Preventing water from being used wastefully—it’s an issue on a lot of people’s minds these days. Even so, many homeowners aren’t fully aware of all the ways in which they use too much water. With that in mind, we offer these helpful tips for cutting down on your home’s water usage.

We know—there’s nothing quite like a hot shower to wake you up properly in the morning. But there’s really no reason to stay in there for extended periods of time, and it wastes a lot of water too.

A five-minute shower is really all you need, so try to hit that target. Another trick is to replace your old shower head, which may not be as efficient as newer models.

Once you’re done using water to cook, don’t just toss it down the sink. You can reuse it later to water your plants. Just let it sit for a while so it can cool down before you give it to your botanical friends.

Around 2.5 gallons of water pours out of your faucet per minute if you let it run continuously. That’s a lot of water going down the drain while you clean your molars. There’s a simple solution: Just turn off the faucet while you brush.

Again, a lot of people have the habit of just letting the faucet pour water all over the place during this particular task. It’s unnecessary—and wasteful. While you’re washing the dishes, you can save a significant amount of water simply by shutting off the water until it’s time to rinse your glasses and plates.

Here’s another area where outdated fixtures tend to use too much water by today’s standards. If possible, try to replace your old toilet with a relatively efficient one. It should result in significant savings over the long run.

If you own a garden or spacious front lawn, then you may be in the habit of using a hose or sprinkler system to give it a healthy allowance of H2O. There’s another way to use water for this purpose: Set a barrel outside to collect rain during downpours. This should give you all the water you need—without running up your utility bill.

Or how about this? Instead of watering your lawn, you can get an artificial lawn that doesn’t need watering at all.

Artificial turf looks just like the real thing, and it can last for 10-20 years with minimal maintenance. It’s also resistant to insect damage—because it has no nutritional value to these critters.

Founded in 2006, Turf-N manufactures and installs high-quality artificial grass lawns for commercial and residential customers. The

company is based in Riverside, CA and serves customers throughout the state as well as parts

of Oregon, Washington, and Texas. For more information, please visit turfntheworld.com.