For most people today, every month along comes another water bill. For some, sewer usage and charges are tagged on to that water bill which can make it fairly high. Learning to conserve water is very important for today's environment. Here are a few of the many things that can be done to cut water usage:

1. Make sure your home does not have any leaks. This can be done very easily if there is access to your water meter. Shut everything in the home and check the water meter. It should not be moving at all. If it is, then process to shut the main valve to see if there is a leak between the meter and the home. If a leak has been located, make sure to repair them right away.

2. If you are using an irrigation system to water the lawn that has a timer, install a rain sensor so that it does not come on when it is raining. Better yet, only use the irrigation system manually so that you can time its use according to the weather.

3. Collect rain water to water plants and landscape.

4. Make sure that all fixtures in the home are water efficient models.

5. Change out older toilets for water efficient models. These have been on the market for quite some time now.

6. Don't run the water when washing dishes by hand. Allow the dishes to soak, scrub and then rinse.

7. Only run full loads of laundry.

8. Run the dishwasher only when it is full.

9. Shorten your shower by one or two minutes. Do not spend time shaving in the shower.

10. Don't let the water run when brushing your teeth or shaving.

11. Don't thaw frozen foods with running water. Place foods in the refrigerator to thaw. This is also a food safety method.

12. Keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator instead of running the water for a cold drink.

13. Don't let the water faucets drip in order to avoid frozen pipes. Insulate the pipes instead.

14. Don't run the hose while washing your car or truck. Better yet, bring it to a self car wash that recycles the water and has power sprayers.

15. Don't throw tissues, cigarettes or anything else into the toilet. Use the trash can instead.

There are many more ideas out there for water conservation that should be given consideration. It is important for our environment but also important for our pockets. As water costs keep rising, each one of us will be looking for newer ways to save water just like we are doing with electric usage. The days of waste are over as each one of us must examine our lifestyles and make the effort to conserve.