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Reduce Your Bathroom Water Waste

Photo credit: Hemera Collection/Thinkstock

Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that the bathroom is where over half of our household water usage takes place? What are some ways to take a bite out of that?
-- Shelby McIntyre, Chico, CA

YYes indeed, some 60 percent of our household indoor water usage happens in the bathroom. As such, updating old leaky fixtures and changing a few basic habits could go a long way to not only saving fresh water, an increasingly precious resource, but also money.

Diary of a New Homemaker
for Thursday, March 1, 2012

Happy 13th Birthday, TNH!

The New Homemaker is 13 years old today! I wonder if it'll start getting petulant and slamming doors on me now--which is a weird thing to say, considering that my (human) teenager doesn't do that. I don't even get that many rolled eyes, though I do get the occasional incredulous stare.

When I started this website, that 14-year-old was 18 months old. I was in the first flush of staying home with a child, and I didn't know what I was doing. The only thing that's the same now is that I still don't know what I'm doing half the time!

A Seasonal Taste:

Ask the Miserly Mom: Frugal Gardening Tips

:I want to be able to landscape my yard, but flowers and shrubs are so expensive. I've tried to plant some perenials so they'll continue to bloom every year, but our yard still needs lots of work. Any suggestions on finding inexpensive plants, shrubs, and or trees? I'm tempted to go to the woods and look for things to steal every spring! And we all know that's not right. Please help if you can.

--Catherine

A Taste of the Managing Money Section:

Be Ready to Bid

hen shopping for a home in a hot seller's market, it's important to move quickly when you spot a good deal. But if you don't know how much you can afford, where you want to live, and what your "must have" items are, you may see that home slip away to another, better prepared, buyer.