As I posted earlier this month, one of my resolutions for this year is to reduce the amount of water that my household uses each day. So far, most of what I've done has been in the way of observing our water usage habits - and it's not always pretty, people! My eyes have definitely been opened since I started taking note every time a tap is turned on or the toilet flushed.
We waste a lot of water! Turning the tap on full blast and letting it run for the duration as we brush our teeth - gak! Turning on the shower as soon as I enter the bathroom in the morning - oy vey! Flushing after every little dribble - egad! That's litres of perfectly good water down the drain.
All is not lost, though. We've started implementing some changes to this water-logged lifestyle. I'm working on remembering to turn off the tap between toothbrush rinsings, and not turning it on full blast at all. I'm also annoying TC by constantly pointing out his water wastage in this area :) The shower now waits until I'm ready to start, though I still have to let it run a little to warm up - I draw the line at cold showers! And our new flushing motto is "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down." Unless we have company, of course, in which case we flush away. So there is progress!
Can I vent just a little bit, though? I'm also trying to be water-conscious wherever I go, and since starting this project I've developed a new pet peeve - people in public washrooms who feel the need to flush 15 times while using the toilet so that other people won't hear them do their thing. To those people, I just want to say...
It's not like we're sitting or standing outside the stall wondering if maybe you're composing a sonnet or plotting to overthrow the government. Everyone else in that bathroom knows that you went in there to relieve yourself - and nobody cares. We all do it, and it basically sounds the same. So smarten up, get over yourself and quit wasting water because of your vanity!
Okay, I'm done now.
2 comments:
I too have the same peeve! I always see people wasting water and idling their cars. I have even started taking notice of the food people buy and think about how unhealthy a lot of it is...full of preservatives and salt...just processed! YUK! I do my best to not annoy Diego and my friends but still get the message across. It's hard being aware but I would rather be than not!! : >
Keep up the good work! (I hate cold showers too...)
At the hospital in my new department, they have a toilet with 2 flushes, one for, um, liquid and one for, um, solid waste. Just imagine how much water is used/wasted at a hospital!!
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