If you boil water for coffee or tea, there’s usually some hot water left over in the kettle or pot. Making hot water takes a lot of energy; don’t let that precious resource go to waste! Pour the hot water onto a washcloth and use it on your face. (Thanks for that one, Ro!) Wonderful not only in cold weather but in HOT weather too, believe it or not! I think it must have something to do with the hot water making the hot air feel cool by comparison.
Other uses for that leftover hot water in the kettle:
• pour into a greasy cookpot to rinse out the grease (and when you’re done, dump this hot water outside on a bare path of soil or driveway etc rather than down the drain, and rather than onto the yard where it could burn plants and little critters)
• pour onto a slightly used dishtowel or washcloth to give the cloth a quick refresh without having to launder
• add to your wash-bucket to create warm water for washing
• pour onto household rags and use for cleaning
• etc etc etc – how will YOU use your leftover hot water today?
More kettle tips:
• Train yourself to hear when the water has reached your preferred temperature for drinking, washing, or other use. There’s a significant energy difference between bringing water to a boil (212 Fahrenheit or 100 Celsius), and only needing to bring it to (say) 170 or 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Whether I’m using an electric kettle made of plastic, or a conventional teapot on the stove, I can hear by the sound of the water (or a certain way the kettle is ticking as it heats up) when my water is ready, and immediately turn off the kettle.
• A kettle in which you have just finished heating water, and poured the water out of, still contains enough heat so you can put a bit of cold water in the kettle and get some “free” warm water. In other words, you are capturing the heat from the kettle walls. This heat-capture technique works better with a metal kettle on the stove than with a plastic plug-in kettle.
#MindfulUse #EveryLittleBitCounts #NormalizeConservation