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have quickies in the shower instead of...

for guys (or brave gals):
use clippers to shave your head twice a month. having almost no hair cuts down on shower time. Hair is over-rated. :)

I use soap as a bodywash and shampoo and while I condition my hair I'm washing the rest of me. I also leave the tub stopper down while I'm taking the shower and then use that water to shave after I've showered.

Speaking of showers we could also start to use cleaning products with less harsh chemicals so that they don't end up in our drinking water and we could use safety razors and straight razors instead of plastic which will end up in a landfill.

N.

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Being a lady, I shave in the shower. One of the things I do is turn off the water while I shave my legs. If I'm a real good girl, I'll turn off the water while I lather up.

But my biggest thing that I started for conservation reasons, was to only shower every other day, and it seems to work really well. The side benefit of it is, every other day (on my non-shower days) it only takes me 20 min to get ready, which means I get to sleep in a bit!!

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and the downside is that you smell a little bit every other day. :)

;) Well, you would think! But luckily, I don't, I actually was kind of surprised. Of course, I don't work out regularly or have a very physical lifestyle.

But oddly, even when I ride my bike to work, odor issues don't seem to be a problem. And I have given strict instructions to several of my coworkers that they were to alert me if I did start to smell!

My mom also does what she calls a PTA shower on the every other day. Wet wash cloth and you hit, well, three female body parts. I'll just say the A stands for armpits. The other two perhaps are too vulgar to say....

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Kris, I would LOVE to shave my head. But everyone else would have a fit.

I have a clock from IKEA that attaches to the wall with a suction cup so I can keep track of the time - otherwise I'll dawdle and daydream...
...but I don't know if they sell it any longer.

Shaving your head is definitely the way to go..at least for me. Save a buttload on haircuts, use less shampoo, shorter showers, no bad hair days.. the list goes on and on..

I went the buzzed-head route. Spikey hair was a very time consuming, product hoarding, kinda dated style. It's great when I just have 10 minutes to shower and get dressed, I never have to worry about washing my hair it out before going to bed, it doesn't get nasty if I happen to have the car windows open, I can take a nap whenever and it doesn't get that "dirty" look, and since it's not shaved-shaved, people can see I'm not just going bald, but actually chose to buzz it. lololol

As far as a "normal" shower... I take about 20 mins, but that also includes brushing my teeth, and shaving. Here water's really not necessarily scarce, so I think 20 mins is cool since I don't have a pool, I don't water any yards, I don't wash the car too often, I only use the dishwasher once a week (same for washer), I drink bottled water... I just choose to give myself a "lavish" water break.

I take a roughly 10-15 minute shower and yes, I do shave while in there, but it's really the upper cheeks and the lower neck so it takes really no time at all.

I do keep my hair in a #3 buzz cut and it's a cinch to wet, shampoo it and let it sit while I lather up with a good body wash, rince, wash the face, lather up the areas to be shaved, shave, rinse the face clean, then rinse my hair and quickly the body of any shanpoo residue before getting out.

On occasion I will find myself standing there enjoying the hot water on a work morning for a minute or two thinking but rarely do I go over 15 perhaps 20 minutes all told.

When I need to scrub the tub, I'll shut off the water, spray with a good foaming cleanser, scrub, turn on the shower and use the hand shower to rinse and rinse myself off quickly before getting out - all done right after I've showered for the day.

I can't stand to NOT shower, I feel gross otherwise and DO smell more readily than some, so to me, it's more of a nessesity than anything else.

i play hockey. i scrub until i don't smell. i have had to limit my hockey player son's showers, though. he just daydreams and sings and runs up my bill! so i've got yet another thing to stay on top of :)

easy - I stay in bed until the last possible moment so I only have 5 minutes to shower or risk missing my bus to work ;-)

I share all the showers I can! He can rinse while I lather up, and vice versa. Both of us showering takes less than double the time of a short shower for each.

DJluckyonline,
Drinking bottled water is not proving your point that you conserve water!

This isn't exactly about conservation of water in a shower, but if you're trying to make the best of a small towel, like when you're showering at the gym, you can kind of "pre-dry" yourself by essentially using your hands as a squeegee and stripping most of the water off yourself before you even start actually drying yourself off.

