At the time of this writing, it's winter. When you talk about being water wise, people immediately think of things for the outside of their homes, like watering their lawns, or watering outside plants, washing cars, etc.   

But what people don't realize is that leaks in the home, just one little leaky faucet, can lose over 3000 gallons of water a year!  That's enough for over 180 showers!  (Thanks EPA for that fun fact)

While I was paying my water bill the other day, I saw this cute little flier that has some great tips on it!  Let me expand upon some of them, just a little bit.

Obviously, check for leaks both inside and outside the home.  Those leaks can add up fast.

Only run full loads of laundry and dishes.  Not only does this waste water, but electricity too.

Silent toilet leaks are another source of wasted water.  Monthly, or so, put a dye tablet or a few drops of food coloring in the tank and wait.  If the bowl starts to turn that color, you've got a leak!  Toilet stoppers are inexpensive and easily interchageable by anyone!  And if doesn't leak, don't worry.  The colored water won't harm your toilet or plumbing.

If you haven't by now, PLEASE winterize your irrigation and insulate your outdoor faucets.  The littlest water left in those pipes will freeze and cause them to burst!  No one wants to pay for those repairs, much less a higher water bill!

Use rain barrels to collect water, then use that water for your outdoor needs.  This can decrease your water use by at least 1,300 gallons annually.  Even if you aren't a gardener, you can use it for other things too!  We use ours to rinse off outside tools, and to rinse off muddy shoes and boots.  If you have 4 legged friends with muddy paws, it's perfect for rinsing them off too!  When my kids were little, we used the rain barrel water to rinse off the driveway from their chalk creations.  Give it 10 minutes, it's dry and off they go drawing more.  And here's a mom tip:  If you have a budding artist that you want to have their creation stick around for awhile, have them draw with their chalk on the wet driveway.  When it dries, it won't wipe off as easily.  It will come off again with more water though :-)

Wasting water costs more than you think.  A few minutes here and a few choices there can help you save money on your water bill as well as help out the environment!

There's new rules for your yard waste for 2017!  All yard waste has to go in the Paper Lawn and Leaf Bags.  They aren't accepting those plastic lawn bags anymore.

If you live in the city of Annapolis, they do have plastic bins for your yard waste.  You have to go pick it up, and they're subject to availability.

The paper bags break down naturally, helping to reduce the cost to process the waste.  Maybe that will help bring our refuse bills down! :-)

The paper bags can be found at many local stores and are very inexpensive.  They're 10 bags for $3.99 at the True Value.

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So this Christmas I got one of the most unique gifts from my assistant Shawn.  She knows I love to garden, and at times, gardeners can be hard to buy for.  Then she was watching WBAL-TV and they did a little piece on the great folks over at Annapolis Green.

Annapolis Green is a nonprofit organization whose mission is "to connect, educate and motivate Greater Annapolis to protect the environment and beautify our surroundings for a strong and thriving way of life. "  They do a whole bunch of things, from organizing their monthly "Green Drinks" event, to providing sources for responsible plastics for events to composting!! 

What Annapolis Green did, was they gathered all the waste from the huge Crab Feast that is sponsored by the Rotary Club each year at Navy Stadium, and they composted it!  They sold it in 5 gallon buckets (and a smaller size too) right before Christmas.  As soon as the TV story aired, Annapolis Green took in more than enough orders to deplete their stock and then some!    Being its winter right now, I can't use my crab compost just yet, but it's in my garage, still hard at work breaking down, and will be absolutely perfect for my spring planting!

It got me wondering though, what other kinds of services are out there like this?  For those of you who may be squeamish about having your own compost pile, or who just don't want a smelly mess in your backyard, are there other options out there for you?  And the resounding answer is YES!!!

The newest company to Annapolis is Annapolis Compost.   You put your scraps into the containers provided by them, and weekly they'll swing by your home and pick it up, leaving you with a clean container.  You'll get compost back twice a year, ready for you to use in your gardens!

A quick search brought up other companies in our metro area that will compost for you too!  Veterans Compost says it's in Maryland and the DC area.  And The Compost Crew says DC and Baltimore.  

If you want to give composting a try (we promise, it's easy!), compost bins are available at all Waste Management Services recycling centers and the Recycling and Waste Reduction Division. Click here for facility hours and locations.

So even though the weather outside is not even close to being ideal to start growing things, you can start planning by composting!  :-)