In honor of all the time we’ll be spending outdoors this season, here are some helpful tips for conserving water outside your home. Whether you’re washing your car, watering your lawn, or watching the kids play in the sprinkler, warm weather often means that we use more water outdoors. Here are a few ways you can make sure you don’t waste any:
The bucket list
Think of daily household activities that might waste water. Examples: Running the shower before you get in to make sure it’s hot enough, rinsing off vegetables, waiting for water to heat up before you wash dishes. Instead of letting water run down the drain, put a bucket under the faucet or showerhead to collect it. Then use what you’ve collected to water your lawn, garden, and indoor and outdoor plants.
Washing your car
When washing your car in your driveway, don’t leave the hose running endlessly. Instead, fill up a bucket, promptly turn the hose off as soon as the bucket is full, and use only the water in the bucket. Better yet, use a waterless car washing spray like this one from Eco Touch.
Double duty
Do the kids want to play around in the sprinkler? I don’t blame them — in Raleigh’s hot spring and summer weather, we all need a way to cool down. Next time you get out the sprinkler for playtime, set it up in the area of your lawn that needs watering the most. Ta da! The kids have fun and the lawn gets the water it needs. Multi-tasking at its finest.
Rain barrel
Set this up as soon as possible to take advantage of April showers. By summer, you’ll have gallons of rainwater to use for watering your garden, washing the dog, etc. during the summer. These days, rain barrels come in a variety of styles, including planter and faux stone options.
Watering your lawn
Positioning your lawn sprinklers to water your lawn – and not the driveway or sidewalk – is common sense, but it seems to be something we forget. Take a few minutes to make sure your lawn sprinklers are in the most effective spots, not wasting water on areas that don’t need it. Bonus points: Install a rain shut-off device on automatic sprinklers so you don’t waste water on rain-soaked lawns.
