Jules Jones

 The average water consumption for people in the UK needs to come down as hotter summers increase the chance of drought.

"The EA said customers in England need to cut their water use by 2.5 billion litres a day by 2055 – down from an average of around 140 litres per person per day to 110 litres per day. "

I looked at our previous water bills.  In summer, we use around 150L and in winter, significantly than that, but that's the total usage for three adults and  a child who is with us for two days a week.

Which makes our individual water usage just under a third of the national average, and already within the target by a good margin.  And that includes some water for topping up the pond and watering some of the plants.

We're on a water meter and pay about £170 per year for the household.

We've become very good over the years, at not using a lot of water.

LAUNDRY

A lot of people wear an item once, and automatically chuck it in the laundry (I was completely unaware of this until a woman told me that she washed her teenage son's jeans every day)

Me?  If it isn't visibly dirty, and it doesn't smell when I sniff under the armpits, then it's back in the wardrobe, or wear for another day.

If you're selective in the fabrics you buy, you can dramatically reduce the need for laundry.

Linen is amazing.  It really doesn't pick up body smells at all - that's because it naturally wicks moisture away from the body, in a way that synthetic fabrics can't. 

I found this out while doing my English Civil War Reenactment.  The bottom layer of clothing for women is always a linen smock.  So, I made a linen smock.  I washed it once, to soften the fabric a little, then -having been told that it softened very nicely with wear, started to wear it as a nightie.  The most comfortable night garment I've ever worn.  I kept on wearing it, every night, waiting for it to get smelly.  It didn't. And the fabric now has a wonderful feel when you touch it (probably something to do with the natural oil in flax, but I don't know for sure)

Whereas if I wear something polyester based, it's often just one day's wear.

Cotton is very good as well - not quite so good as linen, but I can wear a cotton t-shirt as an under-layer and get quite a few days out of that before fails the sniff test.

What do you do to reduce your water consumption?