Coming Soon- 5 Day Water Challenge

"As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness." -HDT

 There you see it! >> A simple exchange and the decision is finally made. We will begin our five day water challenge next week!


For a refresher, or to anyone just beginning to follow- Dan (ahem, yes, Gummibear) and I decided that it would be important to experience as many different aspects of tiny house living as we can...while we wait. That way, it's not a total culture shock when we finally move in.  A very big part of the tiny house life is going to be the complete de-railing of many, many habits we have developed over the years. 

Water use habits, I have a feeling, are going to be the hardest.  Again, siting that amazing book- The Humanure Handbook (everyone should read this!) - it is appauling how much water we waste.  Not only are we consuming at an alarming rate, we are also steadily contaminating the limited fresh water supplies we do have. Eventually, the world will be fighting over water, not oil.  It's a scary thought, and I'd rather not contribute to that impending crisis if I can help it.

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Let me just take a small interlude here and list some of my own worst water habits...

1. I leave the faucet on throughout my entire tooth-brushing regimen.

2. I get impatient with boiling water for dinners, so I run the faucet until it gets piping hot, then put it in the pot and on the stove just to save myself maybe 2 minutes?

3. I shave my legs in the shower, which usually takes an additional 5-8 minutes with all that water still pouring out.

4. I fill the sink with water to do dishes, then I'll get distracted and forget about it. By the time I come back to it, the water is luke warm and I have to start over.

Those are just a few of my worst water habits, and believe me there are more, but these stick out the most. Ever since reading the H-Handbook, I have started working on improving these habits.  

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For our water needs, we decided to go with a completely contained system, and

All our water needs are in!

very, VERY primitive plumbing. That way we are not dealing with all kinds of pipes in the walls, electric pumps, cutting a hole in the subfloor, etc. So basically, the only "running" water we will have is the water tank in the loft, by way of gravity, flowing out a spout in the kitchen sink which will be directly below. We will collect gray water in a storage tank directly under the sink and use it to water shrubs and trees. As for showers, we will make use of a camp/bag shower...and the real doozy- we will heat water as needed on the stove.

Yes, I find it intimidating...but how does that saying go?- "You will never know the true extent of your limits unless you push them." And if that doesn't work, this one usually snaps me around:

THE PILGRIMS DID IT- QUIT BEING A PANSY.

So, next week, we will be pushing limits indeed. We have all of our water storage needs already at the apartment (15 gallon tank storage and 28 gallons worth of waterbricks)- just waiting to be filled and used.



Waterbricks rock! Stack n store
to fit your space- that's just what
we needed!

Here are the rules:
1. All faucets will be taped as a friendly reminder to keep HANDS OFF!
2. All water will come from our storage, we will not refill during the 5 days to see how long it lasts.
3. Any water that needs to be hot will be heated on the stove top.
4. Water rules apply at the apartment only- we can shower at the gym, work, or a friend's place.
  PS: We certainly can't avoid using the bathroom, so the flush will remain in play.

It doesn't seem like many rules, but each represents a major daily life adjustment. Wish us luck!!




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