Getting serious about saving money on water bills

I may be wrong but most of the population spends a great deal of time bathing.  I know I'm no stranger to spending hours basking in warm water, #BathsAreLife,  but let's face a harsh reality, we do a lot of stuff in the shower that does not require the water running.  While some people might not feel clean enough being under the water for a short amount of time, it might just be the chemical bases in your soap or shampoo that are clogging up your pores.

Try shutting off the shower for a minute or two while you let your hair conditioner sink in.  Brush your teeth during the water off time and rinse when you wash your whole body. 

As part of a promotion for water conservation in Saskatchewan I was given a small sand hour glass (looks like an egg timer) for my shower that times out at four minutes.  It is stipulated as enough time to have your pores open up from warmth and steam, wash your hair and step out.  If you take a long time in the shower stop the water for intervals that you are not actively using the water.  You'll be amazed at how your water bill shrinks.

For those with a green thumb that find themselves wishing for a rain barrel to keep up their watering schedule without the water bill, invest in a large basin that is manageable to stand in and then tote around.  Use products that are safe for the environment so your plants don't get a shock and die on you.

So lets say you're about to start your shower.  You don't have a timer.  What do you do??
Close your drain.  Use the water level to gauge how much you have used. Stop before the water makes it to your ankle.  When you get into the habit you'll figure out for yourself exactly where on your foot is your four minute mark.  You'll probably eventually be done before you even get to it.

Couples are lucky to be able to halve their water bill right away by having an instant shower buddy.  Be sure to work on developing communication so one of you isn't always freezing and never wanting to experience it again.  Kind of hard to save water/money if someone resents the experience.

Baths are a bit tricky.  Begin by sitting in the tub as it fills up.  Your body will displace the water and fill up the tub with just enough to your desired level.  No more water splashing out as you get in.  There isn't really any way to avoid being wasteful except to limit the number of them that you have.

If you have control over the temperature of your water heater you can turn  down the maximum temperature.  A few degrees (or a lot) need to be tested over a few days to allow temperatures to drop.  By having a lower temperature you will be using less energy to warm the ever ready tank.  Setting a lower maximum temperature will also help to prevent scalding yourself in the future.

Good luck and have fun, be it for the better conservation of the planet's resources we use or your pocket book.

PS If you don't have low flush toilets then open up the lid on your tank.  Grab a brick or a sand filled one liter plastic jug (trust me when I say that a water filled one will not be heavy enough to stand up against moving water), and put it in any open area in the tank.  This will disperse the water and you will save with every flush.

Clean up for cash

I've been noticing around the city lately that garbage has been collecting all over the place.  I'm a huge fan of this planet and usually look at the larger impact of things.  I've embraced that classic of "Think globally.  Act locally."

Thankfully I'm living on the edge of the Atlantic ocean so in many ways I feel like my actions have an immediate impact globally.  Mainly that at least the trash I pick up will not get into the storm drains and then into our ocean.  Also there is something satisfying about pulling garbage away from a wave that is about to sweep it out to garbage island.

It amazes me how trash ends up in some areas, humans really are ingenious for getting their trash everywhere. I've found old TVs in all manner of places from forests to sea sides. Among the garbage strewn along the highways I have found larger bits of trash, like oh I don't know... a pile of bumpers! These were presumably from some massive pile up that never got cleaned up.

I got some plastic gloves and started picking up more manageable trash, focusing on debris that will be tossed about by the wind and picking up the little bits that are breaking down but will never really disappear, such as plastic cups that shred into strips.  I will stop everything if I find Styrofoam that is compressed balls.  That stuff is the worst for breaking apart but never really going away.  The goal is of course for everyone everywhere to take on the responsibility and hopefully sort their trash into recyclables and not throw it out their car windows for it to become a heap of junk.

Try asking for drinks without straws or lids. Straws make up one of the largest contributors of plastic waste.

I got distracted by my own life and stopped picking up garbage for a while.  At the beginning of this month (Sept 2017) I went to the beach and started picking up trash.  Some lady made a comment that I must work for the city and I replied "I just couldn't take it any more" and we talked a bit about their own garbage picking ways up the beach! Fantastic!

 I've been picking up garbage ever since.  I'll find myself out for a walk and thinking "Oh nuts I forgot a bag for garbage" and one just floats towards me... because there is that much garbage!
I've incorporated it into my day. I'll drive to work and see a particularly bad street and walk over after my shift is done and spend half an hour picking up stuff and have a full garbage bag.  I have to limit how much I clean with large bags because we don't have that much room in our house garbage containers for it all. So I'll usually go with any number of individual grocery bags to gather garbage that is around larger garbage bins around the city.

Try it for yourself.  Find a garbage can and figure out a 10 foot circle around it and just pick up the garbage that is sitting around the can and actually put it in the can.

I have already started to see benefits in my life.  At almost zero cost to me (if I don't drive out to visit the ocean) I walk around the city and find that people don't just throw out garbage, they throw out money.  Sure there are bottles that are a lot easier to spot from a distance, but actual coins at times.  It has become a fun challenge to see how much I can pick up depending on how much time I have.  It has encouraged me to walk a lot more places, cutting down on my gas use and almost always find a few bottles to return.  The best parts have been meeting people along the way and getting to see more of the city.  I have found that if I walk anywhere for long enough I will find something interesting.  Sometimes I even have an amazing walk and don't find garbage for a while.

For large items I'm sort of at a loss for what to do. If anyone has any suggestions for what government department I should be alerting, that would be appreciated.  At the end of the month I'm going to put up how much money I've found along the way.

The best new years resolution I could come up with

Not paying for any of my resolutions.  

I don't really go in for New Years change because I find that my time of transition and setting solid goals for myself usually comes in the spring.  This year is a bit different, with having the decision of change taken out of my hands I have taken charge and am running with it.  I was a bit worried about making very hasty revisions to my life.  I figured I could benefit from planning to not spend any more money than I needed to.

For instance I've said I want to get fit and see more of my friends.  I'm not going to join a gym but I am going to start pushing myself in running more. I will have people over for dinner and chats at my place rather than going out for dinner or coffee.  And if my semi thought of a wardrobe update comes to fruition I will work on modifying what I already have and looking for some nice things on sale.

This gives me a much needed boost when it comes to the things that I want to do that require some serious cash.  A few nights ago I sat down with my friend Alyssa and we got talking about the sense of liberation I had from being relieved of my obligations to my apartment.  I have finally understood the sentiment that things you own start owning you.  So riding on this wave of feeling free I started talking and writing down what I wanted from this year... it was packed!

Places I want to go and the people I want to visit when I get there.  This list of dreams for 2014 will probably spill over into the next few years too.  A great weight has been lifted from my shoulders and I look forward to the coming months.

What were your resolutions?