I hate waste. Always have. Everything seems useful to me, and throwing things away seems to be downright disrespectful to the luck that brought you each thing. And here in Oman, waste of water is on my mind every day. My professorial salary means I don't really have to worry about the cost of water, but every time I look out on that dry landscape, where acacias fight goats for survival, and only a few other tough plants and animals can make it in this aridity, I can't help but think of how hard it is to get good clean water. And all those people in the world, not just in the past, but in the present still, too much of the present, who struggle to get even a bucket of good water.
So here's one small idea. It'll seem picky and obsessive, but again, think of its cumulative effect. As you adjust the temperature of the shower, it's running and running. And so much water runs in even a second of shower flow. So plop a bucket underneath to catch this unused water. Works best if you have non-fixed showerhead on a flexible tube, but it can be wrangled in various ways. Then you have this bucket of water. Which you can use to flush a toilet once, or for all those times a kitchen spill, a mopping, a soaking, or some other situation requires a bit of utility water. It can sit around, it can be added to till it accumulates to a useful level. It won't breed bacteria and mosquitoes if you use it frequently enough: that's your call.
And it's a small thing, yes, but it's a remembrance, a daily remembrance, of what water is, to us all.
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4 comments:
Conor dear, it's a good idea except for the toilet part. I need to flush my toilet when I use it and my toilet needs to be literally SPOTLESS after each use. I do not believe in dirty toilets...at all. but yes, as for the rest of the ideas, I can sympathise with your feelings about wasted water which is why I turn off the water while I'm brushing my teeth and turn it back on to clean the sink and wash my hands only after I've finished brushing.
M: the point is yes, by all means, do flush your toilet---just with perfectly clean unused shower water.
It's not that I didn't understand your point, it's just that I'm rebelling against it. No way, never, ever. I am content to turn off the water when I am brushing my teeth and taking cooler showers so as not to use excess energy to heat it (in the summer my shower is on practically freezing anyway) and washing the dishes in the dishwasher when it's nearly full (washing them in the dishwasher saves us a lot of energy + water - way more than washing them by hand). But to not put down the toilet lid when flushing...is just plain DIRTY. But you can do it if you want, in your own home...:)
How are you, anyway??
Solution to Mithu's concern: dump the shower bucket directly into the toilet's tank. Flush to your seat-down heart's content!
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