Water on my mind

Water is definitely on my mind these days, from our massive leak that is now fixed, to the record rainfall we've had here in RI (and our many neighbors with flooded homes), to just how much of it we personally go through in an average day.

If you don't have it already, I highly recommend going to your local library to take a look at the April issue of National Geographic (the photo above is from that issue). It's all about water and it's absolutely fascinating. And educational. Just the photos of the fresh water scarce areas of the world are stunning. It's nearly impossible to truly imagine what it's like to trek hours to get fresh water and then to have to turn around and carry heavy bottles and jugs all the way back home.

My two young sons are pretty much constantly dirty. If we've been playing outside, they are brown from head to foot. When my oldest comes home from preschool and we take off his sneakers, we pour a small mountain of sand from his shoes. So, baths are a pretty regular occurrence in this house. After the latest bath, I stood there looking at this tub of water, dreading the thought of pulling the plug and letting it all swirl down the drain.

So, I did some research and found instructions on how to make a bathtub siphon. A company in the UK sells them, but they use PVC, so this site describes an alternative method. I'm pretty excited about this and dh has signed on to build it for me!

And my idea of saving the water normally wasted while waiting for it to heat up is working great. I already have nearly a dozen gallons sitting outside, waiting to go on my garden once it's planted. And once it stops raining here.

Next up is a rain barrel. I'm doing research on the best ones. If you have one you love, please let me know about it.