Cut Your Water Bill in Half

A few easy steps can slash your water bill by half or more—and protect the earth.

By the editors of Parents magazine

Repair leaky faucets. A drop per second wastes 2,700 gallons per year.
Buy faucet aerators, which reduce water flow by as much as 60 percent. They only cost about $2 each.
Insulate the pipes that run from your tank to your faucets, to shorten the time you need to wait for the water to run hot. The insulation will pay for itself in about a year.
Put a plastic milk container filled with stones in your toilet tank. It'll displace some of the water needed to refill the tank, saving about one gallon per flush. (Don't do this if you already have a low-flow toilet.)
Raise your lawn-mower blade to at least three inches—letting grass grow a little bit longer provides more shade, so the ground doesn't need to be watered as often.