Water is essential for everything, even though it seems that water is everywhere, it is important that we conserve it. Remember that only 2.8% of the water on our planet is fresh water and only 0.01% is in lakes and rivers. Because of that reason, it is important to save water whenever possible, and to pass on the message of water conservation to friends and family.

Thankfully, it’s easy to cut down on your daily water usage at home. Here are 8 everyday water conservation tips you can practice at home to help preserve our planet!

Water Conservation Tips

1. Conserve water when doing laundry. Close to a quarter of our indoor water use comes from doing laundry. You can cut down on that percent by waiting to wash your clothes until you have a full load. An extra bonus is that you’ll have fewer loads of laundry to wash!

2. Conserve water when watering your lawn. Water your your lawn or your plants early in the morning (or in the evening) when the temperatures are cooler and winds are less intense. This will help to minimize evaporation and make sure your plants are actually getting the most of the water! Don’t water during the day (between 10 am and 6 pm).

3. Conserve water by using natural cleaning products. Use natural biodegradable cleaning products that don’t contain chemicals. Certain components, preservatives, and artificial colors or scents can all affect aquatic ecosystems. Many cleaning products you can make from ingredients you have lying around the house. You can save money that way, and save the ecosystem!

4. Conserve water when you brush your teeth. Don’t leave the water running while you brush your teeth. Turn it on only to wet your toothbrush, rinse it off, and rinse out your mouth. Doing this can save up to three gallons of water each day.

5. Conserve water by showering. Even though taking a bath means you aren’t standing under running water, it typically uses more water than taking a shower (about 70 gallons of water to fill that tub.) Showers are generally more efficient. Try to keep your showers under 5 minutes. You can save even more water by turning off the water when you lather up, wash your hair/body, or shave.

6. Conserve water by stopping the drips. Fix leaky faucets. Even small leaks can waste 10 gallons of water each day if they aren’t repaired. As an added bonus, you’ll save money on your water bill!

7. Conserve water and paper! Don’t waste paper. Believe it or not, it takes approximately 6 gallons of water to make a dollar worth of paper. When you do use paper, don’t throw it out, but recycle it instead. By recycling a pound of paper you save around 3.5 gallons of water.

8. Conserve water in your garden. Put native plants in your garden instead of exotic ones. They use less water and don’t need the use of chemicals to keep them Choose native plants for your garden, they use less water than exotic plants and do not require the use of chemicals for their maintenance.