Have gone to extraordinary measures during two infamous droughts. Now, other than using a flow restrictor shower head,
I just enjoy my showers. I consider them one of my great luxuries. I save water in other ways: using water I've cooked with for my worm bin, watering my house plants with water I've rinsed vegetables in, watering my garden once a week or less, front-loading clothes washer, water and energy saving dishwasher, etc.

I second the showering every other day thing, which began as a side effect from oversleeping until I decided that it makes sense environmentally, too. I think the difference is really negligible, especially when I don't mention it to my husband. Also, I only lather my hair once, not the recommended twice, which saves water AND shampoo.

I must say, brushing your teeth in the shower sounds like a ridiculous waste of water. If you're going with the standard 2 minutes of brushing, that's 14 gallons of water wasted. Maybe you're brushing for less than two minutes, in which case you're saving water but wasting your teeth ;) I also never leave the water on while brushing, because again that would be 6 gallons of water wasted.

A big time waster in the shower is to wash your hair...and no one needs to wash their hair daily. If you're not willing to do the buzzcut then try washing your hair every other day...then try just twice a week...or less often, see what your hair and partner can tolerate.

And DJ...just because a water shortage isn't a problem in your area...it is worldwide...and therefore we all need to adjust our lifestyles to try and conserve any limited resources.

There are a number of changes I've made to my shower habits to reduce my environmental impact and reduce my exposure to environmental toxins. I've affected water consumption, energy consumption, laundry load, shampoo/conditioner usage, and commercial cleanser usage.

1) I've reduced my hot water temperature to 110 degF to save on energy.
2) I use less than one minute of water time by turning the water on and off as I shower, using it only to rinse. I typically cycle the water on no more than four times for less than 15 seconds each. My shower water consumption never exceeds 2.5 gallons.
3) I use a home recipe for a combination body wash & shampoo using Dr. Bronner's castile soap, tea tree oil and water. Bronner's castile soap is fair trade organic and about as biodegradeable as it gets.
4) I use white vinegar in a spray bottle as a hair rinse to remove the buildup left behind by the castile soap. It leaves my hair fairly soft and silky. I use the Heins brand because it is vegetable based not petroleum based as some of the other brands are.
5) I dry off using a hand towel rather than a bath sized towel. It's perfectly adequate, and not only saves on raw material because of the smaller size, but also laundry and closet space.
6) When I clean the shower, I do it from within immediately after I finish using the spray vinegar and a dobbie pad. It's very effective combination in removing soap scum left by the Bronner's and it's far less toxic than any of those commercial spray cleaners.
7) Finally, I shower less frequently, usually every other day. On the off days, a quick hand wash under the arms does the trick. Shorter hair helps too.

Hope some of these ideas help...

Here's a trick I learned after a couple years working at a summer camp in the Texas hill country: shave your legs at the sink. Spread on some shaving cream, and put just a tad of water in the sink to rinse off your razor. Go at it (carefully) and wipe your legs down with a damp washcloth. I have just started doing this again at home and find it's not only saving a TON of water--but it's also safer (for people like me who happen to be somewhat...clumsy).

I've read about the 'navy shower' before, and I realized it's the shower I've got used to take since childhood.
I really thought it was the shower everybody took at home :)

I've *tried* to take long showers, and I'm not entirely sure how people *do* that every day... :-) Unless I'm especially tired or sore, my showers have never been over 10 minutes, and I don't try to keep them short. Here's what I do:
1. get all wet, wet hair
2. shampoo hair, rinse
3. put conditioner on
4. wash body with yummy bar soap (so many conditioners say to leave the stuff in for a minute or two, so why not use that time?)
5. rinse body and hair (often do last rinse of hair in rather cold water - refreshing!)
6. Done!
I don't blow dry my hair (I haven't owned a blow-dryer in years), I twirl it up in a bun and use a clippy thing, then when I take it down later (half-dry) it's all curly. (This is not the perfect solution, because it leaves my hair pretty frizzy, but I just don't have patience for hair dryers.)
I don't shave my legs very often, and when I do, I don't do it in the shower - luckily I have a big enough/long enough vanity countertop thing that I can sit on top of it and shave using the water in the sink.
Ok, so for a comment this is pretty long, but I'm passionate. :-) Happy Short Showers!

