Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW)

Welcome to Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW)! If this is your first visit, please click HERE for information and a complete list of all the challenges we've taken on so far.

There's a lot of great information in this post and I encourage you to read through it ... however, if you'd rather jump straight to the current challenge, you can do so by clicking here: This Week's Challenge

Last week we tackled water waste. I really liked this challenge because it made me stop and think about my actions. So many times those little bits of water (ie the ice-melt in the bottom of a glass, leftover steaming water, pet bowl water, etc.) gets tossed down the drain without any thought. What a waste! Using them helps us conserve this precious resource. Throughout the week I couldn't help but think that living "green" is often about being aware and living in the moment.

The #CTWW Gang got busy this week and tweeted about our challenge using the hashtag #CTWW (which is, by the way, the requirement for membership into this exclusive club). Let's meet them:

@AlwaysWellWithn @dpixel @Tif_Hamilton @nemecene @tiffanystoybox @cjrthemamiblog @whopaysthepiper @littlegreenblog @lynn_stone @accessorygal @0wastenorthants @superwaterman

@nonmom @givetreegifts @envirobooty @greengiftsguide @waylandcook @peopletowels @greencrescentae @skipbang @oneadayart @gwened02 @waxelene

@noteasy2begreen @groovygreenlivi @vapur @hshawjr @shoppingcharity @handhmomma @yan_tougas @GreenCartoons @catcanpaint @LongpointEscape @AlmostTruth

Our Honor Society is made up of people who write posts and/or leave comments about our challenges. Let's see what they had to say about conserving water:

EcoGrrl has been canning lately and shares that she boils several loads of jars before tossing the water into the garden. Yay! She also has a rain barrel which provided water for her front yard plants (roses, herbs, berries, etc).

In this POST, Mrs. Green offers us 8 tiny tips for reducing water waste. One of her suggestions involves fish. Fish?? Yes, indeedy! Head on over to "her place" and check it out ... it's brilliant!

Argentum Vulgaris has been using bits of water for a long time. One of his saving techniques results in curry-flavored tomatoes. :-) If that wasn't enough to peak your interest, his suggestion for a new challenge just might ... it involves the BBQ. Check out his post HERE

Jen stopped by. She suggested a bunch of challenge ideas which we'll be seeing in the coming weeks.

Joanne Wotherspoon (aka @givetreegifts) tweeted a whole bunch of water saving tips. Here they are: 1) Pre-1990 toilets install water displacement device in the tank. 2) Turn off the tap while brushing teeth & save 95 litres a month. 3) Put food coloring in toilet tank. If it seeps into bowl without flushing you have a leak. Fix the leak & save over 4000 litres/month. 4) Showers use 1/2 the water of a bath. 5) Shorten showers by 1 to 2 minutes & save 500 litres/month. 6) Reuse water used for rinsing veggies to water plants. 7) Install water efficient showerhead. WhooHoo ... thanks, Joanne!

@nonmom had a great suggestion ... instead of printing paperwork, save the files electronically (print to a file, save on an ipod or phone, etc.). If you're wondering how this reduces water waste, consider this ... it takes a LOT of water to produce paper so if we reduce paper use, we reduce water use. Yay!

Tristin and Tyler always turn off the water while they are brushing their teeth. Mom, Tiffany, shares that her biggest problem is letting the water run while she mops and scrubs the toilets/tub. So, she's going to get a bucket and fill it with water when she cleans. Yay! Thanks, Tiffany!

Our very own Good Girl Gone Green, aka Stephanie, wrote Use It Responsibly and shares a number of tips. My favorite is #2 under the heading of "Reuse". Want a hint? Okay ... hanging plants.

Amy has a unique water waste situation ... she has farm animals that seem to enjoy knocking over their water containers ... just for fun. So, she is trying to tie their buckets to a solid object. She uses rain water to water both the animals and her garden. And, as if that wasn't enough, Amy and her husband are planning to install a grey water system for outside and a rain water collection system for use inside. Wow!

We have a new Honor Society member ... Joe Mohr (aka @GreenCartoons on twitter). Welcome Joe! He shares that he's a fellow water conservationist and offers us this POST which includes a whole bunch of water saving ideas. One of the most interesting is the Slingshot. Have you heard of it? It has a bit of an "eeeuuuwwww" factor but it's really quite brilliant. Check it out! Joe also shares this "FUNNY" about "green" snot. He said that in preparing that cartoon he "learned that If every household in the US replaced just one box of 175-count virgin fiber facial tissue with a 100% recycled version we could save 140 million gallons of water, a year's supply for over 1,100 families of four. Buy recycled paper products (if u have to buy any). It's a big way to save water beyond what everyone is already doing." Thanks, Joe!

