I live in a household of seven, so there are bound to be a lot of showers. However, my family's water usage has been getting out of hand as of recently. I am embarrassed to say that my family uses over 400 gallons of water every day! (I have attached an image of my families water bill). This is almost double the daily water usage of an average household. My family has recently pledged to take 4 minute showers max, and to not wash our cars. I hope my family follows through with this pledge to cut down on excessive water usage, I know I will do my part.

[Abdul-Rahim Water Bill](//muut.com/u/footprint/s2/:footprint:nPHI:abdulrahimwaterbill.png.jpg)

Wow, that is a lot of water.  I am glad that you and your family recognize this and are taking action.  Many people say a lot about change, but action is the key to improving; talking does not do anything.  A way that can help you conserve water is to save the water that is left running when the shower is warming up.  Put a bucket underneath the shower when it is warming up and then save the water for watering the plants.  My family and I do this and have found that it has significantly reduced our water bill.  Because you are a family of seven, I think this would help save a lot of water, but my family is only a family of four, so this method might not be as convenient for you.  If so, an alternative method would be to do little things around the house to save water.  You could save the water used for washing vegetables, rice, and boiling for watering the plants.  Also, instead of using fresh water to rinse off your dishes before putting them into the dish washer, you could just have a pot of used water for rinsing.  This might seem gross because the water is dirty, but  the plates are going into the dishwasher anyways.  All you need to do is rinse them off, so why does that require new water?
There are many ways to save water and I am glad to see that you and your family are making a change to help the environment.

My family is also very large (6 people) and uses a huge amount of water daily (showers, washing machine, dish washer). I find your family's decision to limit their water use very inspiring and will also make an effort to cut down and raise awareness of this issue. The difficult part is that things such as washing dishes and clothing are close to necessary, however, as erikas suggested, things such as re-using water for other purposes will definitely make a difference. Also decisions to re-wear fairly clean clothes or re-using cups and plates that are not very dirty would lower the rate of water usage. I will continue to think about solutions to this issue in my family!