Bathing 101
 All right, you refuse to give up your warm, soothing baths for those nasty, energy-efficient showers. You can at least make the following changes to use less hot water.
At the very least, don't buy an Olympic sized tub. You don't really need to seat the extended family in it. Get a standard sized 5-foot tub.
Don't fill the tub as full. Filling the bath only one-third to one-half full can save 20 or more gallons of water over a full bath. That's 20 gallons your water heater doesn't need to warm up.
Check the stopper. Does it leak? If you find yourself getting beached halfway through your bath and having to refill the tub, fix or replace the stopper.
You can save hot water if two people share one bath instead of each having their own. In addition, two bodies in one tub displace more water than one, so you need less water to fill the tub. So plunk your preschoolers in the tub and start teaching them to share. (I'd recommend having lots of bath toys, though. Sharing is a tough lesson at that age.) Be sure to have each child visit the toilet before getting in the water, though.
After the little ones are in bed--or if there are no little ones--you and your significant other can remind each other about the benefits of sharing, too.
If your younglings are beyond the bathing together age, try serial bathing. Start with the least dirty child. Lather, rinse, repeat with next child. If the water gets too grey or cold, drain about half of it and refill with hot water. You'll still use less hot water and get a clean enough child.
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