Drought up the Spout

Take a look at this map of Texas that illustrates that we basically live in HELL right now. Ok, so maybe i'm being a little over-dramatic but it sure feels like it! And looking at the map makes it LOOK like it too! We're less than ten days away from breaking a record for hottest summer EVER in recorded history. That means if we make it and break the record, we have bragging rights to alllll the generations(assuming they don't break it first) that follow us that we lived through the hottest summer EVER, walking on scorching asphalt uphill both ways, hell even chickens crapped eggs out that were pre-boiled! Am I right??? Eh.

Also see the following picture taken of the bottom of my mom's water "tank" (cowgirl for watering hole/large pond):

Water has become scarce. Even some cities have nothing but sputters when they turn their faucets on. How can you help avoid such a debacle? Well, not gonna lie, I had some help with this list from a trained professional in water science if you will, she's also a good friend of mine. Her title is so fancy I'm not even sure what it entails entirely: Environmental Investigator III (Public Water). She works for the TCEQ, yeah you heard right. (It's ok, I had to google it too, the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality). Which basically means the city pays her to regulate on people knowingly or un-knowingly misusing and polluting the waterways etc.

So here is her list of tips to conserve our precious H20:

1. If you don't like tuna, buy a can anyays and find a cat that does! Put the empty can out in the lawn and when it's full your grass will be too! Grass isn't as thirsty a creature as people think.  Brown grass isn't necessarily dead grass either, and keeping it longer in the summer months can help preserve the full lawn.

2. It is best not to wash your dishes before they go into the dishwasher (double the water). However, not everyone has the best dishwasher and running it twice is just as inefficient. If you need to prewash fill the sink with water rather than letting the water run- it doesn't need to be sanitary to be put in the dishwasher. - OK I'm super guilty of this one, and I'm thinking Eeeeeeeeew! dirty stinky dish water under my nails!!!!! Eck! Solution? and it took serious googling to find these, like at least 5 minutes! Eco-Friendly Household Gloves! you can even purchase them on amazon here. I'll be buying some in small and hopefully writing a review here soon. We''ll see how that works out. Quick tip for amazon - use the subscribe and save, then cancel the subscription after you recieve the first package! Hells yeah, Savings...moving along now.

3. Keep a bucket in your shower, it will collect all the water you waste when you are waiting for the nice steamy stuff to come out. This water can then be used to water plants, mop floors, or throw on sleeping teenagers to wake them up for school!

4. Don't wash the driveway/sidewalk with a hose- if you want, go at it with a broom. Who does this in 100+ degree weather?! Maybe I'm just lazy...

5. Low flow appliances shower heads and toilets. Some toilets even have 2 buttons for flushing nowadays. 1 well for going #1 and 2 well you get it... this will help cut down your water use. Interesting side note on toilets, Jeremy says that there's a "Rule" that goes "If it's yellow keep it mellow, if its brown flush it down." The only time we follow this is in the middle of the night so we don't wake each other or the baby since the toilet in our tiny home is only about 6 feet from the bed. But hey, maybe it's time to scrub the bowl a little more frequently to save some water. I don't know it still grosses me out a little...

Thank you Liz for your awesome and helpful tips. Here's how my list was going to go:

1. Don't use so much water.


Yeah That's all!

Thanks for reading everyone, talk at you soon!