How do you save water?

Hi Ozbargain community. Thought I would start this thread so that Ozbargainers can share their tips for saving water and ultimately help in reducing their water bill and thus saving money. As a 22 year old I have learnt some tips (from my parents who are also very water conscious) but am always up for learning more! These are some of the tips I use to save water.

On average I have 4 minute showers but admittedly it’s hard when I need to shave so those showers may stretch out to 6 minutes. I wash my hair every 2 days (that’s all I need for my hair) and I only shower once a day except when I have been doing vigorous exercise. Then I shower twice a day, but the second shower is literally only 1 – 2 minutes just to wash and soap the sweat away. I have just joined a gym so lately after my workout I have been using the gym showers and I plan to use them to shave as well.

I don’t own a dishwasher so I wash all my dishes etc. by hand and as a result use a minimal amount of water. It’s surprising how much water is conserved this way. I know dishwashers are more convenient for most people but this way works for me. Even when I stay in hotels I don’t use their dishwasher.

When cooking pasta, potatoes etc. I don’t overfill the saucepan. I put just enough water in the saucepan to cook my food effectively. I have seen my friends fill their saucepans up way too much and thus waste a lot of water. If you do this every day the wasted water adds up.

I never leave the tap running or dripping while I am brushing my teeth. I have a normal sized cup in the bathroom and I fill it up once before I brush my teeth and then use that water to rinse out my mouth and wash away the spit.

I only do a load of washing when the majority of my clothes need a wash so basically I only do a load of washing when I have close to a full load, or a full load. I use a shorter cycle which still washes my clothes thoroughly. I have found that the longer the cycle is on my machine, the more water it uses hence why I use a shorter cycle.

My toilet isn’t the most water efficient as it’s quite old. But it does have a dual flush so I use that.

I don’t really water the garden. I rely on nature for that and so far it’s working out. But I do keep a bucket in the shower and when that fills up I use that water to water the pot plants.

That’s all I can think of at the moment.

For a family of three people our water bills are quite low. On average our water bill per quarter is $220 which is significantly lower than other people in our area. Our water bill comes with a graph that shows this. We don’t have any water tanks installed either.

So please share your tips and ideas!