10 Free Ways To Save Water

As you know the motto of my blog is Save Money Save the Environment.... Ok well maybe I never said it but it makes a good motto don't you think?

Here is my Top Ten List on how to save water (which saves you money) and not spending any money to do it.

10. When washing dishes by hand, don't let the water run while rinsing. Fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water. Or better yet do what I do... (This is with the understanding that with the first solution you will have to dump the rinsing water to get fresh soap free water at least once.) Place silverware in sink fill with just enough hot water to cover. Then when you rinse do it over the sink that the silverware was in to allow enough water to cover the plates or bowls. Then wash the plates or bowls and rinse over the same sink to allow the fresh hot water into the sink. Wash glasses and rinse the same way. Then you will have a nice hot sink full of soap water to do the pots and pans. Rinse these in a separate sink or drain the sink some to allow for the water. This way the rinse water is getting a second use as wash water wasting less water.

9. Adjust sprinklers so only your lawn or garden is watered and not the house, sidewalk, or street. This is assuming you are not currently in a drought in which case to Hell with the Lawn save all the water. I would advise planting local plant that require less watering but this is things you can do for free.

8. Do laundry or run the dishwasher only when they are full. You can save up to 1,000 gallons a month.

7. Use the garbage disposal sparingly better yet set up a compost and put your food waste there instead. (except meat and dairy which isn't suppose to go down the disposal either!)

6. Keep an eye on your water bill. A sudden increase may indicate a leak some where.

5. Water your lawn and garden in the morning or evening when temperatures are cooler to minimize evaporation. Use a drip hose and get the water directly where you want it with out the evaporation from being tossed through the air from conventional sprinklers. Also don't water on very windy days the water won't be going where you want it too.

4. Use a broom instead of a hose to clean your driveway and sidewalk and save water every time. You'll get some wonderful free exercise as well.

3. Turn off the water when soaping up in the shower and save several gallons of water. Also turn off the water when brushing your teeth....but then again you already knew that didn't you.

2. When you give your pets fresh water use the old water to water your house plants. This includes the nutrient rich water you remove from your fish tank when adding fresh water.

1. Fix those leaks... Every drippy faucet, running toilet, and drippy shower. Don't forget to check outside as well as in for leaks.

Spring is in Bloom

A few Spring Blooms for you to enjoy!

Need To Know Information

I've been wanting to get an early start and plant some seeds so that after the last frost I can put them in the ground. The problem is knowing when I can expect to be frost free.

SO... I googled it!

What I found was a nifty little site called Dave's Garden. Which has all kinds of gardening information including a look up by Zip Code of the First and last freeze/frost date. Here was my results:

Each winter, on average, your risk of frost is from November 14 through April 1.

Almost certainly, however, you will receive frost from December 2 through March 20.

You are almost guaranteed that you will not get frost from April 13 through October 29.

Your frost-free growing season is around 227 days.

So I think I'm safe to get started and by the time the date for the last possible frost comes and goes I'll be all set with a healthy batch of seedlings.

New Bike

I got a new bike this weekend. Sorry I don't have a picture of it. Its dark now and I didn't think of it when I sat down to type.

I'm so excited I'm going to start biking to work and the Library. Though I'm going to have to be extra careful since there are a lot of drivers around here that are total road jerks. I want to save money and stop wasting gas not end up in the hospital.


Luck for me there are plenty of side streets to take to get there so I can avoid the majority of the traffic. It's also pretty quiet in the mornings, its the afternoons where I will have to be extra careful.

I still plan to stop at the gym on the way home so I'll get a double dose of exercise each day. Oh by the way I"ve lost 13 lbs so far. GO TEAM GO lol.

FAILED

Well this months 1 only shopping trip was a bust. My hubby decided to go on the Atkins diet and hit the store for a bunch of meat he could eat while the rest of us eat what I have planned. Well I figured not to count that since he is trying to lose weight. But he went again today because he decided he wanted more soda and came home with a trunk load of stuff. So much for planning


I'm not giving up though! I still have plenty of time till next month to plan so I will try again then.

DONT FORGET

Tonight is the night don't forget to turn your clocks forward for DAYLIGHT Saving Time. Everyone except those of you in Arizona and Hawaii since you don't participate.
I miss living in Arizona it was nice not to have to worry about Daylight saving time twice a year.

So Far So Good

Well just a quick update... so far no extra trips to the store but I'm going to have to break down and go for some dog food. When I asked my daughter Sam how much we had she said plenty and instead of double checking... Not because I think she would lie to be but because sometimes children have a hard time making such estimates... I didn't add it to the list. Well now we are just about out so tomorrow after work I"m going to have to make a quick trip.


If I can just get the dog food and leave I will still consider it a success. I tell you this because maybe a little guilt will help me avoid those impulse purchases.

The Final Results

Well I hit the store and $295 dollars later I have almost everything I need.

What am I missing?

One key ingredient for one of the meals my daughter picked. She asked for General Tso's Chicken but I couldn't find the little dried peppers for the recipe. I'm going to have to hunt down a speciality store to find them I think.

Alterity Button Jewelry From All Buttoned Up Left me a couple questions so I'm going to answer them here for everyone.

Her Question: What do you do when the milk spoils and the veggies get yucky? The answer:

First I looked for the milk with the longest experation date. I found some that is good until April 18th. We will have cereal at the beginning of the month and bagels muffins waffles pancakes and what every at the end of the month when the milk runs out. I have a box of powdered milk for any recipe that calls for milk. No one notices the difference in flavor when its all mixed together. Though personally I don't find anything wrong with the flavor of powdered milk but the hubby doesn't like it so I only use it for baking. This also helps save money since powdered milk is cheaper.

As for the veggies the plan is to eat the fresh fruits and veggies at the beginning of the month and switch to frozen and canned at the end of the month when the fresh runs out.

Since I"m waiting a month to go shopping again it gives me time to gather more coupons for the stuff I use regularly so hopefully I'll save more when I have to buy more on the next shopping trip. That will be important since for this trip I had plenty of items already in the house for the meals that we have planned.

I'm also going to place a running list on the fridge so everyone can write down things we run out of as we go along. This will help save time at the end of the month since I won't have to check everything to see what we need.

Today's The Day

I'm hitting the grocery store today.

The plan... Get 1 month of groceries and not go back until next month. I've been preparing for this trip for the last couple days.

I've taken inventory of what we have to include cat food and litter, dog food, shampoos and soaps and cleaning supplies not to mention food. I want to make sure I don't have to go back for anything!

Next I got together with the kids and let them pick several meals to have during the month. The list includes Pizza, tacos, chicken and dumplings, spaghetti and meatballs, mac and cheese, plus many other kids favorites. My daughter wants General Tso's chicken so I've been combing the web for a recipe.

Then I made my shopping list to include the ingredients for the suggested meals, the meals I've chosen to fill up the rest of the menu and breakfast and lunch box supplies. I'm going to be using my crockpot on the days I work so I don't have to worry about making dinner when I get home.

The last thing I did was clip the coupons I have that correspond with the shopping list. If I don't need it I didn't clip it! Now I just have to gather up my shopping bags and hit the store after I take the kids to school.

Second Catalog

This one is from Gardens Alive. It has all sorts of natural garden supplies to help organic gardeners. I have really been enjoying looking through it.

I found the Mason Bee nest and the information about them fascinating. They are suppose to be 95% more efficient at pollinating and don't sting. Sounds like a definite plus for a gardener.

They are so sure you will like them that then sent this coupon with it.

It's $25 dollars off no matter how much you spend. So if I spend $20 then I get it free. Definitely a plus for someone who is trying to save some cash.