Did you know it was World Water Day tomorrow?
No, me neither. In fact I’d never even heard of it until Master Frugal mentioned it to me yesterday along with a bit of a lecture on how lucky we are living in the UK to have free access to clean water available to us just by turning on a tap. He’s right of course because as we all know, sadly there are a lot of families around the world who don’t have this.
I had a quick Google and it seems that World Water Day is observed each year on 22 March. The day, which was established by the United Nations was first celebrated in 1993 but more than 20 years on, no-one (that I’ve asked) even know it exists!
He pointed out that we waste water frequently and asked me to share with you all some ways to stop wasting water because ‘we’re lucky to have it so should waste it because that’s just a waste’ (his words)!
So here’s our ten ways not to waste water:
- Take showers and not baths where possible.
- Turn of the tap while brushing your teeth.
- Put one of those inflatable bags in your cistern – I’m sorry but I don’t know the technical name. I just know we got ours free from our water company and it means less water is needed to fill our cisterns.
- Only use your washing machine and dishwasher when you have a full load.
- Use a watering can rather than the hosepipe to water your garden.
- Even better, buy a water butt for your garden so you can use collected rainwater to water.
- Do you wash your hair daily – save time and water and use dry shampo every second day. I use Batiste to save me washing and it’s been amazing but I do also like Morrisons own brand version.
- Fix any dripping taps – those drips mount up to wasting a lot of water over a period of time.
- Keep a jug of chilled water in the fridge to save having to run the cold water tap for a few seconds to get super cold water.
- Consider installing a water meter….
Do you have more bedrooms in your house than people living in it?
If you do, the chances are you could save money on your water bills by getting a water meter installed and actually, even if you don’t, you still might be able to save some money with a water meter.
A water meter basically measures the amount of water you use. Your water company will then charge you for that amount rather than charging you a fixed amount which is based on the rateable value of your home. They’re usually free to install and they’re not intrusive or visible (ours isn’t anyway – it’s under the manhole cover in the front garden).
Your local water company should have a calculator on their website to help you work out how much you could save – we’re with Northumbrian Water and they’re calculator’s here if you want to have a quick play about.
Since we moved house to one with a water meter installed, we’ve saved a fortune – having a water meter makes us more conscious about the water used around the house so I’d really recommend that you have a look on your local water companies website to see if you would benefit from having a water meter installed – it could save you £££££’s.
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