Day 1

Happy New Year to all!

What a way to start out the new year. Had another post planned for my first day of the new year, but went to work last night and found that my hours had been cut again. Soooooo, wow, I get a whole ten hours a week. The good news is that I get 6 days off in a row, so I can work on this new blog! My whole paycheck will go straight into the water and sewer bills, so I guess my first plan of attack will be on reducing our water consumption. There are six of us, so that's alot of showering and clothes to wash. Here is my attack plan:

• reduce shower times. If left up to the youngest, that would involve a wet washcloth run across the face (at the moment, she is soaking the grime off in the tub, whilst screaming she is done, after a whole 2 minutes) We do have a flow reducing shower head. What is the time limit on a shower? 10 minutes? 8 minutes? I do know a 25 minute shower is in the past. Now I need to find a easy to set timer for everyone to use.


• reducing the number of dishes washed. I am seriously thinking of using really cheap paper plates. (I got some on sale yesterday, 100 ct. for $1.57. ) Also limiting everyone to one glass a day. We do not have a working dishwasher. (Ok, ok, I am the working dish-washer.)
  
• reduce the amount of laundry washed. Has anyone used a fabric refresher, like Febreeze, on jeans? If the kids wear the jeans to school, they really aren't getting them dirt dirty, so could I Febreeze them? (the clothes, not the kids. Wait, would it work on kids also?)


• reducing the amount of bath towels washed. I mean really, if you use a clean towel on your clean, showered body, isn't the towel still clean? Maybe I will embroider everyone's initials on a personal towel and let them use it for what? 5 days? A whole week? before washing it again?


• use the rain barrel and get another one. Can't really use the rain barrel much in the winter, but I do use it all summer. I rarely use house water on my garden. I wonder if the chickens and rabbits will drink the rain water. I mean, I know they will drink it, but will they still be healthy? Rain off the roof shingles hmmm. . .

Am keeping an open mind to any other new ideas on saving water. Got a few more on the back burner, but the burner isn't on cuz I'm saving electricity also.