Dingfelder
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From everything I've heard, the stuff in the tube is way better almost universally, but it is so much more expensive.
How to minimize water use
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Dingfelder
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That's the thing -- even a small can has more than a tube, and I never use less than that.
It comes down to taste versus willingness to spend money. I usually have a hard time paying four or five times as much for something if I don't have to or can't tell the difference. My mind just rebels against it, out of principle.
It comes down to taste versus willingness to spend money. I usually have a hard time paying four or five times as much for something if I don't have to or can't tell the difference. My mind just rebels against it, out of principle.
becida
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Dingfelder said:
If you don't use less than a small can why is this conversation taking place?
If someone wants just a single tablespoon of tomato paste for a recipe the tube is there & I thought that should be mentioned because that's what this was about...
I don't see the need to defend buying it by the can (that's what I do too) or down play buying it buy the tube if someone else just wants a little...
Oh look! This thread was about using less water! Nothing to do with just a tablespoon of tomato paste...
I already said if I use it by the gallon jug I can see it go and that slows me down. Others have mentioned spray bottles for dishes (with or without vinegar) and a wide range of other ways...
I'm WAY off the topic....I think it's time for me to go
Later folks!Dingfelder
Well-known member
becida said:If you don't use less than a small can why is this conversation taking place?
If someone wants just a single tablespoon of tomato paste for a recipe the tube is there & I thought that should be mentioned because that's what this was about...
I don't see the need to defend buying it by the can (that's what I do too) or down play buying it buy the tube if someone else just wants a little...
Oh look! This thread was about using less water! Nothing to do with just a tablespoon of tomato paste...
I already said if I use it by the gallon jug I can see it go and that slows me down. Others have mentioned spray bottles for dishes (with or without vinegar) and a wide range of other ways...
I'm WAY off the topic....I think it's time for me to go
SOMEbody is scootching about on pins and needles ...
Seminole Wind
Well-known member
becida said:
get the best of both worlds. buy your self a set of refillable tubes. now adays they even make them in silicone. i have not bought them i years stilll using the ones from way back. i got them from back packing supply type stores. we used them to be able to take just a little cooking oil or peanut butter or what ever. now adays i use them to store the left overs from small cans that i dont use up right when i open them. they would work perfect for a partial can of tomato sauce/paste. of course you have to keep it cold after you open the can and use it up in a few days/week but then you get the cheap price of buying cans and the convenience of the recloseable tube
highdesertranger
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that's a great idea. highdesertranger
For personal hygiene using minimal water, I have found that dry brushing (soft bristles for use on skin) followed by a no rinse cleanser (on a washcloth) works well. Walgreens makes a cleanser concentrate with a “greenish” fragrance as well as a fragrance-free option. “No Rinse Cleanser” brand name smells like baby powder, which I personally don’t care for, but may be fine for other people. This type of cleanser is highly concentrated so a little goes a long way.
Dingfelder
Well-known member
This went up a bit in price, but it's a pretty good no-rinse cleanser. You do get two bottles, and each one lasts a long time.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K2SM42C/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I used this as a caretaker for an old fellow with the usual problems. it was good for anywhere on the body, including washing hair. It foams up, so a squirt goes a really long way.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K2SM42C/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I used this as a caretaker for an old fellow with the usual problems. it was good for anywhere on the body, including washing hair. It foams up, so a squirt goes a really long way.
Robin at Creative RV on YouTube put out a vlog on this subject this morning. Click here
. She taught a class at the RTR this past January. She always has very informative videos. Folks might also want to subscribe to her blog. I bought her Nomad book to read while I’m on the road; hopefully, within the next week or two. Hope someone finds this helpful.
. She taught a class at the RTR this past January. She always has very informative videos. Folks might also want to subscribe to her blog. I bought her Nomad book to read while I’m on the road; hopefully, within the next week or two. Hope someone finds this helpful.
BelgianPup
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If the Scouts taught you to use DIRT, they were dead wrong -- the scrubber of choice was SAND.
Vinegar will kill a few types of bacteria, but not the bad ones. One good case of food poisoning will prove it.
