Earth Girls Are Easy: If It’s Brown…

Thank you for sharing,very useful post.

my tip: don't fill up the sink to wash dishes. Use a large bowl or half full sink, put all the clean dished in one spit and rinse together. This is much better than using a dishwasher.

I don't flush at night and for the most part no one else flushes. Gavin isn't allowed to flush because he overflowed our toilet awhile back. This is a lot of TMI but I'm glad to know we're not the only family that does not flush after every use.

This really went into practice in our house when I was pregnant. Had I flushed everytime I peed rivers and lakes would have been drying up all over the place.

My toilet is automatic..it flushes no matter what.

I do that in my uncles house now because he wants to save flushes. I go to my mom and she freaks out.

I go to the bathroom about 8 times a night. Seriously. and if I have to flush everytime I make yellow. I'll go crazy. I hate to flush and then the next morning everyone complains why I pee so much and blah blah blah. So no flushy at night for me.

I want to get my daughter in the habit of not running the water while she is soaping up but she refuses to get it. Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Its driving me crazy.

We are on a septic system, and have the laundry room disconnected from it so the water from the washer drains (in separate underground field lines) into the yard and garden-it reduces the amount of water used to water the garden, and we never use fresh water on the lawn any more. It also keeps the septic system from having to be pumped so often, saving several hundred dollars a year.

I totally want to try the Jug in the tank trip. The only problem I have is that we are in the frozen north and there are no pebbles or sand to be seen for another month or so. So I have my own take on it, I think I will try to fill a bottle with water,ironic I know since the goal is to save water, but the little bit I will have to use in the jug will be alot less than what i will save in the long run by having it in there. I think as long as the top of the bottle is below the water line, and I keep the cap off, it shouldn't float up right??
We sort of do the mellow yellow trick (sometimes even brown) without even trying, with a 6 year old and a 3 year old flushing does not seem like something they remember. I just let it go and flush it when I get around to it.

**Confession-- I have been known to leave the water running while doing dishes. BUT that was before this blog, seriously, i just didn't think about it. **

lol @ water closet being bourgie

All of the toilets in New Zealand are dual flush. We also, for the most part, have our toilets in a separate room from the shower/bathtub. Sort of like a toilet in a closet. It works really well and makes more sense to me. You know bathing blissfully while inhaling a cloud of poo particles is well...

If it's mellow let it yellow has always been a thing here in the Caribbean, especially during dry season. On islands like Antigua and Bequai people get REAL vex if you flush after peeing.

Another tip is to turn off the shower while lathering. AND, seeing as so many people let the water "run through" to get hot water when they bathe, why not catch it and use that water for the garden or the plants?
Water tanks are manditory for ever new home built in Barbados (here), which are used to catch the rain water. They are intended for use in droughts and for gardens.... maybe it's something that person should look into when building a new home overseas?

Solar water heating panels are also the bomb, but we aren't talking about electricty yet, so I'll shut up now ;)

I am all about the yellow mellow method, and its just me so I don't have to worry about grossing someone out. I am going to try the milk jug and pebbles starting this weekend. I have some milk I should be finishing up tonight.

We do the mellow yellow thing at our house too. We started it in an effort to save our septic tank from being pumped every year. It worked - so now we are saving our money and the environment!

the way I conserve water......I have a water well and every time the electricity goes out, the water well don't work. This happens a good bit, otherwise I flush.

In our house we've been abiding by those principles for a few years. As much as I'd like to kid myself my fella is an eco-warrior, he's just a tight arse! Nevertheless, it makes me feel good to know we're doing our bit. I do have to try to drum into him that he eneds to flush the loo SOMETIMES as he leaves his wee sitting there when we have guests!

The only time i use the "If it's yellow.." method is if I'm in a public bathroom. I can't stand the idea of putting my hands on a germ infested handle, but at home I can't stand the idea of pee just sitting in my bowl. Plus my grandmother would have a heart attack. But I really like that water bottle trick and will use that and I'm pretty sure that my bowl only flushes 1.6 gallons.

I save water by turning off the water when I brush, if I have a pesky pot that needs cleaning I don't let the water run while i'm trying to scrap off that burnt on hamburger helper and I only take 10 minute showers. Might sound gross to some but I only wash my hair once or twice a week, which cuts down on shower time. Plus, I just get clean and get out...I don't linger in there, I get bored..lol

I love these blogs, you guys have great tricks and ideas to make those people who don't have any idea where to start.

We use so much water because I cloth diaper. I tried to keep the waste out of landfills and the trade off is lots of extra laundry...

So we try to make up for it:
- Turn off the water when brushing teeth - simple but it's so easy to leave the water running!
- Low-flow shower heads or take a shower together! We like to shower together and wash each others backs : )

I wish there were more ways to make the most of rain water. I know of systems that collect it and reuse it and would love to have one for our home. It just seems like such a waste that water runs off out homes and into sewage drains.

Also, an architect friend of mine installed this toilet in his bathroom. He saw it while in Europe and liked its unique design and functionality. The bathroom was so small that he wanted to make the most of the space. He used a toilet that had a little sink on top of the bowl. The water in the reservoir would run up into the sinks faucet upon flushing and then into the toilet bowl. The idea was that since one has to wash his or her hands after using the toilet, the clean water going into the bowl could serve that purpose!
Brilliant! After we saw it and used it, we so want one! I've never seen it anywhere else, though.

Great ideas, ladies!

I think the only water saving tip I have is for cold water. I like cold water to drink and for diluting beverages, and hate having to run the tap for ages to wait for the water to turn cold, so filling a bottle with water and keeping it in the fridge means there is always cold water, and when you use some you can top it up with any temperature of water and it'll become cold without having to run the tap.

Also, when making tea or coffee, I fill each mug with cold water to the amount each person takes, pour that into the kettle to prevent it having to boil longer and wasting energy. Also, it stops water that isn't boiled from being wasted by being thrown out if you don't like twice boiled water.

I like the idea of the pebbles in the bottle trick, but I'd need to run that past my parents since it's their house. And I don't think I could convince my family with the mellow yellow trick as they are a little stuck in their ways, aswell as having 5 young grandkids who are being taught how to use a toilet, toilet manners etc. But when I get my own place, mellow yellow will totally be the way I do it.

Sarah xx