My friend Sarah over at Nature's Nurture (she of the sixty five THOUSAND repins on Pinterest. Yup, her tips are That Good) has started a new Blog Hop called Tiny Tip Tuesday. (I knew her before she was famous. About three days before, anyway...)
I shudder to think of my tip being added to the likes of hers, but I'll give it a crack anyway. No point quitting before you've failed, right?
So, Mrs Accident's hot tip of the week?
Wash up less.
Well, use less washing up water, anyway.
Try filling the sink up only halfway. Or, if you have a dual sink and wash in the big side, switch to the small. If you already wash in the small sink (go you!) then try using a smaller container to hold the water and sit it in the sink.
Why?
To save water (especially here in Australia), to use less detergent, and to spend less on hot water. (Do you refill the kettle while you wait for the hot water to come through? Give it a try.)
Having a half full sink also helps those of us who are slightly less coordinated and tend to splash water everywhere - since I started washing in less water my clothes have stayed 87%* drier!
*Totally unsubstantiated. But much drier, regardless.
If you have a Tiny Tip, head on over to Nature's Nurture and link on up. I'm looking forward to reading everyone's good ideas!
You can tell its late, when I read that "tiny tip'...I thought you were referring to a house full of mess, uno, like mine is today, I have a small house, see "tiny' and yes, today it looks like a 'tip'.....
ReplyDeleteGo to bed.....................
My house is a tiny tip!
DeleteWorse than normal, actually, once puppy toys (and messes, oh the damn messes!) are added to the mix....
They all grow up, right? This is just a stage?
*rocks in the corner*
Haha, oh gosh you give me way too much credit ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the tip Mrs. A! I really needed the reminder. I have a double sink and you're right, why am I NOT using the smaller sink?? LOL, I love your completely unsubstantiated statistic, by the way ;)
Okay, I have a double sink. They are both the same size and I am a rinser. But do I get credit for only using about 5 cm of water in the bottom of each of them? I can't imagine filling them half-way (and I still manage to get drowned, so I'd better not try making them any fuller! ;) )
ReplyDeleteI need the big sink to wash up big pots and frypans.
It's actually interesting coming from a careful working class background. Many of the tips about saving energy and water etc are things that have been part of the way I was brought up. I couldn't believe it when they started saying you could save water by not running the tap while brushing your teeth. I've still to meet anyone who would do that - so I'm not certain how much water has been saved.
I'm exactly the same! I grew up on tank water, so we were very very careful.
DeleteBut I do remember seeing a doco on an American family who used to run the hot water in the sink, because they liked the way it sounded.... Egads! Surely an anomaly, but still, they're out there...
So long as you don't use one of those gawd awful tubs inside your sink!! I don't know what the hell is going on in England (since i was a baby) i have noticed my aunties with tubs in their sinks & add to that, the plug on a chain. We used to laugh the whole way back to Australia about their sink issues. I do a shallow sink as it's mainly pots & pans as after 10 years we got a dishwasher, 5 years ago, LIFE CHANGING with 4 children & i didn't have bottles to wash, but plates & cups, more plates & cups, oh & another plate & cup thanks, no matter how many times i requested they dust off crumbs & reuse.
ReplyDeleteA great tip for dishwashers & washing machines is to experiment with the amount of powder you use - often you only need half to 3/4 of what they recommend, never go tablets either, they are 4 times the price, for what, being lazy?? Budget & reducing use, listen to me, domestic goddess, love Posie
PS i was raised wealthy but waste is waste & my father marched around flicking lights off, timing showers (he was in the Navy, raised on 2 minute showers, tough to take as a teenager with long hair) & the air conditioning came on as a last resort after swimming in Summer & rouging up in Winter. My parents were born in the Depression, so even though they had 4 children in private school & a huge home on Sydney's North Shore, we still had dripping in the fridge, we never ate it,but it was there just in case?? Parents, love their tips & guess what, we do the same, flicking lights off & rouging the children up before heating is an option. Love Posie
ReplyDeleteI'm a north Sydney girl too!
DeleteMy grandmother lived in a beautiful house, (full sized marble statues in the garden!) but still used each tea bag twice! She pegged them over the stove to dry. You are absolutely right, waste is waste.
We have a dishwasher, I love it, but we only run it when it's full. I still end up washing up after every meal though, so many non-dishwasher plastic baby stuff! Still it will really come into it's own in a few months.
What is WITH plugs on a chain?! Doesn't that just make another thing to get grubby?
It's good to be reminded about water consumption. I'm not the best in this regard but we do use a front loader and have those low flow water fixtures that reduce the amount of water that comes out.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder! I want to scream when I hear people say "We don't have watering restrictions, we are on well water." That is my little pet peeve.
ReplyDeleteOh, I know! Just use my aquifer, why don't you! Silly buggers ;)
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