Year: Collecting Shower Water

We had a great idea for a green tip from one of our readers, Eryn, yesterday, and it involves collecting shower water in a way neither Layla or I have thought of.
When we start up the shower, we usually let it run for about 30 seconds while we wait for it to get to the temperature that we want it. You don't want to step in a cold shower, but you don't want it too hot either.

There is nothing wrong with this, but it does waste water and that is a problem. As our loyal readers know, we have already limited our showers to only five minutes to save water, but we can go a step further to make that 30 second of water running does not waste anything.
Therefore, what we are going to be doing at our house, as part of Our Green Year, is putting a bucket in the shower when we start it up.

Sitting the bucket under the faucet, we will be able to collected that previously wasted wasted water in the bucket. Then, we can take that water out following the shower and put it in the garden to help the plants.
Naturally, you will want to take that bucket out when you shower or else you may get shampoo or soap in it, which could pollute the garden's soil.

Thanks Eryn for the great tip! If you have some tips for us, or pictures of you doing green things, send them to crwbaird@gmail.com