I save the water from boiling pasta and vegetables to reuse to boil more pasta or vegetables or to hydrate "sponge" foods like oatmeal, rice, and quinoa. If you dump the boiling liquid down the drain, you're wasting water and free vegetable broth!

Here's a picture of my water-saving broth jar with some spong foods:

http://www.cookforgood.com/blog/2011/7/28/week-2-day-6-easiest-day-w-hummus-pasta-and-chocolate-puddin.html

As a apartment living container gardner (I so love my fresh, organic (by my hand) herbs and veggies!), I am investing in at least one rain barrel! I live just south of Nashville, Tennessee, where at least a couple of times per week during the summer, pop-up thunderstorms form during the late afternoon, and provide a steady gift of free water. While I thank Mother Earth for doing some of my watering during the summer, I will no longer take more from her during the cooler months.

Another refreshing way to save water is to use a sustainable bucket while waiting for a small stream of quick shower water to warm up. As long as the bucket is properly cleaned and maintained while not in use, the shower water can be added to anything that needs moisture, as all water travels through the same pipes, regardless of the faucet it arrives from.

Jen!! That is an amazing idea... I always just accepted that I had to wait for the water to warm up before using it, but I will definitely use a bucket now to save some water here and there! Thanks :)

I have already stated that I am against desalinization, but I had to add that I agree with Valerie's comment that it requires nearly no effort at conservation on our part. Adding that as an option would simply allow people to use as much water as they want (as so many do now) without worrying about consequences, so I don't think that it would simply supplement the water we are now using, I think it would become a major source.

Also, I can't remember which documentary I saw this in, but I think it was Blue Gold: World Water Wars, but there was a piece about an area in a third world country that was using a natural and old technique to collect water, I think both from the ground and rain water, and it their collection 'ponds' were destroyed by the arm or government or something because they were told they didn't have the right to use that land, or license, or something. I wish I could remember it better, bu the point is that they had a natural way to collect water in an area where fresh water was hard to come by, and all it required was labor on the part of the villagers, and it was taken from them. I'll have to watch the documentary again. I would suggest everyone see it, as I recall that it was very good.

I am late to this discussion as I just joined today, but desalinization is absolutely not the answer. To me, it seems as though that is being thrown into the mix as another "easy fix"; not because of the time or effort it takes to complete it, but because of the idea that it requires virtually no conservation effort on our part. Two of the most important factors to consider: the atrocious amount of money it costs and the environmental effects. Due to war and various other factors, our country is in no small amount of debt; it is nonsensical to consider relying on desalinization to solve the world's water deprivation crisis. Not to mention, the human population as a whole consumes resources much faster than they are able to be restored. Because of the fact that oceans contain such a precise ratio of saline to fresh water and other compounds, it would be impossible to restore it to its proper level in a timely manner. This delicate ratio is what allows such an array of marine life to exist, including coral reefs. The depletion of saline, however small, would be detrimental to every marine species. I encourage everyone to explore movements being made by companies like Earth:Water (earth-water.org), who are funding global projects that will give third world countries access to clean water via sustainable practices.

This is where my friend''s think I get really crunchy! haha! About one year ago I stopped shaving my legs. I decided it wasn't worth it. It makes your shower about 10 minutes longer wasting water, and depending on how frequently you shave your legs, you're constantly throwing away razors which wind up in the landfill (Preserve does make razors from recycled materials and you can mail them back in to be recycled when you're done) I decided if I really need to have smooth legs I can get them waxed! It lasts longer, creates less waste, and is biodegradable if you're using all-natural (I like the Red Door Spa hard wax). Besides, if a boy can't like you for having fuzzy legs, he's probably not worth it! :)

Hazel - said brilliantly :)

SDAI-Tech1 - I have enjoyed debating this issue with you and I value your opinions on this topic, as I have valued everyone else's who posted. However, you are now getting into territory that I think is irrelevant (and dangerous) to the original post of "ways to conserve water".

I think also by saying that China is all about slave wages is very wrong. I know some fantastic fair trade companies there.

I fear your comments are getting somewhat political so I will end my posts on: thanks for the links - I will certainly read through, despite the fact that I disagree whole-heartedly. And likewise, I hope that you will read up and research more on actual ways to conserve rather than build.

Meantime, we had a few drops of rain last night here...the buckets were out in force...

I totally and absolutely to every extent possible disagree with desalinazation. I agree with the idea that everyone should have ACCESS to water as Americans do (but we are facing water shortages in areas), but not that people should USE the same amount of water that Americans due, we as a whole are gluttonous in ever area there is and need to relearn moderation. I do not think that water conservation is some sort of fallacy to distract people from a real solution. I think that's the same sort of basic reasoning people try to use to spread the use and acceptance of genetically modified crops. Instead of living sustainably with what we have let's try and find a way to manipulate nature (until it backfires). Does it not seem a logical possibility that by taking water from the ocean in vast quantities to desalinate, we would be destroying a balance we do not fully understand? Build all these plants, take as much water as you want - because it just goes back into the atmo and then is rained back onto the planet, or is sent directly back into the earth? I don't know, it doesn't make sense to me. Is all the water that people around the world would be able to take from the ocean going to be restored to the ocean in the same ratio of salinization (or whatever it's called) to maintain the ocean ecosystem?

