Saturday
20Dec2008
Nuts and Bolts
Saturday, December 20, 2008 Sometimes, what one person thinks of as simplicity can be a nightmare for others.
I learned that when talking to friends and family about how I was going to deal with having no running water, no flush toilet and no electricity.
To me, it was simple. To others, it was a "no-way could I do that" situation.
I guess it comes down to how much you want something.
You see, I had done a lot of research on living in tiny houses, human waste composting, rainwater collection, reusing grey water and living 'off the grid' and I knew that these were things I wanted to do.
I don't have the tremendous amount of money that some people put in to their sustainable lifestyles, but I've spent my life learning to make do with what I had. I've always believed that neccesity is the mother of invention, and boy howdy, can I invent when necessary!
One of the best inventions I've seen is a toilet seat that fits on a bucket called a Luggable Loo. Yep, I could make a wooden toilet, and will in the future, but why bother when I could pick a seat up for ten bucks? I especially like the portability because I still don't have a designated bathroom in my house. It's wherever I decide its gonna be until further notice.
If you don't know anything about composting human waste I suggest you check out Joe Jenkins book called Humanure. Also Carol Steinfelds book on Liquid Gold, The Lore and Logic of Using Urine to Grow Plants. Both make a lot of sense, and this type of thing is done all over the world and has a growing number of fans in the US. You can read my opinion about it here.
You can build a simple compost bin out of chicken wire, so that was one of the first things I had to get done.
For water, I had three five gallon water containers and three 35 gallon rainbarrels. I filled the five gallon containers up whenever I went to town for drinking water and filled the rain barrels from a nearby creek.
It's amazing how conservative you can be with water when it's not running from a tap in your home. It takes me 2 weeks to use 15 gallons, and thats bathing, washing dishes, mopping floors, making coffee, everything. Find out how I manage that tomorrow.
Now, I will admit, not having electricity was a problem. I missed my computer, a television and lights more than anything. But it would be 2 months before electric lines would get run to my place. There were lots of trees that had to be cut, permits and deposits to pay and a temporary pole to buy.
So I learned to make the best of it. I used a coleman stove to cook on and oil lamps for light to read by. I had bought a tiny refrigerator second hand and used it like an old timey icebox. It was the first of April when I moved here and the weather was pretty nice, so most days I had the doors and windows open.
It's amazing how much more connected you are to the rhythms of nature when you don't have all the distractions of modern civilization. I spent most of my time outside working on projects or sitting around my campfire.
The mornings are wonderful when you can hear the birds waking up and getting busy for the day. I saw the turkeys fly out of the trees in the mornings and couldn't wait for the sun to come up so I could sit with a good book while I had my coffee. I'm an early riser and the mornings are my favorite time of day. I watched the fog rise through the trees and the owls settling in for a good sleep after a night of prowling. Neighborhood dogs make their rounds and the chipmunks and squirrels start their day early scratching through the leaves for goodies.
I was so much more aware of the weather, too. A bright sunny warm day meant I would be outside getting things done, and an overcast rainy day meant I was going to be inside listening to the rain on my metal roof. The wind swaying through the trees meant a change of weather.
I managed to get a small battery powered radio that got three television stations and emergency weather broadcasts, so in the evenings I would still get to listen to my favorite programs.
It's funny, when I first moved here I had envisioned Thoreau's On Waldens Pond and just knew I would spend my time working on finishing the book that I had started some 3 years before. I never once looked at it though.
I stayed so busy, between going to work five days a week and then coming home and working on the place that I never seemed to find the time.
Besides, Thoreau had said, "How vain it is to sit down and write when you have not stood up and lived."
I knew I still had some living to do...
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Reader Comments (1)
Hey Roxy: Go thru my e mail if you don't want to go thru the homesteading group although I check it daily now. I'm addicted!!!Love that group.
I'm still scared of my land. Flat tires I can't change cause they're too heavy. I'm in what if mode. There are rattlers out there too. It's rattler country. They let you know tho and often they just snooze even if I accidently walk right over one like I did last Oct. hiking out there with a friend. Once we shot one becuase it was too close to the house. I'm sure you have poisonous snakes in TN. Any suggestions????