Hacks for Using Less and Making Do

[Stargazer]

If there is something vehicle dwellers are experts at, it is using less, making do, and conserving with everything from water to food to clothes and fuel.  With the current situation, sheltering in place, social distancing, few trips out, why not share your favorite hacks that save going out.  Some can even avoid those town trips for up to a month!  How do they do it?

Anyone?  Everyone?  What do you do to conserve, to save breaking camp and driving to town?

 

[user 423]

'Hoarding' non-perishable food.

 

[MotorVation]

I clean my dishes with white vinegar from a spray bottle. I use paper towels. I use the smallest size on the roll. The first sheet, I use vinegar and try to get all the food off whatever it is I'm cleaning. Then I spray vinegar on whatever I have just wiped off. I take another small sheet of paper towel and wipe again leaving some vinegar on the item to disinfect it. The longer the vinegar is in contact with germs/bacteria the more it kills so I let it dry by itself.

I've been putting the second sheet aside to dry so I can reuse it for toilet paper later.

I almost ran totally out of both paper towels and toilet paper so I needed a plan B. I've since been able to find some.

Almost forgot. When I use a baby wipe and it doesn't get overly filthy I save them for the same purpose.

 

[trailer-t]

Little plastic grocery bags make good, free garbage bags inside a small plastic trashcan.

 

[nature lover]

Those plastic shopping bags have lots of uses. As a man living alone I feel I do not consume a lot of things but it is amazing the number of them I "collect". I knew a lady who knit water proof "rugs" out of them. I used to use them for the bathroom bucket now I buy the biodegradable so I can cat hole them in the forest.

 

[crofter]

Emotional stability hack: Be grateful in order to expand yourself emotionally. That will bring you to joy, curiosity, helpfulness, compassion and other expansive mental states. This hack moves you out of contracted and paralyzing emotional states like fear and anxiety. 

Today I am grateful for a feeling of well being, and for being quarantined with someone I appreciate. Due to age we have been doing this for weeks now.

I will speak against reusing wipes. Women can get terrible infections from ecoli and other bugs, and other illnesses can be spread.

My fave hack is to bathe in one gallon of room temperature water (including the hair). I have short hair, and use the cooler temp to refresh myself physically. The water is moved over my body by pouring and sponging small amounts. Some also use a sharp spray from an air pump sprayer ($7 at Harbor Freight). I finish by soaking any part that wants a soak, usually the feet. This technique saves fuel, time, and water.  

Sunshine is a great disinfectant. Dry things in the sun for more disinfection and less mold.    -crofter

 

[Ticklebellly]

Portion control has worked for me. Started measuring food portions as a way to control calorie intake. 100 grams of protein is a meal portion, bulked out with vegies and carbohydrates, like rice or bread. I even weigh the corn chips that go in my Nacho recipe. 300 grams of dry flour baked as bread lasts me three days. I have extended the concept of a portion to lots of things/tasks from personal hygiene products to bath water, alcohol, and data. I budget data and after doing the necessary, what is left of the day's quota is spent any way I want If going to the Boonies, I can quite accurately predict how long I can last without resupply.

 

[MotorVation]

Ok, now I'm going into more detail than I really intended. I don't flush wipes. I'm living in a van. They go into the luggable loo and then the trash. I always, always use a new baby wipe to finish the pooping process and it also goes into the luggable loo for future disposal in the trash. After I put the luggable loo back outside I drench my hands in alcohol.
My butt doesn't care if I previously used a wipe to clean up some dust or ashes 

 

[WanderingRose]

It seems many grocers are eliminating one-use grocery bags, and have in place very substantial ones which can be used many times.

I am saving those to use alongside reusable bags I already have.

I save produce bags for cleaning up after my dog.

 

[RoamerRV428]

Hacks? Hmm, not so much hacks as just conserve. Make everything you own do quadruple duty.

Like coffee filters. I hate coffee but hubby loves it. Google what to do with coffee grounds and you get like 20 options to use those as replacements for other things. Repels fleas from your pet. Put in bowl outside to repel skeeters. Put in small bowl inside for odor control, wonderful for hand scrubbing to remove smells and dirt. Coffee filter can double as a laundry dryer sheet, add bit of vinegar and touch of smell you like and tumble and you don't need a dryer....place slightly damp clothes off clothes line into plastic bag, flip it all around and up and down and hang for a while in the sun in the bag, take out and hang clothes again in sun for freshness factor to dry thru if you so desire….coffee filter can double as a tissue, light washcloth situation or TP if required, great for dusting computer screens etc., use as a bowl for a hand held item like popcorn or nuts.

So for us it is whatever you got, use it a gazillion ways. Everything has so many uses and all of us know these little tips and tricks to use everything we got over and over as we need to suit our lifestyle.

key things is food storage and water storage. food and water are needed for survival point blank LOL so if you conserve water tightly, military fast showers and wipe downs etc....have enough food to last a month then you got it for not having to resupply those 2 items and can last at least a month.

Collapsible water bags. Instead of full sized containers that take up space all the time, the collapsible water bags store so easy when not in use and go 'small' but fill big when out and about and you find a water source. Fill them up, come back and even store all your filled bags maybe under your vehicle til needed. A few on the roof for hot water maybe in full sun? Once used, collapse the bag til you can fill it again. You can have 25 bags to use and have space for them but not when they are full sized solid water jugs maybe. All also depending on your size of vehicle, storage room etc.

another smart key is know your area you are in....where is the closest and safest place to do what you might need...a dumpster to use for your garbage nearby, possible water refill sources and more. We can all narrow down our lives easily. But at some point one has to 'find' water and food supplies and just be smart doing just that.



