How did the pioneers use the toilet on their wagon trains across America? Did they have to schedule bathroom stops? Surely bad stomachs reared their ugly heads... er, tubes. Nowadays, when most little kids have the urge, they have no trouble using gas station bathrooms (not so for most adults - bigger and wiser people would rather not poop for days if that’s all that’s available). But what If you lose plumbing, join a commune or choose to be eco and energy friendly or ultra hippie and live without plumbing? It is possible to survive without it. You may even shock yourself with your true inner beast, and get used to living with meager means using whatever is available in your newly earth-based surroundings.
Instructions
Live Without Plumbing
1. Get used to the facilities available. There may be an outhouse of sorts. When none is in existence, dig a big hole and put a board with a hole over it, because nature calls most every day and you can only relieve yourself in the woods around your abode so many times before you are stepping in it.
2. Keep in mind that any number of things like to live in and with bowel waste. Depending on your locale, huge cockroaches and even scorpions are not afraid to come up between your legs while you're trying to relieve yourself. Definitely bring a light with you when you are going out to do your business.
3. Try to stay regular. It is usually a good idea to get used to taking a dump around the same time every day. Your outhouse is a familiar friend in the day but can be a real nightmare at night. Nuts and raisins help maintain a regular bowel routine. Coffee and tea in the morning can help stimulate bowels.
4. Improvise a shower of some sort. Try a 50-gallon drum filled with water, elevated enough that you can run water down on yourself through a hose. If it sits out in the sun in a warm climate, you can get a warm-ish shower late in the day. Sometimes putting a bucket of water over a fire and bathing with a sponge and another bucket of rinse water can be heaven.
5. Stay as clean as you need to, but give up old habits that are no longer practical in your new circumstances. It's documented in English history that Queen Elizabeth bathed once a month, whether she needed it or not.
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