Water On the Mind - 8 Tips

Water has been on our minds a lot around our household, and maybe not for reasons that first come to mind. After 10 years of planning and waiting, a new dam was put in for the lake that we reside on, and while it was in the process of being built, we looked at the lake bottom, it looked a bit like looking at the surface of mars. BUT, as of this week, the lake will be filling with whatever water comes from the sky and from natural springs that are in it.

Water is such an important natural resource, a life-source for our physical bodies, and for everything that lives on our planet. Now that it is getting warmer in our area, people are more inclined to be filling pools, watering gardens and lawns, washing their own cars, and setting up sprinkler-toys for their children to run through and play with.

Many water conservation techniques will also save you money, let me share a few with you that are good reminders to hear on a regular basis:

1. If you fill a bathtub with water, you may use up to 70 gallons of water, but if you take a 5-minute shower you use only a fraction of that amount - 10-25 gallons
2. If you have older washers that need replacing, replace them with high-efficiency washers, some use up to 50% less water and electricity.
3. If you use a dishwasher, don't turn it on until it is full. We only run ours once a day.
4. Repair dripping faucets - I read somewhere that a drip a second wastes over 3000 gallons per year.
5. If your toilet needs replacing, replace with a water-conserving toilet. They have them with special flush mechanisms so that even though you are using less water, there is enough power to flush efficiently and quickly.
6. Toilet leaking? Put food coloring in the tank, and if it is leaking the color will appear in the bowl in approximately 15 minutes. Keep toilets sealed so they don't leak.
   
7. Don't run water until it is cold enough to drink, fill a container or pitcher with water and keep a supply of cold water in the refrigerator at all times.
   
8. Don't run water constantly while brushing your teeth. Turn off between uses.

Living On a Budget, Like Newlyweds Again

When we were first married, we lived on a strict budget...there were not computers with spread sheets back then, just our handy little budget book with columns for each category.

Then there were years when there was enough money coming in that we could "let up" a bit on keeping a budget. We were in a routine as far as our spending, and able to keep the check book balanced online, thanks to the wonder of the internet.

With the state of the economy and a couple of job losses with reduced pay in the new jobs, we find ourselves like "newlyweds" again after 30 years of marriage, at least as far as how careful we have to be about our finances. I have that fun responsibility, and here's what I did to get myself "into" keeping track of things again:

• I had hubby put together a spread sheet for me with columns for each of our expenses, ie. food, gasoline, utilities, etc., and it also kept a tally of what should be left in the checking account...now to many of you this may be second nature if you're good at bookkeeping. For me, I need someone to set it up, then I do the inputting.
  
• I started out by just spending, then inputting what had been spent on what for a month or two. Then we sat down and looked at where we were spending too much, and where to cut back, and made adjustments.

It's really as simple and uncomplicated as that. Since we don't have an excess of money in the checking account anymore, and it's easy to run out and overdraw the account, I keep close track of our balance, as well as when the bills are due. I have reminders set up in my cell phone to let me know it's time to pay certain bills that are easy to forget.

Yep, it's like taking a step back in time, except with all the extra helps provided by computers, spreadsheets, and online banking, and it's not so terrible...we should have lived like this all along, that's really our problem on a small scale, and our Nation's problem on a large scale, we just don't know when to say no to things.

I hope our present economic situation is going to drive us back to living more simply and being grateful for what we have, and thankful that our needs are provided...back to looking out for others and not just for ourselves by giving from our excess to those who really are in need.