By: Jennifer Neil

To conserve water and electricity (for the water heater) at the cottage, jump in the lake! Take a biodegradable soap and shampoo with you, then wash up and rinse off in the lake. Especially useful are docks or rafts in deeper water - jump in, get out and soap up, jump in again - you are not only conserving resources, but having fun doing it! Of course, this will appeal to kids who don't want to go inside and wash up while the sun is still out, and to large families who share a cottage - and bathroom - and to the 'rustic' cottage visitors with no water heater who still want to get clean!

Other things can also be washed in the lake or with lake water - just remember to pick a soap which is fully and quickly biodegradable! Doing dishes for a large group can be as easy as getting two tubs of water, one with a natural soap and water and one with clean water for washing and rinsing. Then dump the tubs back in the lake where you got the water - no dishwasher or even hot water required!  This not only uses up less resources, it takes less time if you get each person to do their own dishes - a plate and a fork take very little time to dump and rub in two tubs. (Picked this trick up as a girl guide - also used it at a family reunion a couple years ago.)  

 That's all for now. I hope my many years of experience on and near the water will help others enjoy being green at the cottage!