That is kinda how I approach that question of not breaking camp and it boils down to when your water supply and food run out mostly

 

[Cammalu]

Switched from baby wipes to makeup remover. It’s a HIGE difference that I found out about years ago when I had been out riding in the dust and sweating. I used a baby wipe to wipe my face and arms off and it was my last one. I felt pretty clean but then I got something on my hand or something so grabbed the makeup remover to wipe. Not only did I get the little thing off but there was a LOT of dirt too. I kept wiping my face and arms. Holy moley the dirt that came off!!! Not only that but the makeup wipes stay wet and soft much longer than the baby wipes so use would use one makeup wipe to about three baby wipes.

There are several different types but I found the equate (Walmart brand) work the best. Out of those there are still several different types. There are exfoliating ones in the yellow package, a blue package, a pink pack and my favorite, a purple package. You can save a bit of money by buying it in the double packs. I buy John the exfoliating yellow pack because he likes a scrubby.

Everyone I’ve given one to starts wiping and says “Oh my” or something to that effect.

 

[maki2]

I like many people love the convenience of once and done paper towels, wipes, paper napkins, paper hand towels, etc.

But I am barely just old enough to remember the novelty of my mother buying a package of paper napkins for daily use, most likely the visual memory is there because it involved paper, texture and pastel colors all of which imprinted my brain as a budding artist/craftsman.

But she never did quit using wash cloths, sponges, dish towels, etc. You can do the same, it does save some money if your budget is tight. Other people do it for ecological reasons. Changing from one habit to another takes some adjustment time, likely frustration will come with it before you quit having withdrawal moments of longing for your good old days. It is human nature to resist change.

 

[RoamerRV428]

for me the convenience of one time use vs. your water supply to wash hand towels and more is a weighty decision on how one is trying to conserve. throw away napkin to keep my water supply trumps a hand towel I need to wash and have to refill water when I might not be able to get any.

so just that thing is how everyone wants to roll and what their situation truly is thru storage of water and food.

we can hack it all, conserve best we can, but when we use up all that water woof, that is the biggest item that is a must have immediately. food, yea we can go longer without, that water is a biggie LOL

 

[highdesertranger]

about plastic bags

"I used to use them for the bathroom bucket now I buy the biodegradable so I can cat hole them in the forest."

please don't do this.

highdesertranger

 

[maki2]

It seems many grocers are eliminating one-use grocery bags, and have in place very substantial ones which can be used many times.

I am saving those to use alongside reusable bags I already have.

I save produce bags for cleaning up after my dog.

For the time being in Seattle most grocery stores are for the duration of the Covid 19 crisis no longer allowing customers to bring in their own bags. That is for the protection of the clerks who work in the stores. The mayor has said that for the present the stores may once again use plastic, one time use grocery bags and that they are not required to charge customers 5 cents apiece for paper bags.   Once the crisis is over it will revert back.

 

[nature lover]

highdesertranger - I appreciate your concern for the environment. The bags I use are made of corn and biodegrade in less than a year. I use the same kind as PA forestry dept uses. That is were I got my first ones. They use and bury them all the time when in the field. Do you know something I don't know?

 

[Tony's Dream]

We use hand towels instead of paper towels. They air dry and are reusable. If we do use paper towels or napkins, we keep them around to use as fire starters or toilet paper.

We maximize the use of nature. We use local river/lake water as much as possible if its clear. We use it in our portable toilet. We mix it with a few chlorine tablets in a 5 gallon bucket and bath with it to get the first layer of dirt off. Then we use potable water for a quick rinse. We do the same for washing dishes, again rinsing with potable water.

If rain is in the forecast, we set out buckets to capture what we can from the run off from our camper.

If we burn something in a pot, fine beach sand makes for a good scrubbing abrasive.

 

[highdesertranger]

good post Tony. pretty much what I do.

I always have a large quantity of washed and classified sand and pea gravel works great for scrubbing pots and pans.

what was it 2 or 3 years ago at the RTR when it rained a lot I collected almost 100 gallons of water in a few days. even in the desert water is pretty easy to come by. but you need real maps not google maps or earth and the such.

nature lover, I think i answered your question in the other thread.

highdesertranger

 

[GypsyJan]

"My butt doesn't care if I previously used a wipe to clean up some dust or ashes"...is that where the term "ashhat" comes from?

Cut a paper towel roll in half in its center if it doesn't have half portion perforations already. I filter my pond water through cheesecloth for householld cleaning & outdoor bathing if water levels in my rain barrels are low. When I lived on a sail boat, we rigged a tarp to capture the optimum amount of rain and filled gallon jugs with it. The igloo cooler had a criss-cross pattern on the lid which made a good wash board for scrubbing laundry. If you are using a clothes line to dry laundry most of the way, then harvest the load onto drip-dry hangers and leave those in the sun to finish the job. I clip clothes pins a finger's-width apart onto the line to keep the hangers from sliding around.

 

[WanderingRose]

I use very few paper towels, preferring hand towels changed frequently and those microfiber cleaning cloths you can find anywhere.

I save the paper towels for messy cleaning jobs, so that I can just throw them out.

Any of us raised by mothers who were raised during the Great Depression are instinctively prone to using something until you can’t get anything else out of it.

This served me well during my impoverished single parenting years, as did a small paperback cookbook called “More With Less”, which focused on reducing meat/fowl consumption, protein complementarity, etc. Lots of great ideas in there for nutritious but inexpensive meals.

Like roast a chicken, eat it sliced, cut up as much as you can get off the bones for chicken and noodles or some such thing, then boil the bones and drippings to get everything you can out of them.

Strain, pour off fat, pick any remaining bits of chicken off the bones and add back to the pot to make soup with whatever you like in it.

1 3lb chicken = 3-4 meals, plus leftovers.