Navy Showers
In the seventies when there was another recession, my dad called us all to the table and had us brainstorm all the ways we could think of to save money. We were to meet back the next evening with our list and he would pay us a quarter for every idea he thought would work.
Then he shared his idea- which he called Navy Showers.
You turn on the shower and get wet, then turn the water off while you apply soap and shampoo wherever you need it. You turn the water on to rinse off.
Variations and adaptations- get a washcloth wet from the sink, soap it up and use it all over. Then turn on the shower and rinse off.
If you shave your legs in the shower, soap or condition your legs (I prefer conditioner), fill up a cup with water, and turn the shower off while you shave- rinse the razor off by swishing it vigorously in your cup of water. Turn shower back on when your done for a more thorough rinsing.
Some women save on shower time (and expense of water usage) by shaving only one leg each shower and alternating legs. Some hear that and laugh at the idea of having the luxury of showering every day, or showering long enough to shave even one leg.
I won't say we liked the Navy Showers. We complained bitterly about how cold it was in the bathroom, and having to shiver through a shower, but since we lived in the most southwestern corner of Arizona where one could live and still have electricity and running water, he didn't take the complaining very seriously.
How do you save on utility bills?
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15 Responses to “Navy Showers”
August 19th, 2011 at 12:52 am
Warm weather:
* Run fans at night to bring in cooler, night air and minimize (sometimes eliminate) A/C.
* Wear clothes multiple times and cut down on the amount of laundry
* Line dry laundry
* Cook outdoors (crock-pot, grill)
* Water garden/lawn in early morning or late evening to reduce evaporation
* Cool off in our metal-frame above-ground pool (I’m SO happy with this investment)
Cool weather:
* Wear layers
* Wood heat
* Go to bed early
Anytime:
* Wash clothes in cool or warm water rather than hot
* Cook in larger batches
* Holler at kids to close the door and turn off the lights (or charge a nickel)
* When it’s yellow let it mellow….
* Use ‘water miser’ setting on dishwasher and let dishes air dry
August 19th, 2011 at 6:14 am
Here in our part of Texas, it is very very HOT. Also we are in a big drought, the worst in about 100 years (per the ABC news last night)saving on power useage and water is mandatory.
We take a short shower. My grandsons still take a bath with just a small amount of water.
I wash every load of laundry in cold water. I line dry all of the laundry.
August 19th, 2011 at 7:06 am
This doesn’t initally sound like a savings, but my housing development doesn’t allow clothes lines.
We bought a new washer and dryer. The old set was 10 yrs old, the dryer only dried half the time, it took all day to do one load of laundry. A new dryer was a needed we bought a set, washer and dryer, less water and lower dryer time YAY, win win for power and water usage. Try to run the dryer in the morning and evening not doing the hot part of the afternoon.
August 19th, 2011 at 8:49 am
I also live in hot Texas with most days this summer being 100 or higher. Our home has several skylights which give wonderful natural light during the cooler months (notice I did not say colder) but are a real trial when it is hot.
The skylight over my kitchen island now has a pretty curtain held up with two spring curtain rods. Inside of the curtain, I have stuffed a silver reflector usually place on a car windshield to keep the interior cooler. This not only gave me greater comfort while preparing meals but also lowered our electric bill.
I also have a quilt on my sliding glass doors that enter my kitchen as my “curtain.” It too has helped comfort and bill.
August 19th, 2011 at 11:07 am
When my husband and I first dated, he had a very tiny house in which he had installed a 4-gallon water heater to save money. Four gallons! That meant there was very little hot water available for a shower! I really wanted to have hot water to rinse the shampoo out of my hair, especially in the winter, so I learned how to take Navy showers without knowing that’s what they were! lol!
August 19th, 2011 at 11:25 am
We wash clothes in cold water. A few weeks ago, when it was unbearably hot for three weeks on end, I didn’t even think about using the stove for cooking. If it couldn’t be microwaved, crockpot-ed, grilled, or eaten cold, we didn’t eat it.
August 19th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
Navy Showers were a great idea however, most Sailors would just ignore them and waste water which often resulted in Water Hours aboard many ships. Years ago the Navy came up with a handheld shower nozzle that required pressing down a button to make it work, the spring on the nozzle was so strong that even Superman could not hold it down for any length of time. The thing is almost indestructible so no tampering with it. Something similar for home use would be great, especially if you have kids.
August 20th, 2011 at 8:55 am
In hot weather, we put the crockpot, rice cooker, etc. on the back deck so they don’t heat up the house.
August 21st, 2011 at 5:27 pm
I have begun washing all clothes in cold water. You’d think they wouldn’t be as clean but the quality of laundry detergent these days makes it not so.
August 23rd, 2011 at 2:42 pm
I’m a big believer in military showers…I hate watching water (i.e., my money) go down the drain. ONE way we save: we turn the AC up so it doesn’t kick on as often but keep all the fans going so we don’t feel hot.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:54 pm
I haven’t gone to Navy showers (although my ds’s friend’s parents do), but when our old low flow shower head broke, I replaced it with an even lower flow, 4.8 litres (about 1.25 gallon) per minute shower head. Less $$ on hot water AND we no longer have to worry about a 40 gallon heater not being big enough for a family of 6. Even the 12yo doesn’t empty the tank with his showers.
August 27th, 2011 at 5:55 pm
I have a couple kids with incredibly thick hair. Those low-flow shower heads make it impossible to rinse their hair. One of them has hair so thick that I can spray it and spray it, even pour a bucket of water over it, and there’s still a two inch layer of bone dry hair beneath a shell of wet hair.
When I was a kid and we were not yet doing Navy Showers, my dad would just turn off the hot water heater when he saw me heading toward the shower.
August 29th, 2011 at 8:44 am
During the summer, I turn off the furnace that powers the “instant hot water” (tankless hot water) after showers in the AM or PM (my children are small so I can mandate when that takes place). Then leave it off until I need to run the dishwasher or next set of showers. The furnace turns on several times in 8 hours when on so I am hoping I am saving some of that precious and expensive heating oil!
August 29th, 2011 at 8:45 am
Oh, and close heavy dark drapes in the windows where the sun beats in to reduce AC costs during the dog days of summer…
August 31st, 2011 at 1:12 am
If it couldn’t be microwaved, crockpot-ed, grilled, or eaten cold, we didn’t eat it.
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