Recommiting ready for summer

This is the time of year when a number of our water and energy saving measures need to be reinstated for summer. Doing so involves a recommitment to these actions and, for some, a small degree of maintenance.

So our 'action' for November was not a new action but a recommitment to many previous actions, and in some ways it was the hardest 'action' I have committed to in the three and a half years we have been doing this. Here we go again. Does it never end?? I think life at home with two small children may be shaping that reaction! It is more difficult also, in my experience, to do something again, when it is no longer new and interesting. This is particularly so when it is restarting something that I have failed to continue on with as I originally intended.

After a week of that summer heat smell in the air it was time for Tyson to unroll shadecloths around the house. 

So far we have no new ones this year, but are reinstating all of those from previous years.

One of those along the driveway remains furled as it broke its moorings in winter storms and needs a more permanent hook attached to the bricks to keep it secure. The shock cord for another had also worn through and the rear courtyard shade is definitely not still using the original ocky straps from six summers ago! Overall, though, the shades and their fastenings are holding up well.

The grey water wheelie bin has been brought back into service. I discovered that I cannot get it over the laundry threshold (or if I do I spill quite a lot in the effort) so Tyson sourced some grey water hose to create an extension out the door ($20 for ten metres).

The door obviously doesn't lock like this, but a chock to stop it sliding open any further makes us reasonably confident to leave the washing machine running with its outlet pipe through the back door when we go out.

The original tap connection on the bin had also given us grief last summer, periodically leaking or unwinding itself and falling off, so Tyson purchased a new tank outlet connector (about $8). 

This required sanding the hole for the pipe slightly larger to make it fit, but so far has been a very successful adaptation. The hose we attach to the tap got little holes drilled along it some time last summer to create a drip system for better coverage.

We also put the tubs back into our shower and have grey water on hand again for toilet flushing. This stopped not on account of winter bringing rain, but because somewhere midyear, in late pregnancy, a string of minor ailments over three months had me desperate to change anything that might be contributing and grey water standing uncovered in our bathroom seemed a potential source of winter sniffles. And then we had a baby and I couldn't be bothered with even the small additional effort of gathering and flushing grey water.

The basin in our kitchen sink comes and goes. We are making another attempt at it this summer. Periodically we get fed up with it not getting emptied outside, or getting too dirty, and it is abandoned. Hence it was definitely one of the actions for me that was a recommit, not a routine, as we approach summer.

Costs and times for these actions are detailed in the links above to where I wrote about them originally. Aside from fifteen minutes here or there for maintenance, recommitting doesn't add more time than the original commitment. 

It is much easier, though, to continue with actions that are simply ongoing than to pick up these summer-oriented actions at the end of spring each year. Part of me is tired and thinks oh lets just water with a hose/ flush the toilet/ blast the aircon like everyone else. It was 37 degrees here yesterday (Celsius - that's 100 degrees Fahrenheit, for you in other lands - what some here refer to as 'the old hundred') and the heat made me grumpy. I am home full time with a three year old and a four month old. I get grumpy plenty quick enough all on my own - I don't need any extra grumpifiers! But then... the house kept quite cool most of the day, and when we eventually turned the aircon on (we are not ascetics, after all) I was still grumpy about the heat, so I might as well be sustainable and grumpy. When I look at my reaction, it is being trapped inside that bothers me, and aircon or passive cooling both have that same result. Its grey and raining today... some respite for me to think creatively about ways to get outside as much as possible through summer so I don't get that terrible trapped feeling. Any ideas?

What are you needing to recommit to at present?

More about toilets

Its the season for rain here and we don't need our bath and shower water for the garden. I couldn't bear to let it just waste away down the drain so we have been collecting it for our toilets.

 

I would prefer to have these buckets on the floor, but we have a toddler in the house and the door to our ensuite can't really be shut firmly.

Using buckets in winter to flush our toilet is not new, but this year we have started also using them in the second toilet (where the door can be shut!). This is the toilet used for cleaning nappies. Its also the one used by guests. To explain the presence of buckets of water and encourage guests to also use our recycled water to flush, I put a notice inside the toilet door.

Initial Time: Ten minutes to prepare, print and post the notice to toilet guests.

Initial Cost: 

We bought two more $2 buckets.

Ongoing time or cost commitment: Catching the water takes no time, just two tubs in the shower. Redistributing it into buckets beside both toilets takes about 5 minutes a day. Refilling the toilet cistern with recycled water after flushing takes about an extra 30 seconds per toilet visit. Toilets flushed with recycled water get a bit gunky if not cleaned efficiently.

Impact:Over the last couple of months, with all our shower water going into the toilets, the amount of drinking water flushed down our toilets has been close to ZERO. Because we work from home, we are not out-sourcing much of our toilet use to a workplace, so the full impact of two adults and a toddler remains at our house. If we were not being careful about toilets I estimate we would flush toilets at our house about 20 times per day (in total, not each! what about you?) or about 180L of water. We flush sparingly, use half-flush and have reduced the size of our cisterns, but even so we were using about 50L a day which is now all recycled. That's over 18,000L a year. Come summer, though, we will need to find a way to catch washing machine water again to keep the garden going. And I have no idea how we are going to toilet train Eva to use this system!

We received a six-month water bill this week are were delighted to see our water usage had got below 300L a day (283L/day, to be precise!). I estimate that is about 1/3 showers, 1/3 washing machine and the rest kitchen and miscellaneous use (hand washing, Eva's play, etc). By comparison, the average Perth home uses over 750L a day - the highest water usage rate in Australia according to an article last week - and 43% goes on the garden.

The other impact of this action is getting our guests thinking about their water use. This may in fact by the more important impact. So far reactions have been mixed. Several have said nothing at all. One was heard making baffled noises and muttering 'cistern?' Another was inspired to try something similar at their place. Hardly anyone remembers to shut the door so Eva can't get to the buckets, so I am in the habit of casually checking the door over and over if guests are around. Several have decided to ignore the instructions and just pour water into the toilet bowl (which works to an extent but... you get more splash back, use  more water, and don't get as clean a flush) 

And at that point I have said too much about toilet flushing!