Article
New York Times article:
Excerpts:
...“I only shower once a week. I do not leave the water running when brushing my teeth. I now use hand sanitizer (which I purchase) quite regularly, rather than wash my hands.”
— Maureen Prystas, San Diego
“I've cut my shower time in half by not using very hot water — gets me in and out a lot quicker than my favorite scalding hot showers. I collect the water from the shower as its warming up in a bucket to use to water my plants or wash down my car a bit.”
— Kathryn Yue, Sacramento
“My husband and I use our iPhones to time a three-minute shower. This includes the time it takes the water to heat up.”
— Teresa Brown, San Francisco
“We have several buckets, containers and small garbage cans in the shower. We use one set to catch the water that is not yet heated to shower temperature and another set to capture shower water we have used. We then reuse the water. The clean pre-shower water gets used for watering plants and washing dishes (we microwave a bit of it; we don't have a dishwasher), and then used shower water gets used to water outdoor plants. ”
— N. A. Davis, Claremont
...If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down'....
...“I launder in bio friendly soap; do laundry as little as possible by wearing clothing 2-3 times. I use gizmos in the dryer to shorten the cycle.”
— Anne-Marie Boyce, San Francisco
...“I took out my lawn and planted drought resistant native plants, ...My yard is a wildlife emporium with birds nesting, including hummingbirds, butterflies on a regular basis, and bees humming away. This is a positive difference! And I use very little water.”
— Jeri Edwards, Westlake Village
“I work in the landscape construction business and I have never been busier, because we specialize in the installation of drip irrigation for plants and grass.... We have figured out how to create a backyard vegetable garden that can recycle and reuse the same water over and over, resulting in water savings of over 90 percent. People are letting their lawns die, or removing their lawns altogether. We must no longer take water for granted.”
— Mike Garcia, Redondo Beach
“I have gotten rid of my lawn and the irrigation system that was necessary to sustain it. I have replaced the grass with salvias, manzanitas, and other drought-tolerant plants. Other areas of the yard I simply leave unplanted.”
— Gill Doyle, Cupertino
...“We rinse the dishes with a water bowl rather than running water and only run the dishwasher when it's 101% full (perhaps 2x a week)."
— Chas Blackford, Mill Valley
“Dishes are done by hand in a dishpan and the dishwater used to flush the toilet. To clean greasy dishes and pans, we first wipe them out with used napkins or paper towels, rather than having to cut the grease with hot water; the napkins go into our city's green waste cart for compostables. A bucket or basin at each sink catches the water that runs before gets hot, and that water is used for the vegetable garden. When produce is washed, the water is saved for plants."
— Peggy Datz, Berkeley
...“I'll go to the do-it-yourself car wash and use the vacuum — no need to clean the outside of the car.”
— Sarah Carvill, Santa Cruz
“I no longer take my car through car washes. Instead I save my rinse water when I do my dishes by hand. I pour it from my rinse tub into a bucket which I use to wash my car. I simply dip an old washcloth into the bucket and run it over each part of the car. It successfully cleans the car of all the dust and dirt California is so well known for these days!”
— Edythe Corum, Clovis
“Rather than wash my car weekly I use a duster and wash it monthly.”
— John Mulvihill, Oakland
“Never washing my car. A dirty car exterior never hurt anyone.”
— Linda Dow, Berkeley