Sustainably Yours: Reduce, Recycle, Re-Water

I drink water. My pets drink water. My plants drink water. The list of water-based necessities goes on and on and on. And, inevitably, the amount of water gushing out of our faucets goes on and on and… you get it. But water is not an abundant resource and it needs to be conserved. It’s easy to turn off a running faucet while brushing your teeth. It’s also easy to reuse and recycle the water you already used — Let me show you how.

One of the easiest, most sustainable ways to reuse water is to install a wall-mounted dish rack in your kitchen, and water your plants (and animals) with it. Mount the rack above your sink if there are no obstructions. But don’t stop there. Most wall-mounted dish racks were built for convenience and the conservation of space, but they can serve to conserve water just as well. How? Set all of your plants under the rack (or even in the sink once the dishes are done) and let the drying dishes water your plants for you. This way, you’re essentially reusing the water from doing your dishes to water your plants, without actually running and extra water from the faucet. If you don’t have plants, but do have pets, set a bowl or glass under the dish rack and pour it into their drinking bowl later. (If you do this, make sure your dish rack stays clean to limit bacteria accumulation, although don’t stress too much, most of the water comes directly from the dishes and hardly touches the dish rack at all — especially if it’s like the stainless steel version I have, picture above.) For a list of places to buy mounted dish racks, go here.

If you have a dishwasher or don’t have the space for a mounted dish rack, consider placing a large bucket or small trash can in your shower to collect the water that runs while your shower is warming up. Then, use the water you obtain to water your plants, pets, lawn, etc. Think about it — if, like me, you turn the shower on before entering, you unavoidably let some water go to waste, so the easiest, smartest thing to do is to catch that water and put it to good use!

Join me each Wednesday for new suggestions about how you might live a healthier, safer, kinder life, one that will be feasible, and one that’s as sustainably yours as it is mine.

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