Using water at home doesn’t usually just mean turning on the tap, a lot of the water we use needs to be heated – using energy and costing you money. Although it can feel like it rains a lot of the time, the UK has less available water per person than almost any other EU country.

Here are a few simple ways to cut down on the water and energy you use, and the money you spend:

• Take a shower instead of a bath. A five-minute shower uses a third less water than a bath so it uses less energy too.

• If you have a dishwasher, use it. An efficient dishwasher can use as little as 10% of the water needed to wash up in the sink. If you don’t have a dishwasher, instead of running the hot tap for a while until the water heats up, boil a kettle instead. Pour the boiled water into the sink while running the warming hot tap and you’ll have hot washing up water without wasting as much water.

• Water the garden with a watering can rather than the hose. It won’t take you much longer and will save you wasting water.

• Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth. The easiest of them all, this takes zero effort!