Memorial Day

Memorial Day weekend is an annual turning point towards summer. While it’s still officially spring, Memorial Day is a marker and a sure sign that summer is on its way. In preparation for summer, this is a great time to consider one of our most precious resources on this planet – water.

Depending on where you live, you may already recognize the true value of water, but for others it might be easy to overlook the extensive benefits of water and what an important commodity it really is.

We undervalue this precious resource and we tend not only to overuse it, but actually to abuse it. Water appears to be abundant but that is deceptive. There is a much more limited capacity for the lakes, rivers, and oceans to purify the wastes we are dumping. Billions of dollars are spent to clean up or prevent water pollution, so in fact water is not actually a “free” good.

Many people live in communities where there are water shortages. You might be one of those people, or you might hear about it on the news and think, “That’s someone else’s problem.” But we can all become mindful.

Our overuse of water begins at home. Turn your mind towards water consciousness. Learn to be mindful and cognizant of your habits that relate to water and find an appreciation of how much we really rely on water every day. Compared to other countries, we pay very little to have water delivered to our kitchen and bathroom faucets.

From the time we wake up, we flush the toilet, wash our hands, brush our teeth, take a shower or bathe, cook and do dishes, do laundry, and of course we drink water. Start to conserve water. You can start by turning off the faucet while you brush your teeth. It may seem like a small step, but imagine if many people did this what a large impact it could have. Leaving the water running is unnecessary, and once you think of it it’s extremely effortless to turn it off while brushing until you actually need it again.

Consider laundry. Do you have a habit of running your washing machine with only a half or even smaller load of laundry? Is that really the best use of water? Try washing clothes only when you have a full load. By no means is it favorable to walk around dirty, but try to only do laundry when you have a full load or you absolutely have to.

Low flow toilets are an excellent eco-friendly option. Many new appliances are now offering environmentally friendly features. Consider replacing some of your appliances, like your toilet, that use fewer natural resources. Also, don’t flush the toilet unnecessarily and don’t use the toilet as a wastebasket.

In terms of bathing, learn to take short showers. Less than 5 minutes is absolutely attainable with practice. Or if you prefer to bath, fill the bathtub only one-quarter full.

Rather than letting your tap run to get cold water to drink, keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator. Water filters are the best way to enjoy safe and great tasting water all the time.

Consider the water you might be using to wash your car this Memorial Day weekend. Rather than leaving the hose running, fill a bucket with water and use a sponge. This can save about 80 gallons of water!

Another common Memorial Day habit is watering the lawn. We can all limit this practice much more than we realize. Most lawns and gardens require little more than 1 inch of water per week. Water early in the morning to reduce water loss from evaporation later in the day.

When else do you use water? Do you purchase bottled water at the store? Certainly there are an infinite number of products besides pure bottled water that all contain water. What about your cup of coffee?

No matter which way you look, once you become conscious of it you’ll see just how vital water is; we can all do our part to appreciate the real value of water.

Jennie LyonAbout Jennie Lyon

Jennie Lyon is a green lifestyle writer and the owner of Sweet Greens, the award-winning green lifestyle blog. She posts on simple, fun ways families can go green together – starting with her own. When she isn’t blogging, you will find her paddleboarding, sailing, beach-combing, camping, or spending time with her amazing husband and 13-year old son.

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