1 Gallon Shower Yields Waves of Inspiration

1 Gallon Shower

“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.”  -HDT

I've done a whole lot of talking up to this point. Talking about when we will begin building, when we will do the water challenge, when I will test the camp shower, etc. Well, I'm happy to report that I have started to walk the walk.

I call it the 1 gallon shower, because I used a large pot with about 2 gallons of hot water and a cup. I was driven mainly by my damp-cast-madness. It hasn't managed to get completely dry in DAYS, I always ended up doing something to get it wet it again. I had finally hit my breaking point, and the thought of showering with my cast was not going over well.

It wouldn't be fair not to mention that I finished the Humanure Handbook and it has rocked my world. The book drastically changed my point of view, my perspective of the world and myself, and my drive to commit to even more "extreme" daily practices. This too, played a huge role in the 1 gallon shower experiment. I've become obessesed with my water use and my recycling/composting efforts. That book was so intense for me that I'm letting it just settle and sink in- let the thoughts organize-- before I try to write about it. -PS: I immediately ordred a copy of the book, this is one I want in my collection for life.

What I found--- well it was way more than I expected. It was quiet, peaceful, and there was something about the act itself that seemed more purposeful and aware. I found that when I took deliberate care, I somehow felt as if I had recieved deliberate care. Call me crazy, but I was immensely inspired by this simple experiment. I was amazed to find that I still had half my water when I was finished. I had only used a gallon of water to wash my body! (I didn't wash my hair- typically every 2 days on that)

I did the math, and it immediately made my day. Instead of my usual showering routine:

 15 minutes / 4gpm flow = 60 GALLONS used

with the primitive shower:

1 GALLON used

*I think my shower has an even higher gpm, I was being generous*

It blows my mind, that with minimal effort, I increased my bathing water efficiency by potentially 6000% !! (That is if I stopped taking normal showers all together- we will see how hair washing goes...)

Today, I gave the camp shower set up a shot-- I don't know why I didn't use this the first time, but hey- after that experience- it makes the camp shower seem luxurious! I see now that the 5 gallon size was definitly not necessary, I could have ordered a smaller one.

Having such a positive experience with the shower really lifted my spirits and gave me new found excitement over the tiny house living. What we are doing is a drastic change, and I'll admit, at times I freak out a little inside. I wonder if I'll be able to handle it-- but now I know I can. I honestly enjoy the camp shower (I had my doubts) and any lingering worries I had about the choice to loose the sophisticated plumbing and choosing a self-contained water system have vanished. I also have very little worries about the 30 gallon tank not lasting more than 2 weeks. I think we will operate quite comfortably on that amount. :)

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