Love Your Earth

We will pay lots of money for gold, jewels, oil and gas. But water is a far more precious resource! If you are a fellow Californian, you know we are in a serious pickle when it comes to water. We don't have much! Sadly, it seems like many are just ignoring that and using water like it will never end.

In my personal opinion, this isn't really a faith issue. Some people say we should just have faith that God will provide. And God DOES provide. But, that doesn't mean He is going to provide water immediately. I imagine God is tired of seeing us destroy our planet and the resources He has given us. We need to realize what a precious resource water is and stop frivolously using it! When God told Joseph there was going to be a famine in Egypt, Joseph didn't just have faith that everything would be okay if they used up all their food. No, he made a plan and saved food for the whole nation to survive the famine! 

I understand that one person can't make a difference by saving water. But I encourage you to start doing some of these things! If we all did them, we could really start to make a difference! Here some suggestions I've come up with. They might sound like a pain, but in the big picture, they are just minor inconveniences. 

Don't ever just pour out water! We have a big bucket outside into which we pour all the water that we don't use, like leftover water from our cups or ice cubes that fall in the floor. We even drain pasta water into it (as long as you cook your pasta without salt!) We use this bucket to water our plants.

Shower every other day. This one's tough for me because I have somewhat oily hair. However, I have been curling my hair or pulling it back on the second day so it's not that noticeable.

Don't wash your car! Or very rarely wash your car. I've also heard that if you absolutely have to, some car washes recycle water so look into that.

Follow your watering restrictions. Where I live there are water restrictions but I see lots of people breaking them. We followed them and our plants were fine AND it

cut our water bill hugely!

Don't use water to clean off your driveway or porch. Just sweep it! 

Make your showers LESS than five minutes. Better yet, turn on the water to get wet, then turn it off while you shampoo and soap up. Turn it back on to rinse off. Yes, it's not the relaxing shower that you are used to, but it saves a lot of water!

Get an electric razor. No more shaving in the shower or sink!

Instead of watering your lawn, get artificial turf. I get that it's not the same, but for those of you who just want a well groomed lawn, why not? It's expensive but it will save a lot of water. 

Be sure to fix all your leaks!

Pile up your dishes and only wash them once a day. It's hard for clean freaks like me, but instead of individually rinsing off dishes throughout the day, I fill the sink with a little water at the end of the day. I first wash the hand wash dishes and then rinse off all the others for the dish washer.

Don't flush every time you use the bathroom. It's a little gross but I've gotten over it. 

Wash clothes on a Quick-Wash cycle. Ours saves 10-12 minutes and our clothes still get clean! Also, wait until you have a full load and don't just wash a few items.

Buy a nozzle for your hose so that water doesn't just pour out when you are watering the plants. 

Turn off the water while you brush your teeth. Come on, I learned this one in kindergarten. 

Make sure you aren't watering the sidewalk! I see SO many puddles on the sidewalk by people's houses. Fix it!

That's all folks! Whether or not it's a minor inconvenience, I hope you will help save this precious resource we have been given.