Who doesn’t love a nice long, hot shower on a cold morning? It can wake you up and make you feel energized and ready to tackle the world. The trouble is, long and hot showers can wreak havoc on your bod, bank account, and planet earth. Read on to find out why extra-long steamy stands in the shower are bad, and tips on how to cut down your soapy time.

How It Hurts

  • I know that being green has jumped up the list of priorities of many girls lately, as it should! Showering is one of the biggest ways to waste water and uses 17% of the total indoor water use. Just showering wastes 1.2 trillions of gallons of water in the US every year!
  • Being green isn’t the only reason to take shorter showers, though it’s a great one. Shorter showers can also save you a lot of money, leaving some extra $$ to go and buy something fun for summer!
  • If you cut a 45 minute shower down to a 15 minute shower, it leaves plenty of time to get other things done, like catching up on some tv, reading a magazine, or getting some extra studying in.
  • Beauty-wise, long, hot showers can dry out your skin. So to keep your skin full of moisture, take a shorter, cooler shower and avoid premature wrinkling.

How to Cut it Down

I know how nice a real long shower can be and how hard it can be to cut down on that time, but here’s some tips:

  • Don’t waste time brushing your teeth, or shaving in the shower. These can be done before or after you shower. Though, it’s better to shave your legs after a shower because your skin is exfoliated and hydrated.
  • Wash your hair first, then put conditioner in, and leave it in while you wash your body.
  • Use a shower timer. I find showers the best time for daydreaming and sometimes don’t realize how much time has passed.

 

  • Or if you really have no self-control, invest in a shower manager, which you can program to shut off after a certain amount of time.

What Do You Think?

How much time do you usually take to shower? Do you have any more time-saving tips that I missed? Leave a comment and let me know!

11 Comments

  1. avatar Taevah says:

    For music lovers out there, what I have tried doing, try making a shower playlist that times you. Say you shower for five minutes. You make a playlist that lasts up to five minutes and when the playlist stops, hop out of the shower. Save money, the planet, and have fun with your favorite tunes. :) Also the shower clock idea is great!

  2. avatar lily flower says:

    this helps so much! i timed how long i take a shower and it went all the way to 40 mins! i need to cut it down a bit!

  3. avatar atty says:

    i agree with the fact that vegetarians save more water.!
    (obvious, since i’ve done my research on that & plus i’m vegan.!)
    unfortunelty, i take hot 20 minute showers. >.<
    i'm guna try to cut down to 15, 10, then 7.
    wish me luck. :3
    go green; go veg.!

  4. avatar bubba says:

    Awh! The shower clock manager is a great idea!
    I often time myself and I take up to 45 minutes in the shower
    when it only feels like two seconds! How does that work !?
    haha x I might need a shower manager ! :D

  5. avatar Margo says:

    I love the idea of the shower clock!

  6. avatar Jennifer says:

    Jordan, you should do some research. It’s well documented that it takes an inordinate amount of water to make and consume meat the way that most humans do (i.e. factory farming, which is extraordinarily wasteful and inefficient). Waterfootprint.org lists a carnivore’s water footprint ~185,000 gallons higher per year than a vegetarian’s. The average vegetarian could shower for three hours per day, and still have a significantly lower amount of water useage than a meat-eater in the same period.

    I’d advise you to utilize Google (or the search engine of your choice) before dismissing someone’s statement as ‘stupid’.

  7. avatar eternal9 says:

    I also like the shower clock idea. We don’t usually know how much time we spent while showering.

  8. avatar Jordan says:

    jennifer, How does that save more water? That sounds stupid.

  9. avatar Jenesse says:

    thanks for helping us all save the planet a little :)

  10. avatar Jennifer says:

    I understand the sentiment behind this (and I’m definitely behind that), but becoming a vegetarian saves a heck of a lot more water than shorter showers. For the record.

  11. avatar Nishat says:

    awh cute tips! i like the shower clock idea!

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