बिन पानी सब सून

Since my school days, I loved reading poetry in my language textbooks. The rhythmic couplets by one of the finest Hindi poet and saint Rahim Ji have been most cherished gems for me that would always mesmerise me for holding enough wisdom for an entire lifetime. His poetry repleted with wisdom stands true to its deepest meaning in our lives even after centuries and continues inspiring me till date. 

When I came across this amusing Paani Bachao, Cutting Mangao! themed video that talks about curbing wastage of water by asking for only the quantity of water that you want to drink; the first thing that clicked my mind was Rahim Ji's doha 

'रहिमन पानी राखिये, बिन पानी सब सून, 

पानी गए न ऊबरे मोती मानुष चून।'

which means Water is most important. As without water, there is no Wealth, Life or Earth.

Well! Many of you might think that there is enough freshwater available on the planet for current population of the world, but the present scenario must be considered as a warning sign to indicate that the demand for water is set to outpace supply by a broad margin very soon. 

In the direction to spread awareness to save water, Livpure has come up with #CuttingPaani initiative that urges all of us to pitch in for a noble cause to cut back water usage.

I bet there might be plenty of reasons that have made most of us guilty of wasting water knowingly or unknowingly, however consider following some mindful ways to save water that may still conserve this finite commodity and preserve water for the generations to come...

Water Saving Tips for Inside and Out:

At Bathroom/Toilet:

• Now this may sound weird to you... how about a mid-shower pee habit?? Researches have proved that if your first pee of the day is while having your morning shower, it's the best tactic to save gallons of water that would be used to flush urine away.
• Get the dual flush toilet cistern installed in toilets that are water-efficient. Choose between full-flush or half-flush to decide the amount of water released in each flush. 
• Installing a flow-restrictor is yet another way, if replacing your old toilet pots is not possible.
• Switch to showerheads or handshowers that control water flow to nearly 40 percent and make a big difference when it comes to saving water during shower.
• Set your hot water system thermostat/ geysers at a temperature that suits your body. Adding cold water repeatedly to lower the temperature of extremely hot water wastes lot of water every morning in your bathroom.

At Laundry:

• Don't use your washing machine every day if the full load is not ready, simply sort your clothing periodically and wash bigger loads more efficiently. 
• The graywater drained out of any of your non-toilet domestic fixtures like bathtubs, showers, sinks,washing machine etc. can be reused in various ways like floor mopping. If you use no sodium detergent, it is also safe to spray on plants with little or no treatment.
• Prefer washing with cold water whenever possible and adjust the correct mode/setting of your washing machine that best fits the type of laundry.

In Kitchen:

• Use proper pans/pots for cooking depending on the size of meal you're cooking, it will need lesser water to cook and wash.
• Designate one glass per person to drink water or other beverages for entire day and it would need you do fewer dishes.
• Scrape leftover food debris into the trash from the dishes to avoid pre-rinsing.
• Repurpose the water used in steaming or boiling your food for soups, stocks and gravy. It's quite nutritious too.
• The water dripping out from RO water purifiers can be collected in big cans/buckets and it would easily survive for watering your lawn, washing your vehicles. 

Beyond all the necessary care taken, it's extremely important to know the location of emergency water shutoff valve of your home/office and also the understanding of how to operate it. I had personally experienced it at my newly shifted house that in the case of a leaking faucet, it took me so long to locate the valve in absence of my husband and I still feel sorry about the incident that I took so much time to shut the water off in that emergency situation. Make sure any kind of leakage must be fixed immediately.

I would also stress upon supporting water conservation education to instill a sense of conservation in your children because the future lies in their hands.

I've decided to change my old habits that are causing me costs because -

"Thousands have lived without Love, but no one without Water." 

If you feel for the cause, do sign the petition to make a positive imapct.