Author’s Note:  Today’s post will be a short one, as I am home with the baby today, and he takes up loads of time.  Tomorrow I should be a bit more settled, and will return to our regularly scheduled programming.

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Fresh, clean water is at a real premium in the world today.  Even when I was a kid, around 20 years ago, it was still possible to drink directly from a spring or artesian well.  No longer.  Now, if you are going to be in a situation where you will have to drink from a natural, untreated source such as a lake, river, or spring, you’d better have a filter that cleans both viruses, bacteria, and chemicals.

Not only is our natural water no longer safe, we are using more and more water every year.   Many states in the western part of the country experience serious water shortages every year, with rationing going into effect in extreme cases.  That’s why its so important to cut back on the water we use.  Here are some tips that we follow at our house to cut down on how much water we use:

• We have an energy-star certified dishwasher.  It uses much less water than conventional models.
• We have an energy-star certified washing machine.  No joke, this thing uses less than 1/3 of the water that a conventional one uses.
• We have cut back the amount of time spent in the shower.  This is big for me, because I like to take long, hot showers.  But we need to make sacrifices, however small they seem.
• I turn off the water while scrubbing my hands, and while brushing my teeth.  Little things, put together, make big things.
• I don’t water my lawn.  Sure, we all want nice green grass, but I want to save my water for my vegetable garden.

There are a few more things we do, but Brennan is shrieking right now, which makes it very hard to write, so I am going to go see what he needs.

What are some things you do, or are planning to do, to save water?