Earth Day was just a few days ago and it has us thinking environmentally conscious. While states like Florida have water restrictions and our impact on the Earth is increasing in some rather negative ways, it’s important to save water as much as we can inside our home and out. Here are some ideas you can incorporate now to start living more green:
1. Environmentally-friendly Gardening
Consider selecting drought-tolerant native and non-native plants. Make sure to research local soils in order to ensure the plants will be in the most suitable locations to thrive.
southernliving.com 2. Water Plants Efficiently
When you water plants efficiently, you save water. To do this, apply only enough water to moisten the root zone of your plants – about 6 to 8 inches deep. Allow the soil to dry before watering again. So, for clay soils, you shouldn’t water more than one inch per week.
It also helps to water when the sun goes down. That way, the water will reach your plant’s roots instead of evaporating before it even hits the ground.
3. Use the Rain to Your Advantage
A great way to save water is to install gutters on your roof and direct the rainwater into a rain barrel. Then, connect a hose to the rain barrel to make watering nearby plants easy.
Also, try guiding water from the roof into a large pot on the porch to save even more water. Try Fifthroom.com’s Planter Tub that can hold 18 gallons!
Fifthroom.com4. Saving Water Indoors is Key
About eight percent of water used inside the home takes place in the kitchen. There are a few things you can do to save water in your kitchen:
- Save 20 gallons of water per dishwasher load by not rinsing dishes before loading them.
- Wash only full loads in the dishwasher. The same goes for when you’re washing laundry!
- If you’re in the market to purchase a new dishwasher, think about going with a water-saving model. Newer models save up to 25 percent less water than older ones.
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