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MARANTHA!! Even so, come LORD JESUS!!!
There was a time in my life that I lived in a house that had no running water. It was about 6 years ago. I lived in my husband's home after he passed away in 2004 until 2010. The house was basically a shack that his mother had bought; she controlled him by giving him money when he had spent all his on liquor. When I met him he was supposedly "clean and sober" for a couple of years.....however he had MASSIVE PTSD and relapsed and relapsed and relapsed.....
Anyway, here I was after he was gone, in this shack. The only heat was a wood stove and I had a propane cook stove. I was in no shape to work as a therapist (my profession) because I was pretty messed up about his death and all. My MIL wanted me to stay in the house, she lived right next door and they (she and her husband) were getting older and wanted me there.
All was well until about two years later, when the pump died. I replaced the "D-box" on it twice and eventually it finally died. It was a deep well, so the replacement of the pump was going to be more expensive than I had money for, since I was at that time working as a homemaker, caring for elderly and disabled clients in their home. The pay is not wonderful, let me assure you! All my savings had been reduced to nil following 2 years of illness when I could not work.
First I was buying water, but you know, a person really uses a LOT of water!! When they tell you to plan for a gallon of water per person a day, that is just for drinking!! Plan on about 5-6 gallons a day if you plan on being able to live anywhere near a normal life!
BATHING
I would heat a gallon of water in a crock pot to boiling and dilute it in half, using cold water to bathe. I stayed very clean, but "showering" British style, that is, dumping a couple of quarts of water (1/2 hot & 1/2 cold) over my head, soaping up, and then rinsing with the rest of the hot water diluted, is NOT very fun....in a cold house in the winter, and just doesn't cut it in the summer as the relaxing shower that most of us are used to. So that was a total of 2-3 gallons right there. Of course you could just take a "bird bath" every couple of days, but I had begun working part time as a Social Worker at a dialysis unit, and had to be presentable for semi-professional work. By that time, I actually could have replaced the pump, but discovered that the underground stream had also collapsed and it would have required an investment of at least $5 to 7,000 dollars in a house that had a very leaky roof and which I had no assurance that I would be able to live in much longer.....much less be allowed to, as I did not own the land. MIL was attempting to "control" me like she had DH....but that just doesn't fly too well with me. She kept telling me she would deed me the land, but never did. I could have moved, but it was actually kinda fun to see if I could manage to continue to do this!
As I began to see how this was going to work, I started filling up a 55 gallon barrel drum at the state park. This worked OK until everything shut down for winter in about mid-September. I was at a loss for what I could do.
One weekend it was pouring down rain and I quickly emptied two huge plastic storage containers and stuck them half under the roof to catch the run off. Although the water was not "sanitary", it could be used for a number of things.....
This became my regular way of obtaining water, water NOT used for drinking, but for most everything else. As soon as it would stop raining, I would fill up milk jugs and 2 litter soda bottles with the water, which I strained and put a couple of drops of bleach in. I also obtained three 5 gallon bottles that water is provided to businesses at water coolers for employees to drink from, and stored water in these also.
I stored these in the hallway and behind the wood stove (about three feet away from the heat). I added 5 more storage tubs and was able to manage to do this all year without much trouble. During spring and fall I was able to store an AMAZING amount of water. When the heat of summer came, it was tough and I occasionally had to purchase water. I even bought some "Chlorine Shock" for swimming pools and learned to mix this up to use instead of bleach.
I also expanded the project and built a tarp "water collector," by rigging a large tarp to catch water and drain into the same storage type containers. This required building a weird looking frame to hold the tarp and funnel the water down into the tubs, but by this time,I was looking at the whole thing as an experiment to see if I could really manage this in a SHTF situation. Actually, it was pretty much of a blast, but after three years it was wearing thin.
Then, the house flooded when I was away at a conference. It was a disast4er and was even declared one! The house got about a foot of water and the roads were underwater by about 4 feet, so it was impossible to return to the house. The roads did not get cleared for traffic for about two weeks, by that time the house was disgusting and I determined that moving was the only option.
Taking a long hot shower is now one of my favorite activities, however I always feel guilty about it, so the shower really usually only lasts a few minutes. It has instilled in me a real passion to conserve water. I brush my teeth by wetting the toothbrush, turning the water off, brushing to my heart's content and then rinsing both my mouth and the brush, with just a bit of water.
Although I survived and prospered in this experience, most folks would be hard put to continue for any length of time. I think most would be getting PO'd by the end of a week. I did it for three years.
