7 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Water Usage

Taking shorter showers is a great way to preserve water, and it should save you money, too. Not ready to give up your 15 minute morning karaoke session? Consider this: the average showerhead uses 2 1/2 gallons of water every minute. Multiply that by 15 and you’ve wasted about 38 gallons of water before you’ve even stepped out your front door! But your water takes a while to heat up you say? Consider keeping a special bucket in your bathroom and filling it up until the water reaches a comfortable temperature. Use what you’ve collected to water your plants or for cleaning projects.

Terrified of tofu? Fear not: it’s 2020 and the options are endless. Legumes like lentils and chickpeas are delicious, planet-friendly alternatives to meat. Consider swapping out the ground meat for lentils in your tacos or bolognese, or whipping up a big batch of chickpea masala. Do this just 1 day each week and you’ll be saving the approximately 350 gallons of water used to produce the average meat-based meal.

You already know that the generation of electricity is fossil-fuel intensive, but did you know that a whopping 90% of power generation is also highly water intensive? Thankfully, there’s a simple solution to lower your impact right now: unplug and turn off electronic devices that are not being used. That’s it! The impacts could show up on your next electricity bill: phantom power usage accounts for 1/4 of usage in the average household.

As you might imagine, industrial agriculture requires a LOT of water. But did you know that around 1/3 of all food produced is lost or wasted? The good news is that wasting less food can have a real impact on water waste, too. Consider starting a compost, meal planning, or even growing more food from veggie scraps. You can also check out our blog post on how to reduce waste for more zero-waste living tips.

1 pair of jeans produced the conventional way eats up approximately 10,000 liters of water. Consider that 1 person would need 10 years to drink that much—and that 5.7 billion people will experience water scarcity by 2050—and you see the problem. So consider doing a hands-off clothing swap, supporting recycled or sustainable brands, or treating yourself to a thrift-store shopping spree once it is safe to do so. You’ll likely find that you end up with unique, high-quality items for a fraction of the price you’d normally pay. 

While we 100% advocate for washing your hands thoroughly and often, we don’t recommend letting your faucet run while you’re lathering up. So grab the soap, sing a song, and follow CDC guidelines to your hearts content, but switch off the water faucet until you’re ready to rinse! The same goes for washing dishes, brushing your teeth, shaving, or washing your face. Doing this will save hundreds of gallons a month. And if you have to rinse veggies in a colander, consider placing a bowl underneath and reusing the water on your houseplants or for cleaning projects.

Trees are vital partners in the face of water scarcity and climate change: they protect against storm surges, absorb flow of water, slow-release water vapor, retain soil moisture, and hold the soil together. What’s not to love?