However, strangely enough, many of the new green building techniques that we use today were incorporated in the new home construction projects that I worked on way back then. Except we didn't call it green building, we simply called it common sense building. In my opinion, that's basically what green building is: building smart, and building efficiently.

A big part of building a green home is making sure that the home will conserve water. Conserving water in a home is easy when the builder installs "user-friendly," water-saving plumbing fixtures. The good news is that even existing homes can install just three of these new efficient plumbing fixtures for an average family water savings of fifteen to eighteen thousand gallons of water per year!

Here's how saving water can be as easy as one, two, three: First, replace your faucet aerators. At the end of just about every faucet spout is an aerator control. Aerators soften the water flow and control splashing when using a faucet. Replacing the standard aerators on your faucets with new "water-saving aerators" can cut faucet water use by thirty percent, without having to replace your faucets.

Second, install performance shower heads. Standard shower heads use 2.5 gallons of water per minute. New water-saving "performance" shower heads use 1.75 gallons of water per minute, but will still give you a strong flow of water. Check the manufactures specs to make sure you are buying a performance type head and you should see a water saving in your shower of thirty percent as well.

Finally, replace your old toilet. Toilets are the number one water user in your home. New "HET" (High Efficiency Toilets) now deliver a strong flush and use only 1.3 (or less) gallons of water per flush. Standard new toilets still use 1.6 gallons per flush. Installing a HET can save at least four to six thousand gallons of water per year, per toilet. Here's a quick tip; When buying a new toilet look for the EPA "Water Sense" label on the toilet box. This will state the toilet has been tested for strong flushing power with high water savings potential.

Even if you just do one or two of the above projects you will see a big difference in your water consumption. But, for maximum water savings in your home, doing all three is the key!