Speedy

There's a big push on saving water in Melbourne. Our water storage levels are frighteningly low, and, while it may have been raining a lot over the past week, we're now a parched city.

We're on 3A water restrictions, which means watering the garden is restricted to twice a week between 6 and 8am, among other things. In an attempt to prevent us moving to level 4 restrictions, the government has launched a big campaign about reducing everyone's personal water consumption to 155 litres per day, with the four minute shower at the heart of the campaign.

They were handing out tiny four minute hourglasses at Flinders Street Station earlier in the week, so I now know that I already take a speedy shower - two minutes without washing my hair, three minutes with. All well and good, with an interesting side affect. While showering this morning, I took to making deals with myself, considering when I was next going to shave my legs - a two minute job? - and exfoliate said legs in preparation for summer fake-tannery. If I washed my hair this morning, and shave one leg (I'm wearing jeans today), I can shave my other leg and exfoliate both legs tomorrow.

Modern life. So complicated.

(On a related matter, someone I spoke to recently was amazed that my 13 year old son still takes a bath rather than a shower. But my way of thinking, it saves more water to have all three kids use the same bath water - separately! - than have him take a shower, while the other two use a bath. I'm keeping the serial bathing going as long as I can.)