Being an avid gardener, born and raised in Indiana, I feel incredible blessed to live in sunny California & be able to grow my own food all year-round! I write a monthly garden column for the San Jose Mercury News & am constantly striving for tips & ideas on how to live a little more gently in regards to ourselves, our planet & each other – basically sustainability we can live with! As a 
Chef Rebecca Tip!! - January
January 12th, 2021
Water-Wise Tips to Get You Through the Drought!
Here are 10 things that can reduce your water use.
- Take shorter showers. An eight-minute shower uses 17.2 gallons. A five-minute shower uses only 10.75 gallons, a savings of 6.45 gallons per shower.
- Collect the water that runs while waiting for the shower to warm up. That can be as much as 5 gallons. You can then use that water for your garden.
- Don’t let the water run when brushing your teeth or washing your face, hands or dishes. That can be a 20-gallon savings each day.
- Fix leaky faucets. One drop per second equals 3,000 gallons a year, or 180 showers.
- Toilets account for 30 percent of indoor water usage, and a leak can waste 15 gallons a day. Flush only when necessary.
- Replacing old toilets with a WaterSense model can save 13,000 gallons a year. If you haven’t installed low-flow toilets or shower heads, now is the time.
- Run washing machines and dishwashers only when full, and use the economy settings.
- Most of our water use is outdoors. Leaky irrigation systems can waste 6,000 gallons a month.
- Water less often but longer, which will make your plants root deeper. Use multiple short cycles to avoid runoff.
- Add 2 to 3 inches of mulch around plants and trees to retain water.
