My neighbor called me out for running the hose while washing my car

I live over in Phoenix where water is always an issue but I never really thought about it. One Saturday I was out washing my car with the hose running the whole time like I always did. My neighbor from three doors down came over and said hey you know you're wasting like 50 gallons doing that right? I kind of laughed it off at first but then I looked it up later and yeah he was pretty much right. So I switched to a bucket and one of those shutoff nozzle things. I still get the car clean it just takes a little more scrubbing. Has anyone else had a neighbor give them a reality check on something small like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

jennifer_jenkins23d ago

That line about "I never really thought about it" really stuck out to me. You lived in Phoenix your whole life and water shortages never clicked until a neighbor said something? How long did it take you to actually look up how much water you were wasting - like did you go inside right after he walked away or did it take a few days? And be honest, did you secretly think he was just being nosy at first? Because I feel like most people would get defensive before they actually check the facts.

theagibson23d ago

Grabbed my water bill right after he walked away and did the math that night.

wells.olivia23d ago

That line about 'I never really thought about it' hit me hard too. Same thing happened to me but with food waste, neighbor pointed out I was throwing out half my leftovers every week. Made me feel like an idiot but at least I changed my habits.