Bleach will kill most bacteria, but doesn't do much for oil or grease, esp in cold water. It seems to be mostly guys who insist on using it. I assume that they either like the Kill Factor, they like the stink, or they think dish detergent is effeminate.
And then there is detergent, created specifically for dishwashing. It doesn't take much -- 1/8 teaspoon in a quart of warm water is enough. Another reason that some people don't use it is because they think More Is Better and use waaay too much, which takes a lot of water to rinse off. This detergent was designed to cause food debris, oils and bacteria to sliiiiide off the dishes. FOR OIL AND GREASE, YOU NEED TO USE WARM WATER. Too simple? Maybe.
Don't obsess about using water. Some people have died of dehydration because they wanted to hoard their drinking water -- how dumb was that.
Give yourself a buffer -- keep two extra gallons stored in a different place from your main supply so you'll have an emergency supply.
Vinegar will kill a few types of bacteria, but not the bad ones. One good case of food poisoning will prove it.
Bleach will kill most bacteria, but doesn't do much for oil or grease, esp in cold water. It seems to be mostly guys who insist on using it. I assume that they either like the Kill Factor, they like the stink, or they think dish detergent is effeminate.
And then there is detergent, created specifically for dishwashing. It doesn't take much -- 1/8 teaspoon in a quart of warm water is enough. Another reason that some people don't use it is because they think More Is Better and use waaay too much, which takes a lot of water to rinse off. This detergent was designed to cause food debris, oils and bacteria to sliiiiide off the dishes. FOR OIL AND GREASE, YOU NEED TO USE WARM WATER. Too simple? Maybe.
Don't obsess about using water. Some people have died of dehydration because they wanted to hoard their drinking water -- how dumb was that.
Give yourself a buffer -- keep two extra gallons stored in a different place from your main supply so you'll have an emergency supply.
I dont know why I've never thought about cooking pasta IN the sauce. I feel like a dumb @$$ now. Haha. I have been planning on buying one of the stanley 3qt camp crocks anyway. Maybe my first experiment would be to make some pasta in it's own sauce. I wanted to make a curry as a first test but pasta would be a good test as well.
I live on 1/3 gallon of water per day, for everything except the occasional shower. And the longer I go without a shower, the less I care about getting one.
2 1/4 cup of water for my oatmeal in the morning.
About 2-3 tablespoons in my measuring cup (my sink) and tuck a microfiber cloth in there to start absorbing water. (They take their time.)
Maybe fill up my drinking bottle. I don't always drink the whole thing.
When the oatmeal water gets hot, I rinse out my toothbrush and insulated mug from the night before, then pour it on the oatmeal.
About 5-8 spritzes of water (from small spray bottle from beauty aisle at Walmart) to moisten remaining oatmeal. 1/2 paper towel to wipe the oatmeal out of the bowl. With a tiny bit of practice you can get all but a tiny film. Spritz a little again. Another half-sheet of paper towel gets the remaining molecules of oatmeal. Fold that paper towel half inside out so oatmeal won't get on anything and hang up to dry. That becomes the first half-sheet for the next meal.
Second meal (I almost always only eat two meals per day now) comes out of a can. I don't cook, I heat food. A can of Campbell's chunky soup, two cans of tuna (usually with the tuna juice included) and the noodles from a ramen packet (no flavor packet). That is about 1.5 liters of water that didn't come from my jugs but still goes in my body. Usually, that is almost enough for a day. (The 8 glasses per day rule is bullshit invented by the bottled water industry).
I cook and eat out of the same pot. When finished eating, I use my silicone spatula that I used to stir the soup while heating and scrape as much of the remaining soup from the sides of the pot as possible. If there is still some dried on there, I will spritz it and scrape some more. The waste goes back into the original can that has been set aside for that purpose. Then I use the same two-half-paper-towels method to clean the pot.
No, I do not use anything to "disinfect" the pot or my oatmeal bowl. Bacteria won't grow if there is nothing there and the dishes dry quickly. Kitchens are cesspools of bacteria because people leave wet stuff laying around to rot and then wipe that nastiness all over their counters. A kitchen sponge is a bacteria application device.
