I'm really pleased that I have the April challenge through already for Gloucestershire Carbon watchers. Before the challenge to the month has come half way through the month which doesn't leave me long to focus on things and look at where I could make some changes.
This month, we're looking at water and are encouraged to make the most of the upcoming April showers. Apparently, we could all fill around 450 water butts per year in the UK with the average amount of rainfall which falls in our gardens!
Well, we have three water butts already, and I'm going to go out and check them later on today. I know one is sound, as I used it the other day, but I need to check the integrity of the others. I'd like a couple more water butts, but I'm not sure if I have anywhere to put them - so I need to take a walk around the garden and do some planning.
We're also asked to check any leaks in the house (we don't have any as drips and leaks drive me insane!) but I am without a kitchen tap - it has a spanner on it! I would love to get that fixed this month, although, to be honest, it's only a cosmetic thing.
One thing DH is really bad at is running the tap while he brushes his teeth. I've chatted to him about this, but he refuses to budge, so I'll just have to put up with it. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the incentive to cut back because we are not on a meter. I'm sure it would be a different story if he were paying for every drop! Still, he is amazing with most of my hippy ideas, so I won't complain.
One project we have for a long term goal is to gather rainwater from our bathroom roof (its flat) and use it to flush the toilet. another thing I could do is capture my bath water and use it to water the plants. If I do this, I could make up for DH's tooth brushing antics :D
We have 3 baths a week, which isn't excessive for a family of 3, but I have plans to put a shower over the bath to make showering an option too.
I only use the washing machine when full to capacity and it's an economy machine. I know it still uses loads, but it uses less than some.
I think there are many ways in which we could reduce our water usage and I'll see what I can implement this month. of course, I won't actually be able to tell from a water meter or anything, but at least I know i'll be doing my bit.
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