Make Temporary Changes Permanent

Today I ran across an article on eartheasy with some tips on how to save water during a drought. To my surprise, these are things that we already do, even when water is plentiful. That isn't always the case, though, with these sorts of lists.

The list in the article consists of the following 5 tips: let your lawn go dormant, hand water your garden and shrub beds, wash your car using a bucket for water, keep drinking water in a jug in the refrigerator, and apply mulch to plants, shrubs, and ornamental trees. Why bother listing these if they are things we already do? Because, even though I do them, maybe others do not, but would be interested in trying these changes out. I urge you to read the linked article if you'd like more information on the tips.

The intent of this post, though, isn't to convince you to visit eartheasy and read the original article. The intent is to point out that we can use lists like these as sources for ideas of new ways to conserve. I try to always read such articles, as they often suggest things that I may not have thought of before. Sometimes I even find myself searching for tips on staying cool without an air conditioner, or saving money on electric bills just to see if I can find any new suggestions that I might want to try. Just because we have an air conditioner doesn't mean I can't benefit from tips on how to stay cool without one.

The next time you see a list like the one linked to above browse through it to see if there is anything there that you can use. If you find that you're already doing everything that is suggested, don't stop there. Spend a few minutes searching for another, similar list that may have suggestions you have not tried.

Likewise, the next time you are forced to make changes to your lifestyle to deal with a resource outage or shortage, consider whether the change is something that you could adapt to permanently. Sometimes a sacrifice that we make during a special situation can become a permanent change with little additional effort. It may be easier to make a change when we have to, than it is to make the same change for other reasons. Often, though, making the initial change is the hard part, and if we maintain the habit, even when its no longer necessary, it eventually stops feeling like a sacrifice at all.