Sometimes, I will make a mug of hot chocolate at night. Just under two cups of water.
I have learned how to suck most of the spit out of my toothbrush after I am finished with it, then run my thumb across it a couple of times to spray out even more. Then it gets set aside to quickly dry until I make hot water again. I spit the toothpaste into the trash or out on the ground rather than rinse it down a sink.
For hygiene, I use two packages of unscented baby wipes. Into one I have put 1/2 cup of 91% isopropyl alcohol. Baby wipes packages are stored in freezer zip-lock bags. I use one plain and one alcohol wipe per "bath." Plain goes on my face. Alcohol goes on my pits, then feet, then butt. Then plain goes on butt because alcohol can be kinda burny. Women may have additional needs. Then I wipe my eyes and face with the moistened microfiber cloth. I do this "bath" once as I am getting dressed for the day, and once as I am getting dressed for bed. So, that's four wipes and four tablespoons of water for my daily "baths.
I also occasionally use a "dry bath brush" to exfoliate. Most of the problems with not taking showers is the build up of dead skin cells. You can get one of these at any body or beauty shop. I also have a "beard brush" that came with my hair trimmer. It is extra stiff and does a great job on my knees, elbows,and scalp.
I am not counting occasional showers because I don't use my water for showers. I go somewhere. Usually the La Paz County Park, north of Parker AZ. I have not had a "proper" shower since I left for my camp host job in the Baker Mt area in the last week of March. I don't feel any different fro how I feel two days after a shower. When I do take a "proper" shower, my face and skin quickly goes back to being super oily like it used to do in my "normal" life. I have found that showers are almost entirely unnecessary unless you are sweating a lot.
So..... I have eight, 1-gallon jugs of water. After three weeks I will usually have a full gallon untouched.
I honestly do not feel as if I am skrimping and saving water. I just use as much as I think I need each day and it turns out that I only use about 1/3 of a gallon.
No. I am absolutely, positively not dehydrating. I have spent a lot of years in this body. I have run and ridden my bicycle thousands of miles. I know what dehydration feels like. I'm just fine. My hair is only a little bit more oily than it used to be after a couple of days without a shower. But that is just the way my hair is now. And my scalp itches far less now. Imagine that.
2 1/4 cup of water for my oatmeal in the morning.
About 2-3 tablespoons in my measuring cup (my sink) and tuck a microfiber cloth in there to start absorbing water. (They take their time.)
Maybe fill up my drinking bottle. I don't always drink the whole thing.
When the oatmeal water gets hot, I rinse out my toothbrush and insulated mug from the night before, then pour it on the oatmeal.
About 5-8 spritzes of water (from small spray bottle from beauty aisle at Walmart) to moisten remaining oatmeal. 1/2 paper towel to wipe the oatmeal out of the bowl. With a tiny bit of practice you can get all but a tiny film. Spritz a little again. Another half-sheet of paper towel gets the remaining molecules of oatmeal. Fold that paper towel half inside out so oatmeal won't get on anything and hang up to dry. That becomes the first half-sheet for the next meal.
Second meal (I almost always only eat two meals per day now) comes out of a can. I don't cook, I heat food. A can of Campbell's chunky soup, two cans of tuna (usually with the tuna juice included) and the noodles from a ramen packet (no flavor packet). That is about 1.5 liters of water that didn't come from my jugs but still goes in my body. Usually, that is almost enough for a day. (The 8 glasses per day rule is bullshit invented by the bottled water industry).
I cook and eat out of the same pot. When finished eating, I use my silicone spatula that I used to stir the soup while heating and scrape as much of the remaining soup from the sides of the pot as possible. If there is still some dried on there, I will spritz it and scrape some more. The waste goes back into the original can that has been set aside for that purpose. Then I use the same two-half-paper-towels method to clean the pot.
No, I do not use anything to "disinfect" the pot or my oatmeal bowl. Bacteria won't grow if there is nothing there and the dishes dry quickly. Kitchens are cesspools of bacteria because people leave wet stuff laying around to rot and then wipe that nastiness all over their counters. A kitchen sponge is a bacteria application device.
