azul;

Using the Water Savings Bucket In The Wet Winter

Each day my family collects on average 8 gallons of water with the Ripple Product water collection bucket. We collect the water in the shower when the water heats up, we collect a scoop of the bath water after my children have bathed, and we collect water all day in the kitchen sink.

During the hot months, my plants gladly accepted the water in the garden. I used the water I collected from the shower and kitchen sink to water my vegetable garden. The vegetable garden is dormant and the potted plants druring most weeks have enough moisture.

Now that the rainy season has begun, I have found other uses for the water I collect with the water collection bucket. Here are some ideas:

1. Instead of turning on fresh water for the garbage disposal, I pour out some water from the water savings bucket.
2. My water fountain outside is replenished with the water I collect from the shower.
3. When I clean the kitchen sink, I always use the collected water.
4. To clean the bath basins, I use the water I collected. Instead of turning on the fresh water after the shower to rinse of the bath tub I use the collected water.
5. The smaller water collection bucket is 1.6 gallons exactly the same amount of a flush in water saving toilet.

What ideas do you have?

Posted by Florencia , 01.04.09 12.49 pm , comments(0) , permalink

FLOW the Movie

Recently a good friend asked me why save water. When she runs the water to fill her bath each night she figures that the 20 or more gallons used are returned to the earth..."it is not as if the water disappears" she said. This friend recycles, tots around her Kleen Kanteen, switched all her light bulbs to fluorescents, composts, is a member of her local CSA (community sustainable agriculture) but not yet a water conservationist. It is a good question and I must admit that I did not articulate a strong answer.

Then comes the movie FLOW that answers her question "why save water" both simply and profoundly. Official selection of the 2008 Sundance Festival, this documentary frames the issue as the following... we are not running out of water on this planet as my friend intelligently pointed out, but rather we are running out of CLEAN drinkable water on this planet. You can view the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7JYS7My6nU. And I will be taking my good friend to a theatre near us this fall to see this awareness raising film. We can all benefit from a deeper perspective as to why we must save water--as clean drinkable water is the very essence of life. Thank you to director Irena Salina and all those involved in this film to bring us this important film.

Posted by Florencia , 09.25.08 2.49 am , comments(0) , permalink

Shorter Showers- Have your duck all in a row

Many of us are guilty of indulging in that long shower. We use the shower to wake-up in the morning, or to relax after a long day. Some of us brush our teeth in the shower, shave, sing, contemplate...But it is time that we rethink how we use the shower. The average shower in the U.S. is 8 minutes long using 36 gallons of water per shower. The average person takes 6 showers a week at eight minutes totaling 11,232 gallons of water per year. This translates to roughly 3 trillion gallons of water used for showering in the U.S. per year-- or enough water to fill up Lake Erie twice.

So you compost, recycle, bring your reusable bags to the grocery store, carry around your SIGG bottle...but you still take those long showers. Consider this next time you leave the water running. 5.3 billion people- 2/3 of the world's population- will suffer from water shortages by 2025. Is it all connected- absolutely!

So if you feel inspired to reduce your shower (even by one minute to start) because all our small actions make big actions collectively. These are the steps to take a three minute shower:

1. I am sure that I have all the things I need; shampoo, conditioner, soap, towel. Now I do not find myself running to the downstairs bathroom or searching through the bathroom cabinet for the bar of soap with the water running.

2. I undress so I am ready to jump in the moment the water is warm.

3. I place my collapsible water bucket under the running water to collect the water as it warms up. The Ripple Products bucket is great because it does not take a lot of space and it is lightweight but any bucket would work.

4. I turn the water on.

5. As soon as the water heats up I step into the shower put my star shower timer on for 3 minutes.

6. The sequence of showering matters when your goal is to be efficient. For me because I condition my hair, I shampoo first.

7. Next I condition my hair as it is leave in conditioner. At this point I have about a minute and a half left on the clock.

8. While my hair is being conditioned I lather my body.

9. Than I rinse my hair and body.

After the shower I feel clean, refreshed, and glad to know that in my small way I am contributing to more drinkable water for the earth's population.

Posted by Florencia , 08.30.08 12.56 pm , comments(0) , permalink

Water Collection Bucket-Water Saving Tip #1

The more I use my water collection bucket, the more uses I find. On the average day, our family collects 10 gallons of water. In a year that totals to 3650 gallons of water collected and saved. From a global perspective, that is the same amount used by two African families.

The primary design of the bucket is to collect water as it heats up in both the shower and the kitchen sink. My kitchen sink is farther from the water heater so sometimes it takes 1.6 gallons (the size of the small bucket) to heat up the water for dishes. I have gone beyond capturing the blast of cold water as I wait for hot water.

I use it to collect the water as I rinse our fruits and vegetables. The tomatoes in the picture are from our vegetable garden that is watered exclusively from the water collected throughout the day. There is nothing like homegrown tomatoes..they are a more brilliant red ...they taste sweeter...and the best part--we save water.

Posted by Florencia , 08.21.08 1.08 am , comments(0) , permalink

Check us out in Plenty Magazine!

A star is born. Ripple Products digital shower timer makes its first U.S. national appearance in the August/September issue of Plenty Magazine. The digital shower timer is the Editor's Pick for green gear. Has the digital shower timer made an apperance in a shower near you?

Shower Timer

Posted by azulconservation , 08.12.08 4.14 pm , comments(0) , permalink

How long is your shower?

What are the most wasteful things you have heard that people do in the shower with the water running?

What is your experience with the shower timer?
Has it helped you reduce gallons and minutes from your shower?
What is your fastest shower?
Would you share your quick shower techniques with us?

Posted by azulconservation , 08.05.08 7.09 pm , comments(1) , permalink

Using the Water Savings Bucket In The Wet Winter

FLOW the Movie

Shorter Showers- Have your duck all in a row

Water Collection Bucket-Water Saving Tip #1

Check us out in Plenty Magazine!

How long is your shower?

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