Today I’ll be introducing a new series that I will continue as I see prudent or as I come across new ideas regarding living a greener life. I will first tackle the issue of water usage.
I know the first thing I do when I get up in the morning is hop in the shower and take a nice, warm, and long shower. Still in between being asleep and fully awake, it comes as no surprise that this simple task takes easily twice as long as it needs to. For those who must know, especially due to my longer hair, I shampoo, condition, wash, and shave in the shower at the present time. The last in that list is a non-essential shower activity and can just as easily be performed over a sink as it can be in the shower, which I myself need to improve on a bit.
Ideally, a shower that includes the first two should take no longer than 10 minutes, and with shaving included no more than 15 as many people, guys and gals alike, prefer shaving while wet. In homes that still have just one water heater, this is not just water management but also a common courtesy to other residents in the house who have yet to take a shower for the day.
This past year I had a suitemate who could take showers that lasted upwards of 40 minutes. This is not just a waste of water but especially in a dorm situation it can be rude if the other suitemates need to use the restroom sometime during that period. And no one in the middle of a blissfully warm shower, at whatever length, likes to get interrupted with a loud banging on the door!
So how do you combat this? For me its as simple as having an egg timer in the shower that lets me know how long I’ve been in there. I usually don’t need to turn it on if I’m taking a standard shower, because after a while, as with anything, I learn the pace that I need to function at while showering.
As for guys shaving, I can’t speak on behalf of the ladies, having a face that is wet makes it easier, but it isn’t necessary to be done in the shower. Simply wet the face over the sink and then shave there, of course turning off the faucet when you’re not rinsing your razor blade. If it is being done in the shower, turn the water off or down to a lower pressure so that not as much water is being wasted.
Look for more green water usage tips coming up as summer heats up!