‘I still wonder if it is a case of the emperor's new clothes. Would just plain water work as well?’

Having as child, leading an ethical lifestyle and trying to save water is a difficult formula to follow, says Charlotte Haines Lyon.

Having a child seems to entail using exponential amounts of water. Whether it is washing nappies, dirty clothes or kids’ love affair with the stuff, good old H20 keeps getting poured down the drain.

We have looked at reusing the water but it seems quite complicated. One problem being the urine from the nappies rendering the water somewhat toxic! Despite that, we have moved to using eco balls for washing which contain no detergent.

The theory is that the balls’ inner bits ionise the water, making the molecules jig about and knock the dirt off. How’s that for a scientific explanation? No wonder my whole family think it’s voodoo.

I don’t seem to need much more stain remover than using other washing powders, yet I still wonder if it is a case of the emperor’s new clothes. Would just plain water work as well?

Apparently the balls kill nasty bacteria, which is good considering the nappies. Also they make clothes in our hard water area extremely soft. So I’ll stick with them for the moment.

Despite costing £35, they last 1000 washes, so work out much cheaper than the fortnightly box of powder that I otherwise consume. Furthermore, they do help save water; for all washes bar nappies the rinse cycle is redundant, due to lack of detergent to shift.

Recycling water after washing ourselves is altogether easier. We have found the most efficient water use is for one of us to share a bath with Anya. Occasionally if the water isn’t too murky or cold, the remaining grubby parent uses the bath afterwards. Otherwise they will shower.

Indeed I, the queen of deep baths, have capitulated to the green lobby. As London faces a severe water shortage, I have donned my shower cap and forgone my extended soaking. On the days I can’t cope with this deeply uncool accessory, I share with Anya on the promise she will be taken out so I can read whilst shrivelling to a prune.

But it is not just a case of reducing but also reusing water. We bought a submersible pump to empty the bath on to the garden or into a bin to be used later. It really is very easy.

We have a downstairs bathroom, so simply put the pump through the window into the bath and rest it on a rubber mat. Plug it in and water sprays out of the hose onto my potatoes or other such garden delights. Having switched to Ecotricity, (see here) I don’t feel too bad about the few minutes of electricity use.

It is surprising how much water even a short shower (non-powered) can produce to water the garden. At a time when we are told that we should be using drought resistant plants I am amazed that we rarely hear about using our grey water.

Of course we have had to abandon our glossy, fancy smelling bath and shampoo products. Hubby has switched from a well-known dandruff shampoo to Faith in Nature’s Seaweed Shampoo.

Amazingly, he has no flakes in his fab smelling hair.

Anya and I use Weleda’s Calendula Shampoo and have discovered that our dry scalps are improving quickly. In fact since using a variety of “natural” products, our skin seems to have improved generally.

So for once I am feeling a little pleased with our progress toward ethical living. However, I guess justifying a deep bath by watering the garden afterwards with the contents is not really the idea.

• Read Charlotte’s other ethical parent articles

• Visit our Ethical Living section