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My first public orgasm nearly happened in eight grade, when the generously endowed Rhonda Worwick came to school in a shirt saying “Save water—shower with me.”

While the idea of showering in the embrace of a beautiful classmate is universally appealing, the first part of her proposition—“save water”—is harder to embrace. We North Americans continue to have long (and solo) showers and big deep baths. Even us Al Gore fans who are aware of the current and growing global water crisis seem to let our worries and consciousness flow down the suburban drain at shower time.

Installing low-flow shower heads always makes the top ten list of easy ways to save the earth (and deservedly so), but how about changing our habits? The fancy shower head is a great first step, but its popularity stems from the fact that it allows us to continue our overindulgence: it still uses about 2 gallons of water per minute, meaning that a 15 minute shower uses the same amount of water as the average African uses in 5 days. After installing the shower head, how about trying some other strategies, like:

1. Take shorter showers. That extra 5-minutes of dreaming about Rhonda Worwick while hot water tickles your skin doesn’t need to happen every day.
2. Shower less often. Day two really isn’t that bad, and tying the hair back can buy you day three.
3. Share. No, not with Rhonda, that would hopefully take considerably longer. But I often jump in the bathtub with or after my kids, and being #3 in a tub full of used water still somehow gets me clean.
4. Turn off the water in the middle. Especially in the summer when we don’t need the constant warmth of the water, turn on the water just long enough to get wet, then turn it off to soap down and lather up, then on again long enough to wash it all off. An entire shower in less than a minute of running water.
5. Have a cold shower. If you use the above method, then a quick 10-second jolt of cold water is as refreshing as a river swim in the summer. It also helps if Rhonda Worwick fantasies are messin’ with your marriage…
6. Use a bucket. If you’ve lived overseas, you’ve managed to get clean with half a bucket of water and a cup. It works here too, and is a great attention grabber at a party (talking about it, that is, though a demonstration would presumably also work).

I’m not arguing against the occasional incense-filled bath or steamy Rhonda-infused shower. We all love that indulgence and sometimes need that escape. But for the average functional get-to-work shower, it’s so easy to take it easy on our threatened water table.

Post-note to Rhonda: I guess it’s 30 years too late, but please let me salute your visionary environmental stand, and know that I deeply regret not having joined you in your noble movement. I’d get wet to save the earth with you anytime…

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Photo courtesy of Krikit