We used 9300 gallons of water last month?! How in the world is that possible? DH and I take one shower a day and we bathe the children together in about two inches of water! We run the dishwasher once a day or every other day and wash probably 5-7 loads of laundry a week. Things just don't seem to add up. How many gallons do you use a month and how in the world can I change this?
Our town has issued a mandatory conservation order due to a drought and we'll be fined for anything over 4000 gallons so we are in big trouble! These are my ideas, please let me know if you have anymore!

Paper products in the kitchen
Saving bath water to flush toilets
Not running water while brushing teeth
4 minute or less showers plus possibly turning off water while shampooing and conditioning hair
Only bathing kids every other day
Wearing pants twice before washing (as a very last resort lol)

Wow, I'm not really sure how much we use, but it's just DH and I. If you currently aren't doing any of those things (with the exception of the flushing the toilet, and not running water while you wash your hair), I can see how you would use that much water, aka, if you DO run the water while brushing your teeth, or if you DO run the water in the sink while rinsing dishes to put in the dishwasher, etc. PS---I wear most of my clothes more than once before washing, especially pants! I wear my jeans about three times before I wash them, I work in an office, so they don't get dirty...I didn't think that was wierd, there's just no sense in washing EVERYTHING (some shirts, pants, etc..) every time you wear it.
Also, if you find it's much different than ever, you might check for water leaks in your pipes, even the tiniest leak can equal thousands of gallons of water!!

Do you have any leaky toilets? We had a toilet that kept running after each flush once. After we fixed it the water bill was a little better.

Also, check and see if your water company could double check your meter reading if you really think that is that far off. One time we have an electric bill that was over 1,000 dollars!!! Our meter reader read the wrong meter that month!!! We were in shock!

Seriously - you don't wash your pants every time you wear them, do you? Underpants - yes, but regular pants or jeans I wear 3-5 times unless I spill something on them or they get dirty if I'm on my knees for something or other. Do you have dehumidifiers running in your basement? If so, the water from that can be added to your laundry water or for watering plants, flushing, etc.

that's what i was thinking???!!! I wear two or three pairs of jeans all week and MIGHT wash them on sundays....i didn't think that was wierd at all. And shirts I wear to work, I generally just hang back up if I didn't spill anything or get something on them.
I really think you should try NOT washing everything you wear after the first time you wear them...it might help.

I usually wear jeans more than once, but khakis always look like they need a wash! I am an itinerant preschool teacher (I travel to different schools) for children with special needs so my work clothes often get dirty! So that's the thing about me washing pants each time I wear them. I also don't always wash sweaters-especially if I wore a camisole underneath.

It sounds like you may have a water leak somewhere. We had a underground leak one time which caused the ground to "bubble up."

Yes, as others have said check for leaks. Our water bill was very high but I didn't put much thought into it then I noticed standing water in the middle of the yard. It hadn't rained in over a week and nothing else was wet. Just this puddle in the yard for no reason. Come to find out we had a pipe bust and was causing a major leak therefore causing a very high water bill!!!

__________________
Jenifer
Proud wife to one amazing man
Proud mom to four awesome kids

April showers bring May flowers
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

this is not really a response, but i'm surprised how many other people don't wash their pants and non- intimates after every wear. we save a lot of money by not washing clothes all the time (maybe 2 loads a week). but i have a lot of single, young friends who are disgusted by the thought of wearing anything twice... i'm glad we're not the only "weird" ones out there!