Last month I wrote about how we had been challenged by Yorkshire Water to try and cut down on the amount of water we use each day as a family of four. The average person uses 140 litres and we were going to try and use only 100 litres each. I knew it was going to be a touch challenge, but I like to try and succeed, so wanted to make it work. I'm also very wary of the amount of water we use and would love to cut down on our bills each year.
The B&B has been the busiest that it has been all year, so I am not convinced we will have succeeded in the challenge. In fact, since we started a month ago, we have had 72 different people stay, which is pretty insane! At the beginning of the challenge, the weather was so hot and we hadn't had any rain in so long that the lawn and fields were all yellow. The water butts outside the greenhouse were very nearly empty and I was starting to worry about having to use a hose pipe to water my fruit and veg in the garden. Thankfully we have had a whole load of rain since then and the water butts have always been full.
I have taken my water saving very seriously. We have a condenser tumble-dryer which extracts water from towels. I now keep a bucket next to the tumble dryer and pour all the water into the bucket, which I use to clean the sink, water the plants, fill my iron. It's been really useful to have that extra water around. It's also water that you don't pay for, which is always a win!
We've also replaced two of our old toilets with new push button cisterns which use less water with each flush than the old toilets. This was an upgrade that we had planned within the B&B, but it was very well-timed in terms of the challenge set by Yorkshire Water.
I have been most impressed with the children. They have taken on the challenge with total enthusiasm. My daughter has questioned every step, we've discussed how Yorkshire Water know how much water we use and I have shown her the water meter. They have both used the timer in the shower and flung themselves out as the time ran out. I am so proud of how willing they have been to really think about the water they use.
The challenge set to us by Yorkshire Water really made us all question how, where and why we use water in this house. It's been really good to reset how we think about that usage. I think we've all learned a lot during the challenge and have really come together to try and save water together.
For more information, and for some fantastic water-saving tips, check out Yorkshire Water's website.
The B&B has been the busiest that it has been all year, so I am not convinced we will have succeeded in the challenge. In fact, since we started a month ago, we have had 72 different people stay, which is pretty insane! At the beginning of the challenge, the weather was so hot and we hadn't had any rain in so long that the lawn and fields were all yellow. The water butts outside the greenhouse were very nearly empty and I was starting to worry about having to use a hose pipe to water my fruit and veg in the garden. Thankfully we have had a whole load of rain since then and the water butts have always been full.
I have taken my water saving very seriously. We have a condenser tumble-dryer which extracts water from towels. I now keep a bucket next to the tumble dryer and pour all the water into the bucket, which I use to clean the sink, water the plants, fill my iron. It's been really useful to have that extra water around. It's also water that you don't pay for, which is always a win!
We've also replaced two of our old toilets with new push button cisterns which use less water with each flush than the old toilets. This was an upgrade that we had planned within the B&B, but it was very well-timed in terms of the challenge set by Yorkshire Water.
I have been most impressed with the children. They have taken on the challenge with total enthusiasm. My daughter has questioned every step, we've discussed how Yorkshire Water know how much water we use and I have shown her the water meter. They have both used the timer in the shower and flung themselves out as the time ran out. I am so proud of how willing they have been to really think about the water they use.
The challenge set to us by Yorkshire Water really made us all question how, where and why we use water in this house. It's been really good to reset how we think about that usage. I think we've all learned a lot during the challenge and have really come together to try and save water together.
For more information, and for some fantastic water-saving tips, check out Yorkshire Water's website.
Disclosure: This post is in collaboration with Yorkshire Water
