Yellow Mellow, Brown Down

Atlanta's water situation is making big news. Brown lawns no longer catch your eye and the car is covered in cat-prints for lack of a wash, but our household didn't feel that it was doing enough. It was time to Step It Up a notch.

Although we have the newer, less-wasteful toilets, we decided to follow the "Yellow Mellow, Brown Down" rule of flushing. Just because we grew up flushing after every use of the toilet doesn't mean we can still afford to waste fresh water.

At first, finding an unflushed toilet was a whack on the side of the head. Now, I'm enjoying the whack on the side of the head. We're giving ourselves a reminder -- several times a day -- that we're doing something about conserving fresh water.

We haven't had many discussions about what our guests can expect to find in our toilets, but the whack on the side of their head can be a good one. I think once we explain what the mellow yellow is all about, our guests may find they would like to go home and whack the side of their own heads.