Frugal Friday

OK, let's be honest here.  How many times have you gone out and turned your hose on to water something in the garden, only to get involved in another project and forget all about the hose that is running?  I know I have done it. I just did it the other day and I was outside the whole time and still I forgot it was on.   I just got involved it another task and the running hose slipped my mind.  It is easy to do, especially if you are trying to multi task and get other chores done while the hose is running.  I have been trying to think of a way to solve this problem.  Since I just did this a couple days ago, it is fresh in my mind, but other than putting sticky notes all over the place, including on myself, I didn't really come up with a good solution. 

So imagine my surprise when  I came in this morning, logged onto the blog, and saw the answer right there in front of me.  On the left side of the blog is a daily water saving tip widget. Most of the tips I have already seen and I know about them.  However,  today's tip was one I hadn't seen before.    It said to set a kitchen timer when watering with a hose so you don't forget about it.   How simple, easy and cheap is that?  And it is such a simple thing that I am sitting here scratching my head and wondering why the heck didn't I think of that?

 Most everyone has a kitchen timer and if you don't, they are easily obtainable at a hardware store, kitchen store, grocery store or discount store and are very inexpensive. You can take it outside with you and put it in your pocket if you are working in the yard.  If you are working inside, just take it with you and put it in what ever room you are working in.  When it goes off, you will be reminded to go turn off your hose. If you are like me and wear an old apron when working in the yard, just stick it in your apron pocket and you are good to go.    Which brings us back to the whole point of Frugal Friday anyway.  By watering our gardens in the most efficient way possible, we will not only save water, which is good for our water table,  but it will keep our water bills down as well, thereby saving us money.  And who doesn't want to save money as well as the environment?

So there you have it.  If you are like me and tend to forget the hose is running, invest in a kitchen timer and get in the habit of setting it each and every time you turn the hose on and soon forgotten hoses will be a thing of the past.