I can say I learned a lot during this time. I also learned to wash my clothes in one of the storage containers and then used that water to either flush the toilet or water the garden. The clothes were hung on a clothes line after I wrung them out by hand.
This life style IS possible, but you have to WANT to do it!
Anyway, here I was after he was gone, in this shack. The only heat was a wood stove and I had a propane cook stove. I was in no shape to work as a therapist (my profession) because I was pretty messed up about his death and all. My MIL wanted me to stay in the house, she lived right next door and they (she and her husband) were getting older and wanted me there.
All was well until about two years later, when the pump died. I replaced the "D-box" on it twice and eventually it finally died. It was a deep well, so the replacement of the pump was going to be more expensive than I had money for, since I was at that time working as a homemaker, caring for elderly and disabled clients in their home. The pay is not wonderful, let me assure you! All my savings had been reduced to nil following 2 years of illness when I could not work.
First I was buying water, but you know, a person really uses a LOT of water!! When they tell you to plan for a gallon of water per person a day, that is just for drinking!! Plan on about 5-6 gallons a day if you plan on being able to live anywhere near a normal life!
BATHING
I would heat a gallon of water in a crock pot to boiling and dilute it in half, using cold water to bathe. I stayed very clean, but "showering" British style, that is, dumping a couple of quarts of water (1/2 hot & 1/2 cold) over my head, soaping up, and then rinsing with the rest of the hot water diluted, is NOT very fun....in a cold house in the winter, and just doesn't cut it in the summer as the relaxing shower that most of us are used to. So that was a total of 2-3 gallons right there. Of course you could just take a "bird bath" every couple of days, but I had begun working part time as a Social Worker at a dialysis unit, and had to be presentable for semi-professional work. By that time, I actually could have replaced the pump, but discovered that the underground stream had also collapsed and it would have required an investment of at least $5 to 7,000 dollars in a house that had a very leaky roof and which I had no assurance that I would be able to live in much longer.....much less be allowed to, as I did not own the land. MIL was attempting to "control" me like she had DH....but that just doesn't fly too well with me. She kept telling me she would deed me the land, but never did. I could have moved, but it was actually kinda fun to see if I could manage to continue to do this!
As I began to see how this was going to work, I started filling up a 55 gallon barrel drum at the state park. This worked OK until everything shut down for winter in about mid-September. I was at a loss for what I could do.
One weekend it was pouring down rain and I quickly emptied two huge plastic storage containers and stuck them half under the roof to catch the run off. Although the water was not "sanitary", it could be used for a number of things.....
This became my regular way of obtaining water, water NOT used for drinking, but for most everything else. As soon as it would stop raining, I would fill up milk jugs and 2 litter soda bottles with the water, which I strained and put a couple of drops of bleach in. I also obtained three 5 gallon bottles that water is provided to businesses at water coolers for employees to drink from, and stored water in these also.
I stored these in the hallway and behind the wood stove (about three feet away from the heat). I added 5 more storage tubs and was able to manage to do this all year without much trouble. During spring and fall I was able to store an AMAZING amount of water. When the heat of summer came, it was tough and I occasionally had to purchase water. I even bought some "Chlorine Shock" for swimming pools and learned to mix this up to use instead of bleach.
I also expanded the project and built a tarp "water collector," by rigging a large tarp to catch water and drain into the same storage type containers. This required building a weird looking frame to hold the tarp and funnel the water down into the tubs, but by this time,I was looking at the whole thing as an experiment to see if I could really manage this in a SHTF situation. Actually, it was pretty much of a blast, but after three years it was wearing thin.
Then, the house flooded when I was away at a conference. It was a disast4er and was even declared one! The house got about a foot of water and the roads were underwater by about 4 feet, so it was impossible to return to the house. The roads did not get cleared for traffic for about two weeks, by that time the house was disgusting and I determined that moving was the only option.
Taking a long hot shower is now one of my favorite activities, however I always feel guilty about it, so the shower really usually only lasts a few minutes. It has instilled in me a real passion to conserve water. I brush my teeth by wetting the toothbrush, turning the water off, brushing to my heart's content and then rinsing both my mouth and the brush, with just a bit of water.
Although I survived and prospered in this experience, most folks would be hard put to continue for any length of time. I think most would be getting PO'd by the end of a week. I did it for three years.
I can say I learned a lot during this time. I also learned to wash my clothes in one of the storage containers and then used that water to either flush the toilet or water the garden. The clothes were hung on a clothes line after I wrung them out by hand.
This life style IS possible, but you have to WANT to do it!
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