turn-(off) signals

i know... i've been slacking the last few weeks... sorry, but between a work jaunt to china, still working my way through my irritation with earthpak and the oppressive heat in so cal last week, the motivation just wasn't there...

anyhoo... i digress...

i know water conservation isn’t top-of-mind first thing in the morning. it easily falls by the wayside in favor of packing lunches, getting ready for the workday, trying to motivate seriously sleepy children to get the heck out of bed and finding that school notice (that was dated two weeks ago) that you’re in charge of baking six dozen cookies by the next day (don’t you just love that? ahem.) but what I do love is the idea of putting little signs up in the bathroom to remind everyone to turn off the faucet while brushing teeth and shaving.

it may seem like a little thing, but if you consider that 5 percent (can be more than 2,500 gallons per year, according to the epa) of a home’s water consumption goes from the bathroom faucet -- at a rate of up to five gallons a minute -- and pretty much heads straight to the sewer, a quick shut-off makes good double-eco (economic and eco-effective) sense!

so back to the signs: while a post-it is fine, i’ve found that -- after a few weeks (who am I kidding? days!) -- i tend to glaze over them and i just, plain forget. here’s where your kids and their wild creativity come in! once a month (or every other month) have the kids make new signs for the bathroom mirror. encourage humor, as you know if they’re cracking themselves up every time they brush their teeth, it means they’re actually seeing the sign!

another easy way to save water while is to half-fill a cup with water and use it for rinsing. now, before you gross out at the notion of one cup for all, the idea is that everyone in the house has their own cup. even better, each family member can decorate their own! go fancy and hit your local color me mine, or keep it low-key and grab some durable cups and paint pens at the nearest arts/crafts store. this might sound simple but that’s what this is all about -- simplicity!

last, my husband, the shaver in the family (at least until I hit menopause), borrowed a nifty idea from “m*a*s*h.” (and who said tv wasn’t educational?). he has a specially designated cup for rinsing his razor so he hardly turns the sink faucet on at all. too bad the logistics for that method when shaving my legs aren’t all that appealing. my balance is good, but not that good.