Ways to Save Water In Your Bathroom

According to experts, the global demand for water has tripled over the last 50 years. This, coupled with the fact that water tables are falling, means we’re in danger of running out of water. Not today or tomorrow. Nevertheless, it is still important for each and every one of us to conserve the water we use and to be conscious of how much we use.

The good news is, little things we do every day can make a big difference. Here are seven ways to save water in your bathroom.

1. Use an aerator. Aerators are little, inexpensive, devices that you can install in your faucets and showerheads yourself. They restrict the flow, but not the water pressure, so you use half the water you normally do. Most showerheads, for example, use 5-10 gallons per minute while a low flow showerhead or one with an aerator will drop that number down to 2/5 gallons per minute. That’s significant savings!

Try: Danco 88270 360-Degree Swivel Aerator and Sprayer, Plastic, Chrome/White

2. Place a timer in the shower. This is great for children and adults who can seem to get lost daydreaming in the shower. It’s amazing how long a little person can stay in the shower. Place a timer in the shower to make everyone more aware of their water consumption You can purchase shower timers with suction cups on the back so they stick right on the shower wall and let you know when your five or 10 minutes are almost up.

3. Turn up the hot water heater. Ever turn on the shower and then walk away? Many people need to wait for the shower water to heat up but every minute the shower is running is water down the drain. However, if you turn your hot water heater up, your shower water will reach your desired temperature much more quickly. A warning here: if you have small children in the house, keep your hot water thermostat below 120 to prevent accidental scalding.

4. Don’t run water. It should go without saying, but leaving the water faucet running while you’re brushing your teeth and washing your face is a waste. Turn the water off when you’re not using it.

5. High efficiency toilets. If you’re in the market for a new toilet, consider one of those wonderful high efficiency toilets. Many variations are available. Some are low flow toilets, which save an average of 25 gallons of water each day. Also available are gravity toilets, pressure assist toilets, and those handy toilets that let you decide what type of flush you need, ahem #1 or #2. At any rate, low flow, efficiency toilets, are a great way to save water in your bathroom.

6. Maintain faucets and plumbing, so they don’t leak. Faucets, toilets and even showerheads are not made of kryptonite; they break down and their components break down. Those little dents, cracks, and misaligned seals cause leaks and you’d be surprised how much water you can waste in a day with a leaky faucet or toilet. One faucet dripping twice a minute in your home adds up to 69 gallons of wasted water each day.

7. Finally, if purchasing a new toilet isn’t in your future, consider placing weights in the tank of your toilet. You can make home-made weights with an inch of sand in a plastic water bottle filled with water, or you can purchase float boosters. This method is said to save more than 10 gallons of water each day.

Saving water in the bathroom is easy and it’s a great way to make a significant dent in your annual water consumption. Every little bit helps us stay on top of a plentiful water supply for generations to come.

Seven Healthy Comfort Foods

We’ve all been there; it’s been a whole week and we’ve been great about sticking to our diets. Then we get stressed out, maybe over work, or the kids, or an issue with a friend, and we turn to our comfort foods. Sure, we probably feel a bit better, but in the long run we?re adding lots of unneeded calories and even adding to our stress.

Instead of chewing down on needless sugar and fat calories, why not try one of these healthy comfort food alternatives instead? Making small adjustments to your already satisfying foods will help you cut the calories without cutting the taste.

* Pasta is a great way to make you feel full and satisfied, but it’s also a great way to pack on the pounds. Substitute your favorite pasta dish with whole grain or sprouted grain pasta. For an extra dose of healthy food, be sure to add fresh or frozen vegetables.

* Macaroni and cheese is one of the all-time top comfort foods, but it’s also pretty fatty. Next time try making it with regular whole milk, but substituting some low-fat cheese. It will still have the creamy goodness you love, without quite as much of the fat.

* Almost everyone out there loves chocolate when they’re stressed or sad, but you can still indulge without expanding your waistline. Instead of using milk chocolate in your recipes, try using dark chocolate or cocoa powder. They have all the good taste of chocolate, but they’re chock full of antioxidants and other healthy things. Just remember, milk cuts down on the healthy benefits of dark chocolate, so use it sparingly in these recipes.

* Love hamburgers, meat loaf, or anything else with ground beef? Try substituting all of some of the ground beef in your recipes for ground turkey. It has a similar taste, but even using a half and half mix can cut down on fat and calories in your meal. If you’re feeling really adventurous, try substituting pork for beef in your favorite dishes.

* Soup is a food for a cold day. But instead of using canned soup, next time make your own. Canned soups have tons of salt and preservatives. Simply by making the soup yourself instead of relying on cans makes the dish a whole lot healthier. Plus, you can make it just how your family likes it!

* When I’m settling down and ready to eat a satisfying dinner, I love mashed potatoes. To me there’s nothing better, except for maybe healthier mashed potatoes. By adding buttermilk instead of cream, you can keep the rich creamy taste with a lot less fat. If you’re feeling really adventurous, you can also try substituting margarine for butter.

* There is one way sure-fire way to help turn any food into a comfort food and that’s spices. When you cut back on fat and calories, food has a tendency to get bland, so when making a new healthy recipe, pump up the spice. Try experimenting with different spices and quantities until you get it just right. But remember, there is such a thing as too much.

10 Benefits of Home Births

Home births are becoming popular for a number of reasons. Let’s take a look at the benefits, as well as when a home birth is not the right choice.

1. With safety being one of the primary factors when making a decision between home birth and hospital birth, much of the research on home births has found that infant and mortality rates are a little bit better in a home birth. And they’ve found that home births have fewer incidences of of cesarean sections, induced labor or the use of forceps.

2. It’s also widely accepted that a home birth is significantly less stressful for the mother, which may be related to the fact that home births are slightly safer than hospital births.

3. A home birth means you can have whomever you want in the room with you.

4. A home birth means you can walk around, make a sandwich, listen to music, watch television or do whatever you feel like doing while you’re in labor. Hospital rooms are much more restrictive.

5. A home birth allows you to give birth in whatever position you feel most comfortable in. The old “on your back with your feet in the stirrups” isn’t the only position a woman can or should give birth in, really!

6. A home birth means you can eat and drink whatever you desire. Hospitals give you ice chips.

7. A home birth means no intervention without your permission. Hospitals often tell you what they’re doing about halfway through the procedure when it’s too late to tell them you don’t want pitocin and you don’t want that IV stuck into the back of your hand.

8. A home birth means you can bond with your baby immediately without them being whisked away to be sanitized and swaddled. You can do the sanitizing and swaddling as you see fit.

9. A home birth means you will likely use a midwife and that experience alone is enough for many women to choose home birth. Midwives tend to have a more personal approach to childbirth and their patients.

10. Finally, a home birth allows you to recover from childbirth in the comfort of your own home. If you’ve ever been in the hospital, even if it’s for a wonderful reason like childbirth, then you know first hand that it’s not a great place to be. Home is much better more comfortable.

Besides, you’re already immune to the bacteria in your own home. The same thing cannot be said of the microorganisms in a hospital.

Generally, if you’re having a healthy pregnancy with no complications and you don’t need to have a cesarean then a home birth is a safe option. However, midwives are also capable of performing c-sections should one become necessary. If you’re healthy, and are having a normal pregnancy then a home birth may be the right choice for you.

Next Page »