My husband and I and our 10 month old son live in Northern California. Our family and friends who live out of state are always asking us about the current drought and how we’ve been affected. Fortunately, we’re able to share with them that the community we live in has high awareness about water usage, and so in our small way we’re doing our part to help the larger issue.

I know that if I want to make a difference in this state-wide drought I need to start right here, with myself and where I live. I can’t just expect someone else to find a solution for me.

I’m a busy mother juggling a job and a beautiful baby boy. I use water every day and I know that I can fit the time in my schedule and daily activities to help save water.

Here are some of the simple and practical things our community of householders (families, couples, and individuals) have been encouraged to do:

1) Take showers instead of baths, as baths use much more water.

(We bathe our baby every night but we use a small tub to conserve water)

2) Don’t wash vehicles at home. Do it at the local car wash where their hoses are meant for spraying cars in a water efficient way.

3) Don’t start new gardens now, but instead join other family/friends who may be growing an abundance of food and can share

4) If you have a garden currently, be sure to put a proper drip system in, and choose dawn or dusk to water rather than when the sun is at its highest temperature and evaporates water before it reaches the plants’ roots.

5) Get all of your garden drip systems checked for leaks.

6) Get your toilets checked for leaks. (Our community property management team actually offered to do this for free!)

7) Be aware of how much water we use while washing dishes, brushing teeth, doing laundry, etc. The more awareness we have the more water we’ can save!

8) Finally, we’ve been asked to check our water bill each month to see our usage and progress. It really helps to see the number of gallons go down!

To conclude, I’d just to like share that I feel grateful to have family and neighbors who want to save water. Knowing that I’m not the only one putting out an effort in this way makes me want to try even harder! You can do it too, and I encourage you!

In gratitude,

Melody