Parent Time

By Kiera Newman

Water logged
The average Canadian uses 335 L of water per day and heating water accounts for 150f your energy bill. Easy-to-install faucet aerators add more air to your water, allowing you to use less H2O while keeping your pressure intact.

• Kitchen faucet aerators reduce water flow by about 30%. Some have pull-down spray options and rotating heads to help clean sinks. Top pick: PlumbShop’s Water Wise Kitchen Aerator, $6.98. A bathroom sink faucet aerator will help you cut your water use from 18.2 to about 9.6 L/min.
• Today’s water-saving showerheads include massage and rain shower features, and use up to 60 0.000000e+000ss water. Look for products that also have a “shampoo trickle” setting.

Hanging out
Using a clothes dryer may be easy, but it sucks up more energy in our homes than any other appliance except the fridge. The average Canadian family produces about 416 loads of laundry each year. Now that the heat is on, why not take advantage by hanging your clothes out to dry?

• Rotary wheels provide ample drying space and start at under $50.
• Clotheslines with pulleys let you string clothes from one location. Some come with “elevators” to raise lines out of the way when loaded.
• Indoor racks can be easily placed on a deck or patio in good weather. Many can collapse for easy storage. Top pick: Alton Deluxe Tower Dryer with 30 m drying space, $36.67

Naked lunch
Pre-wrapped foods may be a quick fix on chaotic mornings, but multiply the average lunchtime litter of 30 kg per student per year by millions of school kids, and you get a mountain of trash! Here’s how to pack lunches that are spill-proof, eco-friendly and economical.

• Separate foods in containers with compartments instead of sending them individually wrapped.
• Use reusable, spill-proof drinking bottles, such as InZone’s Trekker 375 mL bottle with one-way valve and bag clasp, $5.99.
• Reinforce the message by taking your coffee in a travel mug and packing your own litterless lunch.

Originally published in Today's Parent, July 2007