5 easy ways to conserve water at home

Using less water is a great way for your family to focus on green living. To help you conserve water at home, here are five easy ways to help you get started on being more frugal with your daily water consumption.

Many people use toilets like garbage cans in addition to using them as a place to flush away human waste.

However, every time you throw something in the toilet that could otherwise be thrown in a garbage can, you waste about five gallons of water.

• Reserve things like clipping your nails, throwing away cigarettes and cleaning your hairbrushes for the trash can instead.

To conserve water that you use for laundry and dishwashing, only run the machines when you have completely full loads.

This means that you probably will only run your dishwasher once every few days and your washing machine once a week or even less.

Once you wet your toothbrush and start brushing, turn the water off.

You can turn the sink on and off to rinse your brush and clear your mouth of excess foam while brushing.

• Don't leave the water running while you have your brush in your mouth cleaning your teeth, gums and tongue.

Nearly all of what goes down a garbage disposal in your sink, which requires water to work, is compostable.

• Do some research about what things can be turned into either backyard or municipal compost. Then start composting rather than throwing things down the drain.

Composting rather than disposing will save the amount of water required to run the disposal and not only saves water directly, but also minimizes the risk that your septic tank will malfunction and require repair or replacement.

Showers require significantly less water than baths, so choose to take showers over soaking in the tub.

• To save even more water while you shower, try to limit your time spent there only to getting clean, not relaxing or singing.

To help you take speedier showers, try setting a timer outside of the shower to keep your shower under five minutes, or, if you must sing, find a great five-minute song to play on a shower radio while you get clean. Then, challenge yourself to be finished and out of the shower by the time the song is done.

If you try to implement all – or even one – of these five easy ways to conserve water, then you'll likely notice a decrease in your water usage.

Plus, along with the savings, you and your family will also be doing your part to conserve water – a precious and limited natural resource.