Hair today, gone tomorrow!

Whats the importance of a hairstyle?

I have always thought of myself as being long-haired, even when I had short hair when I had small children. Sometimes very long, sometimes not as long.

But before Christmas, I decided to be long haired no more! Not a fashion decision, but more a lifestyle decision. My hair was quite long and very thick. If I washed it in the morning and left it dry naturally, it wouldn’t be dry until lunch time. It took hours! That was okay in the summer, but as the weather became more arctic it wasn’t practical. Hairdryers use a lot of electricity, which we don’t have an abundance of in the middle of winter. I would rather use the electricity for more fun things! So I decided to have my hair cut short enough that I can just dry it with a towel. I knew I wanted it to be very short at the back and sides and maybe slightly longer at the front, other than that I had no idea!

I made an appointment Molby’s  in St Neots with Jema, who turned out to be amazing. (I have no idea which hairdressers would be good so I chose one at random!) We looked at some pictures and she made some suggestions and I ended with an amazing, short haircut!

It takes about 2 minutes to dry and didn’t need any styling at all, perfect!

Since Christmas, we have had 2 Strong Stream Advice notices (A boat drought?!), which has meant we can’t travel to get water. We are already quite good at saving water, but I have realised how much less water it takes to wash my hair now that it is short! An added bonus!

I recently read about the South African water crisis.  It sounds terrible. Running out of water must be very scary. I read about the changes people had made to their lives to save water. They have some great ideas, but living on a boat where water is sometimes finite is still the best way to be forced to save water!

In my paid role I am often asked to write top 10 lists – so I guess people must like them! I thought I would put that into action for you lucky people!

Here is my Top 10 List for saving water

1. Running taps. We all know that keeping the tap running while brushing our teeth wastes water, but running the cold water to get to the hot water wastes at least as much. Save the cold water in a jug and use it for tea!
2. Turn the water off while lathering. Turn the shower on to make yourself wet. Turn it off. Apply shower gel. Turn water on to rinse shower gel off.
3. Wash rather than showering. Washing uses a pint or so of water. Showering (even using above technique) uses many times more.
4. Measure the water you put in the kettle. So you only boil what you need. This saves gas or electricity too.
5. Lose the loo! Chemical toilets (portapotties) use much less water than plumbed in toilets or pump out toilets. Composting toilets don’t use any (more about them in a future post, you lucky people)! It’s not practical to change the toilet in a house, but a dual flush system will help, or just flush less!

   

6. Wash up less. I love this tip! Wait until you have enough washing up to need a bowl of water. No more washing up cups as they are dirtied! Just remember to wash up at some point… And don’t forget to save the cold water that comes through before the hot!
7. Washing. Don’t wash clothes unless they are actually dirty!
8. Washing 2. This is for the hardcore (or desperate) water saver! Wash in the morning (or whenever suits you). Once you have finished washing, pop some clothes washing detergent in your wash water. Wash your top, underwear and socks from the day before. Rinse with the water you saved while waiting for the water in the tap to warm up (see point 1). Then you only have big items that need a washing machine and no wasted water. It is a bit of a hassle, though!
9. Have short hair! Less water needed.
10. Drink wine or beer instead of water. The saving in water might be lost by the increase in liver disease, though!

    

I hope the people in South Africa manage to keep the taps on. Maybe being forced to save resources isn’t really a bad idea for all of us occasionally?