(if you want to, of course)

This post is not meant as a brag, nor as a judgment towards those who don't do what I'll talk about next.

Being Eco-friendly is seen as a good thing these days. And why shouldn't it be? We actually take care of our planet by paying attention to what and how much we consume or throw away.

But what inspired this post?

You wouldn't believe me, but my kitchen sink clogged and my floor flooded as a result. The clog was well down the pipe, in the wall, and pretty bad. I used some products for this issue, and I thought I got rid of it, but I was wrong.

I tried doing the dishes in the bathroom, but it was a nightmare, and not very hygienic. Then, a better idea popped into my head!

Why not using the kitchen sink, but letting it drain into a large bucket? [you know until the plumber would come to fix it] I used the bucket meant for mopping. The idea worked like a charm! But there was still one tiny problem: the bucket would contain just so much water and needed me to empty it constantly. 

Of course, I needed a different solution. The solution was to use less water when doing the dishes. Said Thought and done! This second solution worked even better: I needed to empty my bucket more rarely. YAY!

I used the method for some 3 or 4 days, and noticing just how much water I'm wasting scared me. It scared me because I never realized just how much water I use.

I then noticed the same thing when showering, because guess what? A few days after I manage to have my sink fixed, my tub's drain pipe got clogged as well. I never saw the clog from the kitchen, but the one in the bathroom looked as if the ghost from The Grudge would emerge from there at any minute. 

I had to shower while containing the water in the tub, and then remove it somehow else with buckets, and what not. I almost never leave the shower running while using shampoo or shower gel. I removed about 4 or 5 buckets of water.

I think this is a lot. It didn't look like a lot, and perhaps other people use more water. But, do we really need to use 4 or 5 buckets of water? I think not!

For instance, sometime last year, they had to stop the hot running water, and it was actually during one of the cold months. I clearly needed to shower, and I boiled 1 big pot of water. When I used it, I mixed it with cold water, so it would have a good temperature. Do you want to know the result?

It was enough! I managed to wash my long hair, use conditioner, wash my body, and then properly rise everything off!

One thing IS certain: even if I mixed cold and hot water in a proportion of 1:1 I wouldn't have had 4 or 5 buckets at the end, but 2 big pots of water just good to wash my body and hair with.

So, what am I doing wrong? Why do I waste so much water? Anyone experience this? Talk about your experiences in the comments below!

© Charly Cross 2013 - present. All rights reserved.