Time to change my behavior (and into the next outfit!)

Looking back on the past week, I was not terribly mortified by the amount of time I spent in the shower, but there is definitely a considerable amount of time I can knock off in the next six weeks of the sustainable behavior challenge. I paid attention to the forces driving my lengthy showers and they were due to working out, unwinding after a long day, and shaving my legs.  To accurately observe my shower times, I wore a watch. When rushed I took showers ranging from nine to eleven minutes, but when I had time to “dilly dally”, they ranged from twelve to fifteen minutes. Since I knew this was my last week of unbelievably long and hot showers, I savored them. I was very much aware of my water consumption, and even felt a little guilty, but my sustainable behavior change doesn’t start until today.

Trying to come up with strategies to shorten my shower time, I realized that I could eliminate all of the barriers except for shaving my legs. Leaving the water running for the few minutes it takes to shave wastes gallons, so my solution is to turn off the water. This won’t be enjoyable, but I know it will cut off time and will probably force me to leave my legs stubbly for an extra day. At home, I’d be less likely to waste time in the shower because my family’s water and gas bill would shoot through the roof, but here at college I have less incentive to worry about that. My college tuition doesn’t increase with the amount of hot water I use for showers, so why should I care?

In an article from the Journal of Environmental Management, household water consumption, specifically shower water consumption “is more apparent when individuals believe that water is scarce and when they perceive that other consumers are also conserving water.” (Corral-Verdugo et al., 2002) This knowledgeable article talked about behaviors, economic and social models, and the barriers to changing water usage behaviors. When I hear that a girl from my hall takes 45-minute showers, I am in shock but I also feel better about my fifteen-minute showers. I shouldn’t compare the two because both shower times are extremely long, but if we use social pressures and economic incentives (to save Lafayette College money), then shower time will soon fall. We all have to take steps towards lowering our water consumption, whether it’s turning off the faucet while brushing our teeth or buying a low flow shower head, it doesn’t matter which behavior we change, as long as we attempt to lower our water usage.

 

Showers are one of the largest water consumption activities in the household, so why not try to eliminate the extra few minutes of idling in the shower? If I take small steps to decrease my shower time, and try not to use the highest water temperature, I will be decreasing my water usage.

Citation:

Jorgensen, B., Graymore, M., & O’Toole, K. (2009) Household water use behavior: An integrated model. Journal of Environmental Management. 227-236

Media Link:http://www.ourwatermatters.ca/Indoor-Water-Conservation