Hey Memerryandpippin-it totally threw me to see your user name since I haven't seen you in, well a couple years. Good to know we read the same websites so whenever I do see you we'll have something to talk about. :)

Also, your hair never struck me as frizzy. I used the same trick with my hair and I end up with HUGE poofy, frizzy hair.

And to actually add something to this thread, I do the every other day shower thing unless I've been working out.

My roommate and I each sometimes have a long-shower issue, but not because we're doing anything -- sometimes aching muscles benefit from the heat, and you get caught up in "ooooh my back isn't hurting as much yessssss" that you lose track of passing time.

I also got guilty of long showers when I was a kid, though, and my mother would just set the ordinary kitchen timer to break me of that habit.

The 'Shower every other day' does sound unclean, and the 'cut your hair off- buzzz' sounds sad for a girl with pretty hair (like me). But i agree with Rie, take a shower every day, but just wash your hair every other day- although, in the summer, i would wash my hair everyday.

Best suggestion: ( i do this and it REALLY works) make a SHOWER playlist on your ipod, make it last for however long you want and play your ipod in the shower! it's an enjoyable timer!

ohh- and for the ladys- go to a salon and wax- lasts longer and is way smoother and takes time off from the 'shaving in the shower'

Yes for women I totally recommend waxing! I actually use a product called "Moom" that's not actually wax but is a form of sugaring. It's all natural and much less irritating & painful. Once every 4-6 weeks I spend an evening waxing any area II would normally shave and it frees up tons of shower time! You can also wash the strips you use so they are reusable.

I also shower every other day because I found that showering every day was drying up my skin & hair too much.

My shower has separate knobs for hot and for cold (actually, it has separate knobs for the shower hot and cold as well as the bath hot and cold; yeah, kind of weird). I find it takes me a lot of time (and water) to get the temperature reasonable. Marking the positions of the knobs at ideal temperature would be a good solution, but since I'm in an apartment building, the position differs from day to day and from hour to hour. So I take quick showers, but can't do the "turn the water off while [shaving, soaping, shampooing etc]" thing.

Simple! When you want a long shower, just take a nice, hot bath. Not only is the water not running, but you are SUPPOSED to dawdle.

I also multitask in the shower. I shampoo and rinse, then condition and rinse while I wash my body. A good bar soap like Dove also cuts down on the amount of soap you use (as compared to liquids) and its way faster cause you don't have to rinse out your loofah afterwards.

NO. NO. NO! We suffer from not ENOUGH PEOPLE TAKING SHOWERS. Lets get humanity to take showers before we tell them to cut back. Your stink is rude (and worse than you think) and should be considered terrorist related . Those sitting near you on mass transit thank you.

I shower every 2-3 days, unless I've worked out or it's very hot. In between I do sponge baths. This system isn't just better for the environment and my wallet, it's better for my hair and skin. And it keeps me from stinking.

15 minutes in the shower every day with a wash cloth. No soap. No shampoo.

Take a bucket bath.

When you shower you use up much more water than you would if you took a bucket-bath. The bath would be shorter and greener. You'll save the world some water :)

Greetings...

Here's a couple of additions to add to my previous post on my shower habits... These were added since my orginal comment was posted. There are so many ways to conserve that take so little effort...

7) Since my eyes are closed most of the time when showering, I decided to conserve electricity by using a 4 watt night light to light the bathroom rather than the recessed overhead lights (even though they are CFLs). My bathroom has no windows.
8) I leave a 2 gallon plastic bucket under the tub spigot to catch the water that goes down the drain at the beginning of my shower as I wait for the warm water to flow. This amounts to about a gallon of water each time I shower. This captured gray water serves as a free flush for my toilet which happens to be right next to my tub/shower.

My fiance and I started using the auto-shutoff shower head, the one that turns off when the temp reaches bathing. We also take Navy Showers using an on/off valve we got at the hardware store for $3, and we only shower every other day, or every two if we're feeling lazy. On the off days, I use a spritz of rubbing alcohol under my arms to kill bacteria and any smell. We also use a bucket to catch the water before the shower head turns it off.

