Chandana Banerjee
17 Sassy Ways To Save Water And Electricity This Summer
Summer’s here, and so are power cuts and water shortage issues. We may fret and complain when our basic needs aren’t met with ease, but electricity and water cuts are just a ‘gentle’ reminder that the Earth’s resources are dwindling.

“The Earth has enough for our needs, but not for our greed.” Apply this quote to every natural resource and you have your answer about how we as global citizens should spend every resource that we have at our disposal.
With droughts rampant across the world and electrical grids struggling to meet everybody’s increasing needs for power, it’s time to be part of the solution, rather than the problem.
You might already be doing some of these or are thinking of starting on the green trail. Here’s a bucket list of action points to get to save electricity and water. Just pick a few and dive right in.
Nifty ways to save water and electricity this summer and beyond:

1. Stick a bucket under your shower instead of letting all that water trickle down the drain. Use what you’ve collected to water your plants, flush your toilets, or take a bath with in the evening.
2. Washing your hands with soap? Turn that tap off while you are scrubbing your hands clean. Turn on the faucet when you need to rinse them off.
3. Don’t forget to turn off the tap when you’re brushing your teeth.
4. Half-flush after you’ve done your small job. Nope, not joking.

5. Got a dripping tap in the kitchen or bathroom? Call the plumber to get it fixed. Dripping taps waste gallons of water.
6. Car wash day? Instead of hosing down your car, shine it up with a bucket or two of water. Preferably the waste water from your RO.
7. Do you like to get your car washed every day? Why not switch to giving it a wet wash once a week and wipe it dry with a cloth the other days? This will save both, water and time.
8. If you enjoy long, hot showers, you can save electricity and water by cutting your baths short. And instead of totally giving up on this pleasure, reserve your long baths for one or two days a week.

9. Swap your lawn for a vegetable and flower patch or shrink it down to save water. Lawns guzzle liters of water and don’t really produce anything other than green grass for you to party on.
10. Run your washing machine and dishwasher only when it’s full, to save electricity and water.
11. Try rain water harvesting to keep your house plants and veggie garden hydrated.
12. If your maid or you are hand-washing your dishes, cut down the water wastage by turning off the tap when the dishes are being soaped. I’ll also recommend switching to a dishwasher – it saves way more water.
13. Re-use the waste water from your RO to mop the floors, wash your car or bathrooms and flush the toilets.
14. Turn off all those unnecessary lights and fans when you’re not in a room.
15. Keep the television turned off if you’re not watching it.
16. Use natural light in the daytime instead of keeping the lights on.

17. Turn off and unplug your laptop, chargers and gadgets to save money and power.
How do you save electricity and water? Which of these tips are your beginning with?
Tell us what steps you're taking this summer by tweeting to us at @chandanawriter or shouting out at Lush Green Wellness (our online community of green peeps on Facebook). Or hey, leave a comment below + Like our Facebook page.
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