Saving Excess Water from Flowing Down the Drain to Use on Garden

One of the ways I have found to pinch a few pennies on my savings journey is to catch some of the water we normally let run down the drain and use it to water our square foot gardens.  Each gallon of water costs a penny between the water cost and the sewer charge from living in the city.  At five gallons a day we can save 1825 gallons and $18.25 in a year.  It may be just a drop in the budget bucket, but when the bucket is full of savings it can add up nicely.

There are times when we need hot water and it takes a good gallon of water to empty from the pipes before the hot water hits the sink (or the shower).  Instead of letting this water simply flow down the drain we use one gallon buckets (upcycled from buying or picking strawberries) to catch it.  We then transfer it to a five gallon bucket to use in the gardens or birdbath as needed.  My daughter also had the idea of using it in the laundry if we have more than the garden needs--which happens during rainy spells.

This also works great for catching drips from a leaky faucet until you can get it fixed.  When my mother was living with us under Hospice care we had a leak in the bathtub and fixing it was low on the list of priorities (especially since the water to the whole house had to be shut off to do it), but catching it in a bucket and using it elsewhere was easy and no water was wasted.

In the kitchen I catch it in a large pot and leave it on the stove to use for cooking.  At times, if we need a very small amount of hot water--like to make a loaf of bread in the bread machine--we heat it quickly in the microwave instead of letting the water run to get hot enough.

This may seem like a drop in the bucket, but as I posted earlier, if I  "watch the pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves;" and we not only save on our budget but also increase our green living with water conservation.