Sometimes, I will make a mug of hot chocolate at night. Just under two cups of water.
I have learned how to suck most of the spit out of my toothbrush after I am finished with it, then run my thumb across it a couple of times to spray out even more. Then it gets set aside to quickly dry until I make hot water again. I spit the toothpaste into the trash or out on the ground rather than rinse it down a sink.
For hygiene, I use two packages of unscented baby wipes. Into one I have put 1/2 cup of 91% isopropyl alcohol. Baby wipes packages are stored in freezer zip-lock bags. I use one plain and one alcohol wipe per "bath." Plain goes on my face. Alcohol goes on my pits, then feet, then butt. Then plain goes on butt because alcohol can be kinda burny. Women may have additional needs. Then I wipe my eyes and face with the moistened microfiber cloth. I do this "bath" once as I am getting dressed for the day, and once as I am getting dressed for bed. So, that's four wipes and four tablespoons of water for my daily "baths.
I also occasionally use a "dry bath brush" to exfoliate. Most of the problems with not taking showers is the build up of dead skin cells. You can get one of these at any body or beauty shop. I also have a "beard brush" that came with my hair trimmer. It is extra stiff and does a great job on my knees, elbows,and scalp.
I am not counting occasional showers because I don't use my water for showers. I go somewhere. Usually the La Paz County Park, north of Parker AZ. I have not had a "proper" shower since I left for my camp host job in the Baker Mt area in the last week of March. I don't feel any different fro how I feel two days after a shower. When I do take a "proper" shower, my face and skin quickly goes back to being super oily like it used to do in my "normal" life. I have found that showers are almost entirely unnecessary unless you are sweating a lot.
So..... I have eight, 1-gallon jugs of water. After three weeks I will usually have a full gallon untouched.
I honestly do not feel as if I am skrimping and saving water. I just use as much as I think I need each day and it turns out that I only use about 1/3 of a gallon.
No. I am absolutely, positively not dehydrating. I have spent a lot of years in this body. I have run and ridden my bicycle thousands of miles. I know what dehydration feels like. I'm just fine. My hair is only a little bit more oily than it used to be after a couple of days without a shower. But that is just the way my hair is now. And my scalp itches far less now. Imagine that.
Dingfelder
Well-known member
To each their own. I am way too oily/smelly for that limited bathing, and way too thirsty for that limited fluid intake. If that miserly fluid intake didn't kill me first, my body odors would probably kill someone else.
I use a spray bottle full of rubbing alcohol, along with paper towels, probably three times a day. For some reason, I get super greasy behind the ears, and I find that if I don't clean my face and neck/ears very well, I will impregnate my pillows and blanket with body oils/sweat pretty quickly, which can both stain things and leave a smell that lingers until all my bedclothes are changed. It's much easier and cheaper and cleaner/less smelly to clean myself than my environment, I find.
And I simply like drinking enough water to be happy. It actually can be a mood elevator. Virtually every metabolic process in our bodies requires water.
I use a spray bottle full of rubbing alcohol, along with paper towels, probably three times a day. For some reason, I get super greasy behind the ears, and I find that if I don't clean my face and neck/ears very well, I will impregnate my pillows and blanket with body oils/sweat pretty quickly, which can both stain things and leave a smell that lingers until all my bedclothes are changed. It's much easier and cheaper and cleaner/less smelly to clean myself than my environment, I find.
And I simply like drinking enough water to be happy. It actually can be a mood elevator. Virtually every metabolic process in our bodies requires water.
Me, too.
My system works best when I drink plenty of water during the day, plus I like a little warm water running over me at least every other day. :s
Might consider wiping yourself down with something other than rubbing alcohol, Dingfelder, as that product may actually increase your skins production of oil.
That said, there have been a lot of great ideas here on how to minimize water usage.
My system works best when I drink plenty of water during the day, plus I like a little warm water running over me at least every other day. :s
Might consider wiping yourself down with something other than rubbing alcohol, Dingfelder, as that product may actually increase your skins production of oil.
That said, there have been a lot of great ideas here on how to minimize water usage.
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