Rain Water

Have you ever given any thought about water? And I mean, really thought about it! I'm not talking "Oh, it tastes so good on a scorching hot day" or "I love to go swimming" or "A long, hot shower sounds really good right now". I'm not talking about that stuff. What I'm talking about is: Have you ever thought about how valuable of a resource water is?! Do you ever think: Am I wasting water? What would happen if my area goes through a drought? Have you ever had a real thought about water and how valuable it is?

We all take water for granted. There are countries that don't have access to water like we do in America. I think about what it would be like to be in another country where having water is like owning a million dollars here. Why do we take such a valuable, remarkable resource for granted?

I know I'm guilty for wasting water. I hate that I can be quite wasteful. I take long showers. I always have. I try to cut down on my showers, but there are times when my showers take much longer than they should. I only shave my legs every 2-3 days now so that I can take quicker showers. I now turn the water off while brushing my teeth and only turn the water on when I need it. I try not to let the kitchen sink run forever when I'm rinsing off dishes. I only wash a load of clothes every 2-3 days, which normally washes all of the clothes we've worn from the last wash to the current wash. I only run the dishwasher 3 times a week instead of every 24-36 hours. I am really trying to cut back on my water usage, as well as everyone's water usage in the house. We've been doing a pretty good job, if I say so myself.

However, while cutting back on how much water you use is good, there are other ways to make your water use even better. I mentioned in a previous blog the greywater recycling system. Why not reuse water in your house?! It gets filtered and treated before it's reused as the water to flush your toilet, and it saves you money in the long run - not to mention how great it is for our planet that you're reusing such a valuable source. How about taking advantage of rain water?! There are different ways you can take advantage of rain water. You can go small and collect the rain water from your gutters into a small barrel and use that water for your plants. Or you get a huge system and use the rain water for everything in your house - sinks, showers, toilets, etc. Sure, it can cost you many pretty pennies to get one of those huge systems and have it installed, but with tax rebates, you get about half of that money back and you save on water bills - as well as that invisible patch on your invisible sash/vest letting you know just how friendly you are to the environment.

Mark and I want to start small with collecting and using rain water. I found something online the other day that I would like to get and use.

You can get this at Home Depot, or on their Web site. They come in different sizes, too - 40 gallons, 60 gallons, and 80 gallons. You just hook it up to your gutter drain, and rain water will store in it rather than creating puddles and over watering your lawn or plants. You can later use that water for your lawn or plants when it's not raining instead of using water that will raise your water bill. Smart, huh? I think it is incredibly genius! There are so many other styles of these things, too. There are barrels, ones that look like flower pots with flowers in them, and so much more. I can't wait to buy some!

Hopefully, one day, Mark and I will get a huge rain water collection system and use it for all of our water needs. It would be nice to be off of the "water grid". I would also like to have a greywater recycling system so that we can reduce our water needs by reusing shower and sink water for toilet water.

I think everyone should sit back and look at how much water they use and evaluate how wasteful they are. While we have gotten better about not wasting so much water here, I know that we can still make improvements. There's always room for improvement. I just can't wait to own our own home and make it more eco-friendly. I know we will do such great things! And I know that you can do such great things, too, wherever you are!