Sunday, June 14, 2009

Saving More Than Money .. By Being Lazy

So besides saving money these days, in California, we have to save water. California has been in drought for years now, and we do not have enough water for the amount that Californians have been consuming. San Diego is under mandatory water restriction, and we are supposed to consume 20% less water (I suspect we should actually consume much much less...).

For the most part, if you own a home, that means making sure you don't water your garden as much, don't wash your car, etc. But if you live in a multiplex building (condo or apartment), what can we do?

For starters, I started turning off water whenever it's just running if I'm not actually using the water for the task at hand. That means, when I brush my teeth, the water will be turned off while I'm brushing but I will turn it on when I need the water. Or in the shower, I turn off the water when I'm soaping.

I have also heard that one uses less water if you use the dishwasher when it's full instead of doing dishes by hand. Check this blog post about this. So, I started to use my dishwasher more. In order to make sure you use less water, though, you need to fill up the dishwasher. For someone who doesn't have a large family or mouths to feed, that means waiting maybe a day or two before washing dishes so that the dishwasher can be full. That's kind of a hassle (yes, I realize the irony) but I decided if it's good for the environment, I can learn to be lazy. ;)

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