We use water for personal hygiene (bathing, washing of face and hands), laundry, cooking and dish washing as well as maintenance of the house (plant watering, floor washing, and window cleaning)

Plan your usage so that you do not use more than necessary. For example, do not use the washing machine for anything less than a half-load. You may be able to adjust the water level but it is still sub-optimal in term of water usage.

Take short showers instead of long baths. Install ultra-low-flow showerhead. Turn off the tap when you are soaping. Also, stop the water from flowing while shaving or washing your face. Use a tumbler for brushing teeth instead of washing from a running tap.

Wash dishes by hand. Use the sink or a basin filled with water for the first rinse after soaping. Then quickly rinse under a slow flowing stream from the faucet.

There is no need to thaw frozen foods with water if you defrost the food overnight in the refrigerator or by using a thawing board. Avoid using the defrost setting on your microwave to save on electricity.

The kitchen sink garbage disposal system requires a lot of water to operate effectively. Consider starting a compost pile to handle food waste instead of using the kitchen sink garbage disposal. Garbage disposals can also contribute to maintenance problems by adding substantial solid waste to the septic tank.

Do not use hose for washing car. A bucket and sponge is just as effective and uses much less water.

Install water-saving devices like a dual flush toilet or water closet. If you have the old single flush system, you can improvise a simple device to reduce the amount of water used for each flush. For a more complete flush, simply flush twice. To reduce the amount of water used for flushing, use a suitable size water container. It can be a plastic can or a mineral water bottle. Do not use plastic bag. Fill the container with water and place it inside the water tank of the cistern. Make sure that the water container will be obstruct the flushing mechanism of the cistern. Plastic bags cannot be used because they will easily foul up the lever and valve. The amount of water saved for each flush will be equivalent to the size of the water container. You can experiment with different sizes of water container to determine the best one for a single flush. Most older cisterns are 9 litres capacity while the water saving dual flush system uses half that volume. So you can save up to 4 litres of water for each flush. To avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily, dispose of tissues and hand paper towel in the trash rather than the toilet.

Installing a simple rubber thimble in your tap will reduce the flow rate. It does not necessarily mean a less efficient or effective flow rate. For example, the flow rate of the faucet or water tap is often too much for normal washing of hands. By reducing the flow rate, you will save up to 80% of water usage for washing of hands. You can make your own water saving thimble. What you need is a rubber disk the size of the faucet. Punctuate a few pinhead-size holes and you have a water-saving thimble. You can also use a large round clothing button if you can find one that is the right size. To install, unscrew the outlet end of the faucet. Place the water-saving thimble inside and screw back. Test the water flow rate to see whether it is acceptable. If the flow rate is too weak, make the punctuated holes bigger.