In areas where they really have no access to water, I am all for conservation. But in many parts of the world, conservation gets in the way of addressing the real solutions.

It's a game some companies and politicians play. The "shortage" game. Right now, oil is more abundant than ever yet we pay more for it because a few companies and financial institutions effectively monopolize the pricing of a barrel of oil. Having visited the middle east and seen these desalinization plants create abundance in a desolate desert - merely by committing the will and money to do so. Dubai and its small territory is the 3rd largest consumer of water in the world. All of it is provided by desalination facilities!

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/business/2004/December/business_December449.xml§ion=business

I was raised in California schools and taught all about conservation, but I learned real quickly that often there is an industrial solution that is far wiser and quicker. If people need food we build farms. People need water - so we must forget the archaic method of waiting for rain and snowfall to bring us fresh water - its 2011 - we can simply build desalination plants ALL over the world on the coastlines providing abundant clean water for EVERYONE!

It costs money...but it pays for itself a million times over when one can do what Dubai has done - turn a godforsaken wasteland into a mecca of abundance and wealth for those who live there. Many places and people in the world need fresh water. I just wanted to energize/inform those who are activists - such as many here who live on the edge of an self-awareness paradigm, because this is where such information can do the most good! A viral campaign of awareness that changes the world always needs to start somewhere...The Kind Life is as good a place as any! Take care, spread the word and keep up the good work!

Hi Ruthy,

The problem with conservation is it is not a solution. It is a stop gap measure. A hospital nurse stems the flow of blood from a gunshot victim until the person can get a transfusion. Water covers 71 percent of the surface of the Earth. What Western Australia needs is the same thing California needs - access to fresh water. If Australia had no coasts it might be dependant upon others but Australia has acoastline of 16,000 miles! 16,000 miles to build desalinization facilities and create and pipe the water into new reservoirs for the people who need them.

Conservation doesn't solve the problem. When China barred its ciotizens from having more than one child, it only slowed down the birth rate, it did not provide for the masses. They needed to embrace capitalism and western economics to feed those masses. Well desalinzation plants are to the drought stricken areas of the world what capitalism is to the masses who live in dire poverty, with no food, squalid shelter, no income and no hope.

No, the politically active need to embrace real solutions which create abundance. They can't be distracted by the smoke and mirrors. There is no reason any human on this planet should not have the same access to water that the average American does. There is no reason any human should have less clean food, shelter or income as well.

These same desalinization facilities and new technologies will create jobs, wealth and abundance. Praying for rain or saving water in barrels and installing low-flush toilets is like never giving the gunshot victim his transfusion - its completely irresponsible. The same money spent yearly on conservation equipment could pay for many of these needed facilities and pipelines many times over.

Best regards,

SDAI-Tech1

I really enjoy reading the positive efforts of everyone here, but my perspective is quite a bit different. No water on this planet is ever lost. I've looked out over the vast Pacific Ocean since I was a child and every ounce of water I've ever used to wash a car, take a shower with or water plants with has never been lost. It all returns to the Earth. Every drop. None of it is shot out into space when I flush twice or take an extra long shower. Saving water is a lie sold to the good-intentioned by those who profit from water or water rationing equipment built by corporations - the most abundant element on Earth.

What you really want to be doing is getting desalinization facilities built. It's not about water its about access to fresh water. Water usable for drinking, showering and all the rest. Forget conservation - true Kindness is creating abundance for future generations! A few desalinization facilities on the California shoreline would provide enough water for all of California till the end of time, even calculating the present demographic explosion.

Low flush toilets, shower heads and all the rest make money for companies who profit by making people live with less. Municipalities charge more for water when our children are taught there is a water shortage. I'm looking out on the Pacific and I'll tell you now - there is no shortage of water. If everyone who wants to help understood this - we would see TALK about desalinization plants. If we demand them and make a big enough brouhaha...they will eventually appear and provide enough water for all. Let's kick the Colorado river habit once and for all!

We installed dual flush toilet kits in the back of all our toilets (3 in our house!) I live in GA and we have the same water crisis issues. The kit was so easy to install, and cheap. It even said on the box "If you can screw in a lightbulb, you can install this!" We also recently got a new front loading washer! It was a long time coming bc our old one top loading, but we had to wait until our old one died before we could get a new one. So these two ultra water saving techniques are going to drastically drop our water usage. Next on the water conservation list is pedal sinks. You can now have them installed in your home. I'm planning on having them in my kitchen and all bathrooms. It's also more sanitary which is a bonus :)

Over the summer I volunteered with a local non-profit that was educating our community on how to make and use their own rain barrels. If I had a house, I would definitely get one! All you have to do is attach it to your gutter, let the rain from the entire surface area of your roof flow into it, and then use it for plant watering/car washing/etc. Look it up!