Be Environmentally Friendly: Save Water

Now that you're a parent, it's got you thinking about future generations and what shape they'll find the planet in. You want your kids and grandkids to have a safe, clean world to live in, but you're not sure how to go about it. One way to be super environmentally friendly (and save boatloads of cash) is to cut down on your water usage.

We take having clean, fresh water for granted, but the truth is, only 1% of the earth's water is usable. And with populations growing and natural resources dwindling, we gotta be smart and not flush all of our clean water away ... literally.
Here are five ways to use less water:

• Take shorter showers! Got a kid or spouse who turns daily hygiene into a Power Shower Hour? Install a low-flow shower head in your bathroom. You might not be able to successfully decrease their shower time, but you can decrease the amount of water they're using while they're in there.
• Turn off the tap! Don't leave the water running when you're brushing your teeth. It can waste an average of 4 gallons in one session! No need to waste water while you get your breath minty fresh.
• Do less laundry! Telling a mom to do less laundry is like telling toddlers not to whine. Pretty much impossible. But if you can manage to re-wear clothes multiple times, do! You'll save a ton of water!
• Do full loads! To be super environmentally friendly, wait until you've got a full load of dishes or laundry before you clean 'em. You'll save between 300 and 800 gallons of water a month depending on how energy efficient your machine is!
• If it's yellow, let it mellow! Sounds gross, but every time you flush, you're sending 3 to 8 gallons of agua down the sewer. So if it's just a little pee pee in there, don't flush. And if you really want to save water, consider installing a low-flush toilet which cuts water usage practically in half!
• Water in the AM! Water your lawn in the morning, rather than in the heat of the day. Less water will evaporate that way, letting more get to the roots. If you do this for a year, you'll save a whopping 4,524 gallons of water! Who's environmentally friendly now?!