I condition my hair every time I get it wet, usually every other shower*, because otherwise it's a NIGHTMARE to deal with, but I get wet, turn off the water, put the conditioner in, brush my teeth, soap up, then turn the water back on and rinse and get out.
Instead of wasting water (and TIME!) to shave, I wax. I wax my legs and underarms myself, using sugaring wax I make at home. If you don't want to try it, because it hurts, or because it sounds scary, have someone else do it the first few times; spend the money and go to a professional! After the first few times, it hurts less, and you can ask your esthetician to run you through how to do it yourself. I do NOT recommend waxing your Lady Bits yourself, however. NOT FUN.

In short: shower less frequently, use a bucket to catch off-temp water, wash your hair less, and wax instead of shaving.

Oh, and to those of you who recommend shaving one's head: It's fun as a girl to go "bald" but it's COLD! Also, the weird velcro effect on your pillow... yeah. But I miss the 30 second showers.

*the less frequently you wash your hair, the less frequently it will NEED to be washed. Using shampoo strips the oils from your hair and scalp, so your body tries to compensate by producing more. If you slowly ease off using it, start with, say, every other day instead of every day, then every two days, etc. you'll notice your hair being more manageable and less oily the longer you do it.

Oh boy, I do need a timer!

i take about 10 minutes to shower, unless i have to shave. we have a radio with a clock in the shower, so i'm usually well aware of how long i've spent...also, i stay in bed until the last possible minute allowable to still get to work on time, knowing i'd rather be there than in the shower. another tip - on cold days i make sure to turn on the heat in the house (we turn the heat off at night) before i get in the shower so i'm not tempted to stay in the hot water longer than necessary.

as a side note, i'd love to be able to wash my hair every other day...i've skipped washing it many times when i didn't have to be anywhere important, but with fine, oily, straight hair by nature, the next day always looks noticeably greasy. i've tried experimenting with different shampoos & even hair powder for the off days, but there is no substitute for a good wash for me.

This reminds me of the several Seinfeld episodes about Kramer and showers. Classic stuff.

I learned the hard way about washing up in the sink (no hot water many, many times in my building) One teapot of hot water added to a sink full of cold water. One half of the hot for washing, the other half for rinsing. Able to wash whole body and hair (not just "arm-pits and charm-pits", as a friends mother calls them) using about 1 gallon of water, and ended up feeling just as clean as a shower. Very efficient!

... wow. All those tips can be summed up in one sentence:
"Make yourself as uncomfortable as possible."
No thanks. My showers are already short enough (~10 minutes), AND I'm enjoying them.

Question: why in the world would you want to drain the enjoyment from a daily ritual? There's quite enough to be depressed about in the world without purposefully depriving yourself of a bit of happiness on a daily basis. If anything, you should find ways to enjoy your routines more. So sure, try to take shorter showers (time yourself if you need to, or use the ipod playlist thing or what have you), but don't turn them into a chore.

@ Silverflame

agreed-

if really necessary, boil a tea kettle worth of water, grab a pitcher, mix 3/4 boiled water and 1/4 cold and use to bathe..

maybe we should start washing our dishes with sand as well///

I recently put a little travel clock into my shower stall to keep myself to 10 minutes or less. (attached it to the tile with velcro.) I shower pretty much every day since I exercise basically every day & find I break out on my face if I don't wash my hair regularly.
Since putting the clock in there, I've learned that I'm fastest if I shampoo & rinse then apply face wash, conditioner & soap up then rinse all at once. doing this, I've been able to get down to about 7-8 minutes/shower.
If I'm shaving my legs (which i do about 1x/week), I fill an empty cottage cheese container (that I keep in the shower for this purpose) with water. I later up my legs, rinse my hands with the hand-held shower spout then turn the water off. I use the water in the container to rinse the razor blade as I go. Even though I don't pay for water at my condo, I feel better doing it this way since I cringe to think how much water I used to waste as I would meticulously shave before (sometimes it takes me up to 30 minutes to shave everything).