{"id":348,"date":"2022-09-20T12:15:46","date_gmt":"2022-09-20T12:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=348"},"modified":"2022-09-20T12:15:46","modified_gmt":"2022-09-20T12:15:46","slug":"water-budgeting-are-you-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=348","title":{"rendered":"Water Budgeting: Are You Ready?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By Kit Perez<\/a><\/p>\n

F<\/span>or most people \u2014 especially those living in the city and suburbs \u2014 water is a non-issue. You turn on the faucet, water comes out, and then you pay the bill. In a disaster scenario, however, water is not only extremely limited, but often needs decontamination.<\/p>\n

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When preparing for an emergency, have you given any consideration to how much water you use? Image: Shutterstock\/BlurryMe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When it comes to food, smart preppers work their preps into their everyday meals. This cuts down on the shock once grocery stores are out of items or things are simply not available. Where a lot of people fail is not learning to budget their water the same way.<\/p>\n

Why Should You Bother?<\/h2>\n

Part of understanding how much water to store means knowing how much you\u2019re using now \u2014 and how to lower that number. Why? So that if you\u2019re ever put in a situation where you have a limited water supply, it\u2019s something you already know how to operate and thrive with.<\/p>\n

Chances are good that you have no idea just how much water you use in a regular day. It\u2019s not just the water you drink, or even the water you\u2019re using for your garden. It\u2019s showering and bathing, doing laundry, using the toilet or washing dishes.<\/p>\n

\"Rain\n<\/picture>
In locales where rain collection is legal, it can serve as a fantastic method for watering your garden without affecting your overall water\u00a0budget.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We use\u00a0far<\/em>\u00a0more water than we think \u2014 in fact, estimates run between 55 and 100 gallons per day,\u00a0per person.<\/em>\u00a0If you live in a four-person household, that\u2019s as much as 200 gallons a day. If your goal is to store extra water, you\u2019re looking at an impossible task.<\/p>\n

Even if you have a sustainable source of water on your property right now, you may not later. Part of disaster prepping means being able to live and even thrive on less. And by learning how to budget water now, you\u2019ll be that much more prepared later.<\/p>\n

Traditional Methods<\/h2>\n

The concept of water conservation often brings up strong feelings. For some it\u2019s a political issue; for others it seems like an unattainable goal requiring high-tech solutions and expensive appliances.<\/p>\n

Technology has created some amazing strides in the industry. There are now toilets that can do two different levels of flush depending on the user\u2019s needs, hot water heaters that heat faster and more efficiently so you don\u2019t have to run the faucet as long to get warm water, and many public bathrooms now have faucets that automatically shut off after a few seconds.<\/p>\n

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Most water utility companies offer ways for customers to lower their monthly costs, such as upgrading appliances. There are, however, several easier \u2014 and less expensive \u2014 ways to lower your water consumption.<\/p>\n

Getting Creative<\/h2>\n

We all know about things like shutting off the water while brushing your teeth or taking shorter showers. Individual habits play a big role in water consumption, and learning to use less water means changing those habits.<\/p>\n

\"Droplet\n<\/picture>
Water is a critical resource in a disaster scenario. Have you determined how much you will need if the tap runs\u00a0dry?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When we moved from a city water system to a rural property with a cistern, we went from an unlimited water supply to having to haul our water in 200-gallon tanks. Checking our water level became a daily routine, and we learned to change our habits accordingly. Once we got animals and started growing our own food, water was even more crucial.<\/p>\n

Hot baths became a luxury instead of the norm, and we learned to run the dishwasher or the washing machine \u2014 but not both at once. It meant wearing our pajamas two nights in a row instead of automatically throwing everything in the laundry as soon as it touched our skin for more than 30 seconds.<\/p>\n

We started paying attention to the water we were using and being mindful of how much we used, instead of assuming the water was always there. We saw showers as a function instead of a 20-minute relaxation routine.\u00a0Get clean and get out<\/em>\u00a0became the new motto. We installed a showerhead that increased water pressure while decreasing the amount of water used. It was inexpensive and made a big difference.<\/p>\n

We also fashioned a system out of PVC pipe to collect rainfall from the roof. That water flowed into an IBC tote that was put on cinder blocks and hooked up to a soaker hose for gravity-fed self-watering in the garden.<\/p>\n

\"Shower\n<\/picture>
Even changing out your shower head and spending less time in the shower can make a huge difference in your overall\u00a0consumption.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At first, it was a massive adjustment. We balked and felt like we were depriving ourselves. But over time, we not only got used to it, but we saw real improvement in our water consumption. At one point we were snowed in for a while and couldn\u2019t haul fresh water \u2014 and it didn\u2019t matter, because our mindset had changed. Our water budgeting had already prepared us for doing more with less, and we got through it just fine.<\/p>\n

Putting It All Together<\/h2>\n

Water budgeting, like any other kind of disaster prep, involves changing habits. But more than anything, it involves a change in mentality. Once you see your use of resources as something you can control, you empower yourself to change how you use them \u2014 and how much is available to you in a disaster scenario.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s Note: Be sure to check out The Armory Life Forum, where you can comment about our daily articles, as well as just talk guns and gear. Click the \u201cGo To Forum Thread\u201d link below to jump in!<\/em><\/p>\n

Join the Discussion<\/span><\/h5>\n

Go to forum thread<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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By Kit Perez For most people \u2014 especially those living in the city and suburbs \u2014 water is a non-issue. You turn on the faucet, water comes out, and then you pay the bill. In a disaster scenario, however, water is not only extremely limited, but often needs decontamination. When preparing for an emergency, have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}