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Tips for Saving Water at Home

23 Nov

Hot and tired after a long, long work day, time to sprinkle those rejuvenating, aromatic bubbles in the bath and soak your tired limbs. Envisioning this scenario itself takes away quite a bit of stress. But woebegone what if there comes a day when let alone soaking yourself in that healing water you won’t even have enough for a bath. Yes, my friends if we don’t tidy up our act real fast, that day is not far off. Conserving water is the need of the hour, for water dear people is the very essence of life. With no water around we would all die, and the scary part is that water is a finite resource.

There is only a limited amount of drinkable water on earth and this amount will never increase. So our biggest challenge is to make optimum use of this limited quantity of water and conserve it for our future needs. Although it is a staggering situation there are a lot of small steps one can take to improve the situation.

The kitchen is a major consumer of water in the house, accounting for almost 10% of the household’s water consumption what with cooking, washing,cleaning and drinking. Next comes the laundry and the bathroom. However all one needs is to be alert and take a few judicious steps and you’ll soon be pleasantly surprised when that water bill of yours goes a dipping. So friends, get set for here we go -

  • Using running water to defrost frozen food items is sheer wastage, instead using the microwave for this purpose is a far better option.
  • Washing fruits and vegetables in a pan of water rather than under the running tap will definitely make for quite a bit of saving.
  • Collecting the water used for rinsing fruits and vegetables and reusing it to water your houseplants or even to flush off the toilets is a real effective way to cut down on water usage.
  • Use of water efficient means for cooking -steaming, microwaving or using a pressure cooker will make a winner of you all the way. For not only will you be saving on water and power, but also preserving precious vitamins in the food.
  • If your utensils are handwashed try not to wash them under running water, instead store the water in buckets or if you have 2 sinks fill one with wash water and the other with rinsing water.
  • Most households today use a washing machine, thus it is imperative that one make a detailed study purchasing a machine which is water efficient.  A lot of water can be saved if proper adjustments are made in the water level to suit the size of the washload.
  • Try doing your washing when you have a full load and you could end up saving upto 10 litres of water in every wash.
  • When brushing your teeth be careful to turn off the tap, you maybe able to conserve water to the tune of 25 gallons a month.
  • Try taking shorter showers instead of lazing around in the bath, also when soaping up do turn off the shower.
  • Toilets should be flushed only when required, do not use it as a trash can or ash tray. Check your toilet for noises when not in use, if so there could be a leak. Get it corrected at the earliest for even a small leak can greatly increase your water bill.
  • Watering ones plants in the early mornings or evenings is a better idea for it is cooler and hence minimizes on evaporation.

If we try heeding these pointers and make them a part of our lives it will surely make for a better world all around and smile for your money power will also last longer!

Use coupons. Do charity

25 Sep

Peace at last,after that early morning chaos it sure feels good to sit back with a cuppa chai and newspaper. A piece on Child relief and You, ‘CRY’, catches your eye tugging at you, you too want to do something for these kids but ,and it is a big BUT your finances are stretched. So though you’d love to help where is the money? Not an issue friends for money maybe the least of your problems, no I’m not being funny!

A very simple and easy way to save is the use of the market savvy Discount Coupons. Be it something as basic as buying atta, dal, chawal for the house or eating out, you could get the same quality products at a much lesser price if only you give a few minutes of your time to check these coupons. Online coupons at open2save can help you get stuff at more reasonable rates or even get you hefty bill cuts on that lovely meal at that exclusive new restaurant. That salon which you favour may also be offering some package deals. So if you keep your eyes peeled and make a sensible use of those discounts you could easily save in the range of Rs. 8,000-10,000 a year.

With this same money which you save by being just a bit more sensible in your spending pattern you can easily help with any charity that you’d like. You could help with the education or food for a child at CRY, Rs.1200 for food for a year and Rs. 3,000 if you want to help cover both food and education for the child.You could also help provide the rations for an elderly person for the year or help in their medical aid through Helpage India foundation, or donate to any other charitable institution, do remember friends no amount is small or big when given for charity its the thought that counts. Not only does this selfless act of yours bring relief to the needy but adds to your positive karma bringing you a sense of satisfaction and peace which is un-describable.

So go ahead, indulge that charitable spirit of yours at no extra pains while enriching the lives of so many others and vis a vis yours!

Easy ways to save electricity at home

25 Sep

The world today is facing a lot of environmental issues which are a great hazard to all inhabiting this planet. Hence it is of utmost importance that we awaken to these dangers and help curb the abuse of all those things which could make this planet a living hell. Electricity is one such major issue. Most methods of electricity production are counted as the greatest save powerenvironment pollutants.

So let’s heed the warning signs and start acting and saving electricity now. Some Tips-

  • Whenever you move out of a room do switch off lights and all the machines as well eg. TV, computer, video games etc. In case you’re going out of town unplug these very machines for they have stand-by functions which consume electricity even when turned off. Didn’t know that did you?

  • If using a dishwasher be sure to fill it efficiently and limit the number of times you run it.

  • Use the washing machine only when you have a full load of clothes and not just 2-3 clothes, that would be a sure waste of power.

  • Don’t put furniture and other stuff in front of your air conditioning vents.

  • Close the doors and windows when air conditioning is on and put off the AC half an hour before you leave the room.

  • If possible try shading your AC unit, if under bright sun it can use upto 5% more energy.

  • Always better to use fluoroscent light bulbs as they use 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs.

  • Decide what you need from the fridge before opening it so that you don’t needlessly waste electricity standing with the door open while you look inside.

  • Vacuum the coils of your refrigerator every few months it will help lower your electricity bill and also keep the condenser working better.

So you see it is not difficult at all to get that electric power going that extra mile if only we put into practice a few simple rules in our everyday life.

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