I’m very insecure with my water usage. Is it possible to “waste” water?
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Water cycle resources: https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/freshwater/water-cycle https://gpm.nasa.gov/education/water-cycle
US EPA on conserving water: https://www.epa.gov/watersense/start-saving
Broadly yes water is recyclable. Water on earth goes into the atmosphere and rains back down. Assuming you’re not in a super rural area, the water that comes out of your faucets has been treated to be potable, safe to drink. It takes energy and materials to take water from lakes or rivers and make it safe.
If you are in an area under drought rules, follow those suggestions.
Wasting water would be things like running the shower for an hour before getting in, watering a lawn in the hottest part of the day, letting water leak out wherever uncontrolled, rinsing laundry ten times, flushing ten times… There’s a range between wasting water like that, above average use, average use, careful/below average use, and stressing yourself out like your water costs more than printer ink.
If your water usage stress is causing you to, for example, find non-water-using alternatives to basic household chores, only let yourself flush the toilet once a day, shower once a month, or run around the house making sure all your taps are closed after you already did, then it’s not a water issue but probably a stress/anxiety issue, and that’s a separate thing that can be addressed with proper professionals.
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