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I came across a good article by Stephanie Andre and posted by RISMEDIA yesterday that hits on a subject that we’ve all heard and read about many times in the last few years…water conservation.

Summer is nearing the end soon and here are some tips that we can all adhere to in order to use/consume less water and do our part to make a difference.

1. Water your lawn only when it needs it. An easy test to tell if your lawn needs water is to simply walk across the grass. If you leave footprints, it’s time to water. (An added benefit of watering less often is that fewer, deep-soaking waterings encourage deep root growth and stronger turf.)

2. Water in the early morning. As much as 30 percent of water can be lost to evaporation by watering during midday.

3. Set your lawn mower one notch higher to make your lawn more drought-tolerant.
4. Use drip irrigation hoses to water plants, and water in the early morning or evening.

5. Use a broom instead of a hose to clean your sidewalk, driveway, or patio.

6. Forego the hose and wash your car with a bucket and sponge instead. According to EPA WaterSense, a hose left running can waste as much as six gallons per minute while a bucket and sponge uses only a few gallons to do the job.
7. Keep a bottle of cold tap water in the refrigerator. You’ll avoid the cost and environmental impact of bottled water and you’ll have cold water available in the summer without running the faucet.

8. Run dishwashers and clothes washers only when they are full. If you have a water-saver cycle, use it.

9. Adjust the water level of your clothes washer, so that it matches your load size.

10. Regularly check your toilet, faucets and pipes for leaks and have them fixed promptly. An easy test for toilet leaks from EPA WaterSense: Place a drop of food coloring in the tank. If the color tints the water in the bowl without flushing, there’s a leak. Check your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter changes at all, you probably have a leak.

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There are many homes for sale in the Lodi and Stockton areas that are now empty due to foreclosure and/or a short sale situation, and since no one is living in the house, then no one is watering the lawns or flushing the toilets.  This can of course cause damage to the grass and plumbing of these homes.  This is not the same as water consumption.  Some of these homes are unsightly in their appearance, but it won’t take much for them to be brought back to life and beautify the neighborhood once again.

Well, I hope you can use at least a couple of these tips and implement them into your routine.  It WILL make a difference.

Make it a great day!

In spite of the heat the performers were all great and put on a really good performance.  I’m sure they were all hot as well.  Howie Day started off the concert, followed by Colbie Caillat, then Hoobastank, and the closing act belonged to Train.

This was the first concert I had been to in a long time.  Especially an outdoor concert.  I’ve attended some indoor performances to see Boyz to Men, David Lee Roth, Dido, and even some of my favorite comedians like Howie Mandel and Jerry Steinfeld.

The outing was to celebrate our friend Keith Burgad of Burgad Imaging in Lodi turning 40 years old.  Happy Birthday Keith!

One of our friends that also attended was Tamera of iSpiProperties, which is a real estate investor client of mine.  I have helped her find and purchase two properties in Stockton recently that she has completely remodeled inside and out.  You can view one of those properties here on my site.  It’s located at 8339 N. Pershing Ave.

We took four of our children and one of their friends to make it a real ‘family outing’, and they sure had fun!  There was a Kids Zone with giant inflatable slides, bounce houses, etc.  There was even a firetruck there that would occasionally turn on their main water cannon to cool down not only the kids, but anyone that was looking for a quick way to cool down.  Our kids really loved that part.

There was good food, plenty of drinking water, great friends and of course great entertainment.  In spite of the blistering heat it was a really great day.

I hope you all had a good weekend as well, and found ways to stay cool.  Be sure to stay hydrated on the hotter days by drinking extra water.  Remember to not drink any sugary beverages because they’ll only make you more thirsty.