Tampa Bay Water Blog

The holidays are fast approaching and there’s a lot that needs to be done – cooking big meals, baking holiday treats, getting the house ready for family and friends – and you’ve got gifts to buy! It’s the season to entertain, and all of the holiday cooking can involve using more water than usual.

Saving water may be the last thing on your mind during the hustle and bustle of these joyous times, but these simple water-saving tips are sure to get you on Santa’s “nice” list:

• Avoid running the tap when washing those holiday pots, pans and dishes. Instead, plug the drain, fill the sink with soapy water, then scrub and rinse.
• Wash fruits and vegetables in a small pan of water instead of under running water.
• Rather than defrosting frozen foods under running or dripping water, either defrost overnight in the refrigerator or use the defrost setting on your microwave. This can save up to 50 gallons of water.
• Save another 60 gallons weekly by brushing food scraps into the garbage can instead of rinsing them into the sink’s garbage disposal. Speaking of food scraps, be sure to keep an eye on food waste, as it tends to spike in the holiday season. This impacts our water resources indirectly – all the water and resources put into the growing, manufacturing, shipping and selling of our food goes to waste if the food ends up in a landfill. According to the USDA, a typical holiday dinner for eight requires more than 42,000 gallons of water to grow and prepare the food. That much water could fill a 30 by 50-foot swimming pool!

Bonus Tip: Are you planning to buy appliances this season? Water-efficient appliances can make great gifts and could be on sale this holiday season! Give the gift of water savings and look for WaterSense and Energy Star labeled products. Other fixtures like faucet aerators and water-efficient showerheads (both WaterSense labeled) are perfect stocking stuffers, too!