It's Time to Talk About Recycling. Water.
She may be smiling, but she’s doing it wrong! Photo credit: Getty
Sorry to be Debbie Downers, but the drought in California is a reality. One that has many of us thinking of ways to conserve resources.
Recycling water may be something only your mother—whose name is Summer Moon and who grew up with ten brothers and sisters on a kumquat farm—does, but we’re here to argue that you should practice what she preaches after her morning meditation. You turn the lights off when you leave a room, right? This involves little more effort than that flip of a switch. So:
DON’T wash vegetables under a running tap.
DO dip them in a bowl full of water, which you can reuse on household plants or your garden.
DON’T wash dishes under a running tap.
DO wash dishes and utensils in a plastic tub of water. Just squeeze in a bit more soap when you’re finished with the dishes before reusing to water plants or clean toilets and sinks; it will eat up any grease that’s been trapped in the mix. (And make sure that soap is organic, especially if you’re using it on plants.)
DON’T throw out that pasta water!
DO save it to, as you know, bind your cooked pasta and sauce, but also in stocks and soups. Same with any water leftover from boiling vegetables.
DON’T empty any glasses of half-drunk water.
DO save it and use it to wash dishes.
See? Just as much work as washing that beautiful Luxardo cherry tin and re-using it to hold pencils.
