YOU'VE HEARD Replace your toilet; it uses way too much water
WE SAY Just a little retrofitting can reduce your water usage
If you have a perfectly good toilet and aren't in the process of renovating your bathroom, save yourself the hassle and expense of installing a low-flush model. Instead, for less than $2, you can drastically reduce the water you use by installing the Niagara Conservation Toilet Tank Bank (energyfederation.org). All you do is fill it with water and hang it in the tank and it's like you've put in a new high-efficiency toilet. (Standard toilets manufactured since 1994 use 1.6 gallons per flush; most high-efficiency models use 1.28 gallons. The Toilet Tank Bank reduces water usage by 0.8 gallons per flush.)

If you are ready to replace an old toilet, don't assume low-flush is the way to go. Try installing a dual-flush model instead. They're not as easy to find (check at Home Depot and at specialty home and kitchen stores) and cost about $100 more. However, you often have to flush more than once to get everything down with lowflush toilets. A dual-flush has two buttons-one for liquid waste, which uses just 0.8 gallons of water, and one for solid, which uses 1.6 gallons.

YOU'VE HEARD Install a low-flow showerhead
WE SAY Save your bucks
If you're addicted to that steamy, full-on morning shower, you probably won't be happy with a low-flow showerhead, which cuts water output by 25 to 60 percent. Rather than stand under a trickle, struggling to rinse out conditioner, take a shorter shower; you'll save up to 2.5 gallons per minute.

Where you can cut back, however, is your sink. Install an aerator-they're just a few bucks-and it will reduce water flow by 2 gallons a minute, which is not a noticeable sacrifice.