Bookmark this tip for your next camping trip. One smart mom shared an incredible way to wash your dishes while saving water while living out of a camper.
The scoop
The video, shared on YouTube, shows how the Falzon Family (@thatfalzonfamily) saves water while going off-grid in their camper van.
The clip starts with Mrs. Falzon showing a large collapsible bucket full of dishes soaking in the sink. She explains that because they are off-grid, they have to make sure their van has enough water. To clean all their dishes, even when traveling with kids, the family uses as little water as possible.
First, she takes all the soaking dishes out of the bucket and empties the dirty water. Then she scrubs every dish with soap and a sponge "without turning the tap on." Next, she places the bucket back in the sink, rinses all of the dishes, and catches all of the water in the bucket.
She then leaves that soapy water and bucket in the sink to use as a pre-soak for the next round of washing up. At the end of the clip, viewers can see just how little water was needed to get a whole load of dishes clean.
How it's working
In this particular case, the Falzon family needs to conserve water for their whole trip. While this may not be relevant to your day-to-day life, you can use this same method to conserve water at home. Easy ways to conserve water and save money at home include using a rain barrel to water your garden and installing efficient fixtures.
Water conservation is an important part of leading a more eco-friendly life, and if you live in a place where you have to pay a water bill, it can save you money each month. In certain places, like Utah, Colorado, and California, water availability has been uncertain due to many years of drought.
The U.S. Department of the Interior reported, "Almost 93 percent of the western United States is experiencing drought or abnormally dry conditions." Much of this drought is due to historically low water levels in the Colorado River basin.
Only a small percentage of the water on the planet is freshwater, and due to the warming of the planet, our water supply is at risk around the world. The EPA reported, "40 out of 50 state water managers expect water shortages under average conditions in some portion of their states over the next decade."
What people are saying
Commenters were impressed with this dishwashing method.
One person said, "Great idea we would never have thought of that even after 3.5 years on the road."
Someone else wrote, "I use a bucket as well."
The Falzon Family responded to another commenter who asked, "Do you have a different system for washing things that need to be sanitized such as a cutting board you cut raw chicken on?"
They replied, "Yeah absolutely, not in the same bucket."
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