S(h)ave water

There I was standing in front of the sink, getting ready for my weekly shaving ritual and a couple of minutes into my shave and rinse routine, it suddenly dawned on me…  “shit, California is in a drought.  WTF am I doing keeping the faucet running this entire time!?!?!?!”

Once I got over my act of stupidity, I suggested a meeting with the MP team and with a little help from the creative juice (aka an alcoholic beverage), we’ve come up with Operation Save Willy - since everyone has a code name for a worthwhile cause (in reference to a movie from the 90s where a boy risks everything to save a whale).  Below are a few “Water Friendly” ideas ManPossible put together to show our contribution to the growing water crisis in California:

Shaving

Bad:  A good number of men (myself included) tend to leave the water running while shaving.  It’s a common habit to run the blade across the hair grain a couple of times before rinsing the debris through running water.  Let’s face it, it’s quick and easy.  And quite honestly, most of us don’t know any other way!

Good:  Our advice (tested and proven successful) is to have a cup or bowl handy when shaving.  Fill the cup or bowl with warm water and leave it to the side.  After a few “runs” across your face, simply dip the head of your razor into the cup/bowl and give it a good swirl.  The physical force should be enough to remove the excess shaving cream and hair off the blade.  You can repeat the dip and swirl process several times before dumping out the water and refilling the cup/bowl.  We found this method to be just as effective, if not more effective at rinsing out the particles than holding your razor under a stream of running water.  

Brushing Teeth

Bad:  Look Ma, no cup!  Here is my confession number 2.  More often than not, I tend to leave the water running when brushing my teeth.  No, I do not use a cup to rinse!  It’s much easier for me to cup my hands or bring my mouth to the running water for rinsing.

Good:  Even little Timmy who is in grade school will agree that using a cup filled with water for rinsing your mouth is the right thing to do.  If you are a manly man, try using beer mugs…  wine glasses, if you are a gentleman…  or even shot glasses as an alternative, if you are a frat boy…  Whatever suits your taste!  If you are a self-proclaimed genius like we are, you can simply brush your teeth while in the shower (we came up with that during our creative brain storming session).

Shower

Bad:  There are so many things one can do wrong when it comes to showering.  However, there are no greater crimes than to leave the water running WHILE:  1) Applying shampoo.  2) Applying soap or body wash.  Not only are you wasting water, but you are also defeating the purpose of allowing the cleaning agent to take full effect.

Good:  The simplest means to conserving water while showering is to:  1) Turn off the water when applying body wash or shampoo.  2) Bring a small bucket (or a plastic BIG GULP cup from 7 Eleven) with you into the shower and use it to catch the running water as you are applying the cleaning agents.  Then shut off the shower while lathering up and scrubbing your dead skins cells off.  You can then pour that bucket / cup of clean water over yourself, turn the water on again and proceed…  just pretend your doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge everytime you’re lathering up!  3) A wise friend whom we shall call Captain Planet once told me, “couples should shower together to save water”!  We at ManPossible applaud such innovative thinking and give you the nod of respect.  Just being creative… but make sure you don’t take a looooong shower!

Conclusion

As cliché as it may be, we only have one earth (one California since MP is in the Golden State) and it’s up to every one of us to make sure it’s properly looked after for future generations.  Gentlemen, this is our destiny.  We challenge you to share other ways to save water while staying properly groomed.  You too can contribute your ideas via comments (below), email, Facebook, or Twitter! 

by ManPossible

Photo used under Creative Commons from docentjoyce, Pete, Christine Zenino