James Hutt's blog

So I have tallied up the total numbers I have used during the 25 Litre Challenge.

Here are the numbers *(week four includes an extra 2 days to make it even 30 days):

week 1   149 litres

week 2   140 litres

week 3   188 litres

Week 4* 182 litres

Total:      659 litres

Combined 30 Day Limit: 750 Litres

As you can see, I am well under the 25l/day limit! Based on average use of 155 litres per day before the challenge, I have saved 3900 litres!!

For 30 days, I used just 750 litres. The national average for 30 days is 9810 litres. If I can live off of 7.6% of what most people use, then everyone can easily reduce their use by a 100 litres or more!

 I am ecstatic to say that I have now finished all 30 days of the 25 litre Challenge!

This morning I had my first shower in a month. A full twenty minutes - it was glorious. I felt a little bit guilty about it though. Washing my hands throughout the day, I used the faucet, instead of water from a measured bottle. I honestly felt bad about letting the water run for even a second to get warm, and for just letting that water go down the drain.

One thing that has changed is that I am very conscious of the water I am using. Sure, I can flush the toilet as many times as I want now, but I still stop to think and question it. Even while other people have been using the tap, I have been fixated on how many needless seconds the water is running for.

So why did I do this challenge? Why did I decide to try and live on 25 litres a day for 30 days?... Read more »

 Day 29 - 19 litres

 Day 30 - 22 litres

My last day!!

Since I touched on virtual water, I would like to expand on that and talk about the Water Footprint concept. It is based off the idea of the ecological footprint, which is a measure of the demand a person places on earth's ecosystems. I imagine most people are pretty familiar with it, but it assesses the amount of productive land or sea needed to sustain someone based on their actions.

Based on the amount of productive land and sea around the world, and the globe's population, the amount available per person is 1.8 hectares. However, the global average use is 2.8 hectares. Obviously people from countries in the global north, by and large, use far more than people from countries in the global south.... Read more »

Day 27 - 39 litres

Day 28 - 15 litres

As I write this, today is my second last day of the 25 litre challenge. It will be really interesting to see how I transition into unrestricted water use. I imagine for the first couple days I will still be counting - I'll still be afraid to use the faucets. I will keep blogging for awhile after the challenge has ended.

 ... Read more »

Day 24 - 19 litres

Day 25 - 22 litres

Day 26 - 18 litres

Classes just started and things have been a little bit hectic.

I am nearing the end of the challenge and am getting excited as to what that could mean. Laundry will no longer take 2 hours or more! I won't dread having to flush the toilet. I'll also be able to have a warm shower. That being said, I still plan on keeping up many of the habits I have learned over the course of the challenge.

The simplest would be just using water from a container rather than the tap. This might sound odd, but by using a water bottle or other container to fill a kettle or pot to boil, or the sink for dishes, or for drinking. Using a container I find it much easier to be conscious of just how much water I am using; using just the tap, it is easy to waste a bit and it also doesn't lend itself to a clear idea of how much we are actually consuming.... Read more »