Guess what I've been doing in the shower!

I'll admit, I didn't come easy at first. But after hearing about it on the radio I just had to give it my best effort. The first couple days were almost painful; it just didn't feel natural or even right. I wanted so badly to tell someone about my experimentation, to see if they've tried it before, but didn't in fear that I might jinx myself and never fulfill my goal. After a couple weeks of careful and conscience effort it started to become enjoyable, and finally just a regular part of my morning routine. What can I say, it feels good! But I still kept it a secret. Actually, I did mention it to Betty midway through my third month, and she was very encouraging but also understanding why I hadn't told anyone. Now, nearly five months later, I'm ready to come clean, so to speak.

I've been successfully practicing the art of the Navy shower! Why? What were you thinking it was? Oh, well now that's just dirty…

I didn't tell anyone sooner because a cookie told me not to, and I'm not one to go against the advice of a fortune wielding dessert. And while I could do a bit better — extra long hours at work has me all tied up in knots and it's taking more mental fortitude not to slip back into the old "Hollywood shower" ways — and conserve even more water, I'm still proud that simply by turning off the water when lathering up or brushing my teeth (yes, I'm one of those people, but I multitask by conditioning my sexy mullet at the same time) or shaving has saved over 1500 gallons of water in the past 60 days, an average of a little over 25 gallons a day! Unfortunately my water company charges a hefty flat service rate with a tiny metered fee on top of that so even though I cut back 33% on my daily water use I'm really only saving a little over $2 each month. But knowing that I've saved that much water already by simply changing a small part of my routine has me wondering how else I could be saving water. Or electricity. Or fuel.

Sure, all the big company's these days are touting about how "green" they've are because it's a buzzword in the media right now. I don't buy it. It's all for show. I bet none of the execs in these "green" companies would ever think to turn off the water while sudsing up. I may not have an MBA from Harvard, or drive a flashy $100,000 car, or make multi-million dollar donations to offset my carbon emissions, but at least I've taken the first step to actually live green in my own life. Well, a little more green. Baby steps, ok?

By the way, I won't even tell you how long it took I spent looking at iStockphoto.com for photos of sailors in showers. But diligence pays off…and I'm all about sharing the wealth, all $2 of it. Enjoy! And when your done, don't forget to take a Navy shower.