Another way to reduce water useage is to towel off using a small hand towel or small bath towel. Why do you need that huge towel?  Whatever your excuse really ask yourself... okay do you really need that huge towel.

Think about it.  By using that huge towel, you have to wash that huge towel.  It takes more space in the washing machine so you have to set the washer to large load instead of small or medium.  Your dryer has to work harder to dry the towel because it is so big and thick.  More energy in both cases.  More detergent.  More everything.

We recommend using a small towel or using a quick dry microfiber towel.  They dry faster when you hang them up, they wash more thoroughly, they take up less space and they dry faster.  So please, thrown in the towel.

Try this microfiber towel

Aquis Microfiber Body Towel, Lisse Crepe, (29 x 55-Inches)

What would one way to reduce energy useage?  What one thing does almost every household and building in the US have piped right into it?

You guessed it water!  But look at one of the major ingredients of the things we use at home.  Water.  Here are a few examples

1. Liquid soap - what is wrong with soap bars?
2. Laundry detergent - what is wrong with powder.  But it clumps!!  So dilute it in a cup before adding it to the washing machine.
3.  Cleaner - why not buy concentrated cleaner at the hardware store?
4.  Orange juice - why not just buy frozen concentrated orange juice - read the label on the juice carton - it says made from concentrate!

Here are a few examples of items in which we add water at home.

1.  Coffee
2.  Oatmeal
3.  Pancake mix
4.  Concrete
5.  Frozen Orange Juice

Think about it.  How much space does water take up in all these items we buy.  Space in the factories that package them, space in the trucks that transport them, space in the stores that sell them, space in the boxes and containers to package them, space in your car to transport them home, space in the plastic bags you need to carry them, space in your fridge to cool or store them, space in the garbage to throw out the containers, space in the landfills for the containers.   I thin you get the point.

Let's "concentrate" and get to the point with water.  We can just add water at home. 

What is the true cost of something?  Before you buy something think about this.

For example, say you are looking to buy that new chair what does it cost $100?  $200?  Is it on sale?  Cost and dollars are not really the same thing.  We live in a world where we equate cost to money.  In reality, we use money to try to value things, services and the like but we really need to think about the true costs.

So back to the chair.  What is the cost of the new chair?  Let's see ... what is the chair made of?  Leather, steel, plastic...all made using energy...to make or raise the raw mateials, combine the items to make the finished product...all resulting in some waste products...which take energy to get rid of.

Now all good products need to be packaged so they canr either look great on the shelf or just to get it to the store or your house with no dings on it.  This packaging includes styrofoam, cardboard, staples, foam, plastic, adhesive and more.  This double or triples the space required to store and ship the product. 

Storage requires energy to heat and light the building.  The trucks need huge containers to haul the items to the storea requiring diesel fuel to fuel the trucks and tires and oil and and and....this does not include the roads which wear out because of all this weight ...which requires energy to make.

So I think we get the point.  This is not to say all this is not worth it and is not without reason, we just need to be aware of the true costs and benefits of what we do, buy, sell and propagate.

Are we right or wrong to live like this?  I don't know.  But I do know we can look at things differently.  We can look at the whole cost and maybe even find a better way to meet our wants and needs, and maybe just maybe find out what we want and need change.  And maybe not.

As humans we should decide and lead into the future.  We need to stay mindful about letting the "way things work" direct our next step.  We are more than that.