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5 DIY projects you can use to save water and energy at home

Saving energy and water in your home is not that hard a task. There are plenty of ways in which you can do this in an easy and effective manner. For instance, take a look at these five DIY projects that will help you reduce utility costs and save plenty of water as well as energy in your home. These DIY ideas will also work great in case you decide to go off the grid or are camping in a remote location with limited access to water or power sources.

Outdoor solar / wood fired ovens

Outdoor solar  fired ovens

Image Source : HerbanGardener.Com

Summer is a great time for outdoor parties. It will also give you the perfect excuse to cook outside, thus preventing the heat from the kitchen spreading throughout your home. While grills are great for outdoor cookouts, the most energy efficient option will be a solar powered or wood fired oven. A solar oven will take less than a few minutes to be assembled. In most cases, all you need is a cardboard and a windshield sun reflector or an aluminum foil to let the sun cook your food to perfection.

Rainwater storage

Water flowing into rain barrel

Gardening can consume a lot of water. One way to avoid this is to collect rainwater and use the same for gardening instead. While placing barrels out in the open during the monsoon season is one idea, setting up a roof gutter that lets the runoff water into a barrel system can also work well. Again, another option is to add an extra tank to the roof of your house. You can open up the tank to collect rainwater and use the same to wash clothes and flush the toilets in addition to gardening.

Greywater treatment

Greywater treatment

Image Source : NyTimes.Com

Greywater refers to the water collected from washing machines, tubs, showers and sinks around the house. Even though they may be dirty, the water from these areas can be reused again. A DIY greywater treatment system is therefore, a great way to recycle this waste water to water the plants in the garden. A gravity based greywater system is the easiest to maintain and lasts the longest was well. With it, you will be able to set up planters as well as wetlands for irrigation purposes as well.

Manual laundry machine

Manual laundry machine

Going off grid means you need to let go of all the things that consume electricity. This may include one appliance you cannot do with today, the washing machine. Washing clothes manually is a cumbersome chore as well. Thankfully, this issue can be taken care of easily with the help of the Wonder Wash.

This manual laundry machine features a drum like apparatus that comes with a hand crank. The machine can wash up to 5 pounds of clothing at a time and can do this in just about 5 minutes. It also uses less water and detergent than standard washing machines. Plus, you get to enjoy a workout while cranking the machine to wash the clothes.

Solar Stills and Water Filters

Drink plenty of water

Water filtration systems can be quite expensive to install and maintain. However, if you considering going off grid, you will need access to a water filtration system that will provide you with clean water for drinking and cooking purposes. You can make your own DIY water filter with plastic pitchers or buckets. DIY solar stills are also great options for off grid locations and can help you purify water via distillation.

There are plenty of ways in which you can save energy and water in your home. These DIY ideas will help you save utility costs to a great extent while also helping you survive efficiently in off grid locations.

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