Ways To Conserve Water In The Kitchen I

·      Use paper plates. They'll reduce the dishes you have to wash, and they are biodegradable. There are certain species of worms that will compost several pounds of paper plates a week! So before this water conservation is over your worms could turn those plates into compost for your garden.

·      Hand wash dishes. The government estimates a savings of about 15 gallons per load if you opt for hand washing over dish washing. You can reduce this even further if you use the "two tub" method: partially fill one side with hot soapy water and another with cold water for rinsing. Dip and swish your dishes in the rinse water to rinse them and then set in a rack to dry. When you are done, remove the tub of the rinse water and use it as pretty "clean" grey water to water your garden or plants. Even the dirtier "wash" water can be dumped into the bowl to flush the toilet.

·      Prepare your veggies in batches. Instead of running fresh water over your veggies, fill up a small tub of fresh water and soak your veggies instead of rinsing them. Save the soaking water for other uses. Cut up all the veggies you'll be using for the week at one time, so you only use one knife and one cutting board. Plus this saves you time down the road!

·      Use dry cooking methods. Try grilling and roasting instead of steaming and boiling. Frying and sauteing are also less desirable because fats are often more difficult to remove when washing later, and the fats do more to contaminate the grey water left over after you do the dishes, which means that grey water is less useful for reusing to water your plants.

·      Conserve on pots. Time to break out the crock pot and other one-pot cooking methods that dirty up a bare minimum of dishes.

·      Enjoy finger foods. Buy a ball of pizza dough, spread on some ready-made sauce, and top to your heart's delight. After it is baked, bring it out on your back porch and enjoy a slice in your hand. At the end of it all, you will only have dirtied the pan you baked on and the knife you use to cut the toppings. As long as it wasn't in contact with any uncooked meats, the knife can be reused after baking to cut the pizza.

·      Reuse your water glass. Keep one large glass for drinking water from throughout the day. I personally use a giant Three Stooges mug I inherited from my father. 



·      Reduce your sodium. Pass on the salty fries. Salt, caffeine and sugary drinks can all dehydrate you and make you thirsty, so you will have to drink more water to satisfy your thirst. Conserve by just sticking with drinking water and opting for lower sodium foods.

·      Go bento. If you are packing your lunch, traditional bento style packing uses a bare minimum of containers.

·      Consider reusing your kitchen's "grey" water. Grey water is already used water that has no fecal matter in it. A little bit of googling will get you plenty of information on how to reuse your kitchen's grey water. The simplest way may be to do your washing in rubber tubs and then use those tubs to transport water to either your garden, or your bathroom. The Colorado State Extension Service has a pretty serious look at grey water usage.

·      Reduced water flow faucets. Modern low speed faucets increase the flow of water with increased air flow. To avoid water wastage, install faucets with infrared sensors as they will automatically shut off when your hands have pulled away from the faucet.

·      Also check for leaks and fix even small leaks on time without procrastinating for days. 
 

·      Drinking water can be stored in water jugs or in the refrigerator. There is no need to run the tap each time to take a small cup of water. One other way to avoid running the faucet is to set individual water bottles for everyone in the household. 
 


·      Never throw the cooking water down the drain if that can be used for some other purpose. The water used to steam veggies can be used for watering plants or to fill the pet water dish. It can even be used to clean something else.

·      The same water used for steaming can be used for defrosting some other food items. 
 
Avoid letting tap water run while washing dishes. Pre-rinse the dishes with a very small amount of water before scrubbing. Scrub and then rinse the dishes in slow running faucet. If you are running the dishwasher or washing machine, try to run them on full load. Invest in water saving brands of appliances.

·      Set the water level for the right amount of load. Skip the pre-rinsing step while using the dishwashers. Simply scrape the food particles out of the vessels and place them in the dishwasher. Avoiding the pre-rinsing step saves about 20 gallons of water. 
 
Never allow water to run while water heats up. It can be avoided by installing an instant water heater to the kitchen sink and by insulating the water pipes. It helps save not only water, but also conserves energy at the same time. 

·      While cooking, use small pots that are just right for the dish. Using over-sized pots causes water to be evaporated.  

·      A pressure cooker saves water, time and energy while cooking. If you happen to boil water for noodles or any other dish, use lids for the pan. It will avoid water from boiling away by evaporation. 
 


·      Stop using garbage disposal that needs water for disposal. Instead, use a compost pile that helps save both water and energy.