How can I save on water?

You must be in the city, so my country suggestions won't work. There are gray water systems for city people. They reprocess water from the bathtub, washing maching machine, and if you want, kitchen sink. You put whatever you want on the gray water system line. It is filtered and cleaned, then used to water plants ( flowers), wash your car, stuff like that. Not sure how much it costs and if it's worth it. Mostly used in a lot of desert areas. Now as a country person, here's how I can save on water: rain barrel rain barrel shower system gutters from the roof watering flowers get water from public springs every time I drive by one going to and from work

That really a good ways to save water, my friend. But whatever method that I used to conserve water this is not effective to lessen water bills in our area. Because every month they increase pay bills on water. I don't know if it is really reasonable to charge the public with high water bills every month where this is a natural resources that must not be blundered by those people in the government managing the distribution of water to the public... have a nice day!

Well you cannot stop drinking water, but I wonder if there is a way to put a stopper to your shower drain. Also if you wash dishes, you can not drain the water when the sink gets dirty but that I would not recommend as your dishes would not get drained. I did hear on Dr Oz or one of the other doctor shows that you only need to take a shower every two days instead of every day. So there is a case of being too frugal. But I find that sometimes the taps may not close properly and you may have to get a washer or get new taps. That used to count for much waste in our house. So make sure to check the taps.

You can take water from your bath and use that as well as from doing the dishes to flush your toilet so the water then gets a second use (along with the concept.. if it's brown flush it down, if it's yellow let it mellow). Or like you water your plants in the yard just make sure they are not veggies as you don't want to use grey water on food producing plants. Low flow shower & toilets too. If you can't or dont' want to spend the money folks like to put a brick in the water tank as well. Sometimes what I do is soak the dishes that need soaking and use a very soapy dish cloth to wash down everything stack them and when they are all done rinse them off over a bucket and you can pour that over your flowers especially since they say soapy water is good on plants to keep away some insects. If you also have the money to spare you can use a HE washer. I just got a top loading one and it does a nice job on saving water, i can'ts ay the same about the lint on my darks though so I have to use the dryer on those loads.

You are doing a really great job already. You could install low flow toilets to save money on water when you flush. There is also a way you can place something in the tank to make to use less water. You should look it up though because I forget the specifics of it and where it needs placed. Also time your showers. Time yourself taking a regular shower and then try to cut that time down by 5 minutes. Then shower for that lesser amount of time each time.

Could there be some leak where the water comes on to your property? One that is not visible but it even a small drip/leak means a lot of water being lost. When you quickly wash your hands do you use the hot tap and wait for it to warm up? This uses quite a bit of water. It doesn't hurt to wash them in cold if you are using soap/handwash anyway.

what about catching rain water for you garden and plants? i live in a condo unit where qw dont have to pay for water, but my mom does, so we try and help her.

These are great ideas in order to save water. I have also been trying to figure out how I can save money and keep some of my utilities down. It seems that everytime I read a paper or anything anymore, another company is raising rates. It doesn't seem like they should be allowed to raise them continually.

thank you for these tips. they are helpful in these times when every penny counts. well, like you, i am also very frugal. i live within my means and want to save as much as possible in the things i can cut costs. for water, i wash the dishes twice a day; one after lunch and the other after dinner. i do not wash dishes in the morning. it saves me one washing. then, for clothes, i try to wear one color in a week to have one usage of washing machine for that color. so for example, light colored for this week and next week will be dark colored, something like that. some examples on how i save water.

Take the water from the rain to water your flowers and vegetables in your garden, when you watch up clothes use minimum water. The water you use when you wash up rice you can drink it too because it has high vitamins in it, and you can use it to wash your mouth too.

Occasionally check for water leaks. Use glass/tumbler every time you brush your teeth. Use pail and dipper/scoop when taking a bath instead of using the shower. Schedule your laundry. Have it once or twice a week. When it rains, store rainwater and use it to water the plants. These are just the practical things I can remember at this moment aside from the tips you've presented above.

You could try to think of ways to actually not use water to do someting. Such as drinking other things that don't require water, you could cut the number of times you use the shower (!), use mouthwash to rinse after brushing rather than water, water your plants with left over water...it's really difficult actually becuase we really need to use water to some extent - could you borrow water from the neighbours? ;)

If you shave your legs in the shower, you can fill an empty container( I use a ice cream bucket) fill it with water, and then turn the shower off.... Of course Im originally from Australia, lol. where its alot warmer! that wouldnt work so well in the winter time in the USA/Canada! always turn the tap off when brushing your teeth! time your showers! dont have baths.