It’s spring time in South Florida. So that likely means the South Florida Water Management District soon will ratchet up its message encouraging Floridians and businesses from Boca Raton south to the Keys and north to Orlando to turn back the tap.

Here at Danburg Properties of Boca Raton, we’ve heard the message every year for decades. We design buildings that maximize energy efficiency, and our properties are lined with trees that boost the canopy, provide shade for vehicles and people, and help reduce our carbon footprint.

What are you doing – at work or at home – to conserve resources? The Sun-Sentinel recently had a story on the benefits and shortcomings of new, water-saving washing machines and other appliances. By replacing old appliances with new higher-efficiency or -capacity ones (including washers, dryers, refrigerators or dishwashers), we can improve our own environmental footprint.

Even big business and events can pull this off. Officials and managers with the Allianz Championship at Broken Sound used almost all repurposed paper content and recycled or composted almost all their waste. The event has become a model for its peers.

It’s believed that Aristotle once said, “Excellence is not an act, but a habit.” The same can be said of resource conservation.

What can you do to reduce your consumption? Use a metal or reusable plastic bottle filled with tap water (install a faucet filter, if you prefer filtered water). Set the thermostat a degree or two higher in summer and lower in winter. Install compact fluorescent bulbs. Even unplug devices when not in use; “vampire power waste” is the slow leeching of power from devices unnecessarily plugged in to wall outlets.

Limiting use of power or water or gasoline isn’t about foregoing one trip to the store, or lugging those reusable bags into Publix when you remember to fetch them from the trunk. It’s about remembering to bring them every time. It’s about reducing your errands or commute several times a week. It’s about carpooling, or teleworking, or only running the dishes or laundry when the appliances are full.

It must become a lifestyle change.

Had Aristotle used high-capacity appliances in his day, he might have agreed that conserving resources isn’t a one-time act. It must become a habit.