Using less water

How ironic!  Water rises in the streets and yet there is not enough to drink.  With Nashvillians being asked to cut water usage by 50% and in my county even more than that, life has been more odoriferous than ever before.  

This is a great opportunity to develop new habits of using less of this precious resource.  We have always tried to instill a sense of scarcity with this for the kids.  We always turn off the water while brushing teeth or soaping up our hands.  But a restriction of necessity has shown me that there is a lot more we could be doing every day.

I have been running some soapy water in the sink and instead of rinsing dishes under the tap, I scrape them and toss them in the sink.  At the end of the day, I rinse some (like knives that need to be used for the next day) and put the rest straight into the dishwasher.  We've run the dishwasher about every third day with this method and NO stuck-on food bits.  We've been using paper plates and cups too, of course, but this simple change dramatically cuts down on the amount of water I normally use for kitchen cleanup through the day.

And yes, we are letting it mellow if it is yellow.  I think this may be our new household system.  We are potty training and I am now wondering if the many, many extra flushes are contributing to our recent higher water bill.

It started raining this morning and I ran and picked up all the pots that were not too heavy and moved them off the porch.  I set out buckets to catch the water.  I would never have done this two weeks ago; it would have seemed like too much trouble.  Now I think perhaps that is just sheer laziness on my part!

I have been sparingly watering my plans with a bucket of collected rainwater.  I think we really need a rain barrel!  We've talked about getting one, but this water restriction has highlighted how useful it would be, even in normal circumstances.  

The most fun thing about the water restrictions?  Family bath!  A perfect treat for 2 and 3-year olds if you have a big tub.  Also a perfect treat for a mom and dad who have not had a proper shower all week!