It rained today. And it's still raining now! Much of the southeast is experiencing a severe drought, including all of North Carolina. Over half of NC is designated as "exceptional drought" - the most severe category and many communities have an estimated 3 month supply of water left. Charlotte is "exceptional" and we've been under water restrictions for several weeks. But the drought continues and our fearless leaders are asking us to cut down our water consumption even more. We try to be good citizens and good stewards of the resources God has given us, so Casey and I are racking our brains trying to find ways to use less water. We stopped watering our lawn a long time ago (ok, we're renting, we didn't really care about our lawn in the first place), can't wash our car because of the restrictions, don't have any lawn fountains, don't run the water while we brush our teeth, etc. So in our new efforts to save water, we are trying to take shorter showers. I've even started turning off the water while I lather up and shave - this was a technique I perfected while staying at a campground in St. Petersburg, Russia because the water was ice cold. And since no one ever visits our home, we have loosely adopted Bernie Focker's rule. Well, actually, Coulson's already been following this rule.
I could save more water in the kitchen by using disposable dishes, but I really struggle with it. In my efforts to create less waste and consume less stuff, I have integrated washable, reusable household items into my lifestyle. I clean my house with cloths and mops instead of paper towels, clorox wipes or disposable swiffer pads. I pack Coulson's lunch with plastic containers instead of plastic bags. I never used cloth diapers because the massive amounts of water it takes to clean them offsets the benefits (and my mom, who used cloth, said that disposables we so much easier and motherhood is hard enough). So I just potty trained Coulson early and took him out of diapers maybe before he was completely ready for it. Anyway, using washable stuff is part of my lifestyle, I don't even think about it anymore. So the thought of using paper plates and plastic cups makes me cringe. Ironic how trying to be a good environmentalist can be so conflicting.
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