CC in Canada has a couple of great water-saving tips for us. In her words, "I offer these 2 ideas that save literally GALLONS of water every day: 1) I keep empty 2-liter plastic beverage bottles (from cranberry juice, V8, etc.) in the bathroom. Before having a shower, I catch the still-cold running water from the bathtub faucet into these bottles. Sometimes it seems to take forever for the water to become hot; catching the "waiting water" and using it to water plants later saves at least 2 liters of water per shower. When the water from the tap turns hot enough for the shower, I flick the switch to divert the water from "tub" to "shower". 2) During the non-winter months, I keep a plastic dishpan (or bucket, depending on the depth of the sink and the configuration of the taps) in the kitchen sink. We catch all the water we use from rinsing vegetables, washing hands, running a glass of drinking water---basically everything not involving dishwashing, fats/oils, or meats (we're veggies, so this isn't an issue in our house). We also empty leftover tea and coffee into this bucket. We then dump the collected water onto outdoor plants: flowerboxes, junipers, rosebushes, evergreen trees---anything in the yard. We live on the Canadian prairies, so we don't do this in the winter, as we fear that pouring warm water onto "hibernating" plants at extreme temperatures would result in plant damage. On an average day with 2 adults in the house, we save at least 15 gallons of water this way! We did not have to use the hose to water our plants all summer long. Thanks, CC!

In this POST Lynn says that change is "brewing" ... and she includes visuals. Head on over because you don't want to miss that article! It'll make you smile!

The Shopping Charity picked up a tweet about a #CTWW post ... was it yours? There are a bunch of wonderful articles in this edition of The Shopping Charity, including one about the prevention and treatment of child abuse. Worthwhile reading ... I hope you'll check it out!

Jennifer says that most of her water waste comes from the kitchen (rinsing, washing, etc.). She's going to reduce it and she shares that she'll be taking her cat's water and using it on houseplants. She's going to be taking a break from blogging for awhile. Enjoy your time away, Jennifer ... we'll miss you and will look forward to your return.

Cinella wrote this POST and shares some clever ideas, including one about taking baths. If you're like me, you're thinking that a bath is not a way to reduce water use ... but check out Cinella's idea for baths ... it might change your mind. And later in the post, she takes on City Hall ... well ... maybe not City Hall but taking her suggested action is probably just as tough. Check it out!

When you think about reusable containers, does beer come to mind? Well, it does to Rewinn who is fortunate enough to live close to a brewery. He picked up a "growler" in a thrift store and carries it to the brewery. He gets a little exercise by walking, drinks a freshly brewed beer and reuses a container. Brilliant! In this POST you'll read about another way he uses his "growler" ... his neighbors might be talking but he's living "green".

Brenna says "I think our biggest waste is when waiting for the water to get hold (or cold) and letting it run. I have been trying to capture the water as it gets hotter to water my plants. I am going to start keeping water in my fridge for drinking so I don't have to waste any waiting for the tap to get cold enough."

The Green House used waste water this week to water the lawn. They've been suffering through a drought and that means that their yard has gone without ... so using waste water, including water from their fish tank, they gave it a much-needed drink. While this POST wasn't written specifically for #CTWW, it really speaks to our challenges and what we're trying to do. Be sure to head over and give it a read ... it's wonderful!

Rachel has rain barrels for watering the plants and washing cars. She also shares another, very clever idea ... she uses the still-warm water from her hot water bottle (which I'm assuming she takes to bed with her) to wash in the morning. Fabulous idea! After reading AV's post, she did a little investigative work to learn where her water comes from. She found out that, in Wales, only 5% of water supplies are groundwater and the majority comes from reservoirs. Interesting! How many of you know where your water comes from?

Thanks to everyone for such great ideas and a marvelous effort! If you wrote an article, I have Stumbled, Tweeted and Facebooked it. If you'd like to help spread the word, please use the share feature at the bottom of this post.

This Week's Challenge:

Many of you accepted the second part of last week's #CTWW activity and offered up wonderful ideas for new challenges. So, in the coming weeks we'll get to each of them, starting with this one from EcoGrrl:

This week replace at least one car trip with a bicycle or walking trip.

OR ...

If you never use a car, please write a post about how you make a "no car" life work.

Until next time ...

WE'RE CHANGING THE WORLD ... ONE CHALLENGE AT A TIME