A small change I made in January was retraining the family's dishwashing system. I bought a red dishpan for less than $2, and put it in the left side of the sink. The immediate benefit to the family was that they can pour out cups alongside the pan or rinse their fingers without ruining the rinsewater. This benefit is what sold them at first. Then I told them that rather than running the rinsewater down the drain after washing, they could pick up the dishpan and pour it outside in the garden. The biodegradable, gentle soap we use is actually good for pest control in the garden.
Once they were pouring water out in the garden, having the dishpan so heavy and full of water was a nuisance. So I was able to introduce the concept that a full dishpan is not necessary for getting dishes clean. The goal is to wash all the dishes for a family of 9 with less than 2 gallons of water and only a teaspoon of soap a day, and taking only 30 minutes or so to get it all done. At breakfast, I can fill the right side of the sink with an inch of water and a teaspoon of dish soap, the dishpan on the left side with an inch of water. The dishes generated by breakfast are easily washed in a few minutes. The soapy water remains in the sink-- throughout the day, it's easy to swish any dirty dishes from snacks and they are soon on the dish rack. A very slight rinse to get most of the soap off before dunking the dish in the rinsewater adds water to the soapy side a bit.... but it will need to be a good 3-4" deep by the time we're washing supper dishes. The rinsewater does need to just be emptied after each meal, it can just be pitched out the front door into the front garden.
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