Women Only: Moving back into my Element

[Element Gypsy]

Hi Ladies,
Lease is up in less than a week and have not found a room to rent that I can afford in a good area so I rented a small storage unit and will be back in my Honda Element for a while. 

In the past it was good and fun as I was traveling and have camped a lot int he wilderness, but now I am going to stay in LA and work as much as I can to save money.

I found a good resource and have applied. Safe Parking LA. If approved they give you a night spot in a designated parking lot that the owner has agreed for the program to use at night.  It is safe, security guard and has a porta potty supplied by the program.  Do not know when I will be notified yet.

The city also has maps that may or may not be correct (have to double check signs) where overnight parking is ok for vehicles under 7'. This is to keep big RV's from parking there.

Other than that I will have to stealth park and try to find places where there is a restroom accessible in the morning or not too far to go to.
I know of some already where parking starts at 6AM. 

I usually have to pee right away in the morning. But if I have a beer or too much water or juice, sometimes at 4 AM I gotta go! 

I have a luggable loo bucket with plastic bags and a gamma lid for pooping if need be, but the urine is a problem if I am not in the woods, camp site or highway rest area/truck stop.

I have a big container with a wide mouth and will look for a big funnel so I do not make a mess. 

any other ideas for peeing in the middle of the night in a city? I would think is is safer to stay in my car than try to go to some restroom at 4AM.

There is a 24hr starbucks I know of in the neighborhood I will be mostly staying but feel odd going in to the bathroom and not buying anything and places like Mc Donalds are sketchy that time of night.

After I work some more and get my disability straightened out (another story) I would like to get out of the city and maybe go to Utah or Oregon this summer. I need my trees!

Hope you are all doing well and are happy and safe and peaceful.

Dee

 

[maki2]

Sit with your bottom barely resting on the edge of a stool or seat, you can put a garbage bag on the seat to protect it and the floor if you wish. A newspaper on the floor can absorb any accidental spills and then just get tossed into a trash can. Spread your legs apart, press a wide mouth bottle up against yourself and pee into it, hold it long enough so the drips go into the bottle. Cap the bottle, wipe yourself and put the paper in a ziplock for disposal.

I have an orange tinted, Nalgene wide mouth water bottle. It is strong and it is leak proof , a good investment for long term useage. No one can tell that there is yellow pee liquid inside that bottle. You can walk into a store with it because it just looks like your personal water bottle. Then take it into the restroom and flush the contents down a toilet. Add rinse water but put that liquid into the toilet, do not put it down the sink. Obviously this will work best in a one person restroom where you can lock the door for privacy at the sink and toilet.

The wide mouth bottle method means you don't need to have a funnel. Funnels are fine but they have to get washed up. This way you don't have that extra item to wash up. I found my orange tinted, wide mouth Nalgene at a thrift store but they are available online and at some sporting goods stores. The wide mouth is what makes this method work. Of course any plastic wide mouth jar with a tight sealing lid will work but it is the color of the orange one that disguises the contents when you carry it into a public place. Lots of people carry around water bottles

 

[Element Gypsy]

Thanks Maki2,
All my years of travels and camping and never had to use a bottle and pee in my car! The nalgene bottle idea is good for the disposal like you said.

I did have to do a 24 hr urine test for my doctor and used a big yogurt or cottage cheese container to collect then pour into the bottle they provided, but I was at home and had plenty of room squatting over my toilet!

I did see this https://www.amazon.com/Firstergo-Fe...W5WERE8ETZM&psc=1&refRID=P7H595J5QW5WERE8ETZM

I might get as it had good reviews, but your idea is probably better.
I'll just hold it while I squat over my bucket.

I am kinda looking forward to this new adventure. Best not to pay rent right now, then I can save for a either a big empty van to do up, a class B, or a truck with slide in camper $$$. Thought I wanted a small 4 window bus but I drove a few recently and they are not very comfortable or economical or stealth. Not good if it is my only vehicle, a daily driver.

I'm leaning towards the truck/camper idea but that is a lot more $$$ than a van.

I am in no rush. Enjoying life as it is now.

thanks

 

[maki2]

It is always good to appreciate what you do have. Then enjoy dreams of future possibilities. Just don't let the dreams get to the point of making you feel unhappy in the here and now.

Took the rear seats out of my Element a few days ago. I need to get them re-homed. They sure are heavy!

 

[RoamerRV428]

GoGirl women's urinal for like when hiking etc. A lot of options to be able to use your Element and not have to go out and about so early in the am.

I hope you bank up a ton of money and enjoy your job....and when ready to roll again, away ya go

 

[Cammalu]

Dee, I’m not ragging on you or anything but I’ve always been curious and really want to know why people choose to stay in a place that is so expensive to live in.

There are so many places in the US that are still very cheap and have plenty of jobs.

 

[maki2]

I did see this https://www.amazon.com/Firstergo-Fe...W5WERE8ETZM&psc=1&refRID=P7H595J5QW5WERE8ETZM

I might get as it had good reviews, but your idea is probably better.
I'll just hold it while I squat over my bucket.

That unit is a very bad choice because of the corrugations in the tube. Those wrinkles will catch the pee on all the surfaces making it a lot more difficult to wash it. That tube was designed to be carried folded but in the long run cleaning it out and then getting it dry to put back into a women's purse or pocket makes what seems like a sensible product that is compact to carry into a not so great design.  Most people won't see that disadvantage when they look at it, their brain clicks off at...".how will I fit it against my body" instead of going through the completing all the steps needed in the cycle of use of the product.

Remember when you evaluate a product you must think all the way through each and every step of the use as well as things like cost, durability, storage, attractive looks, etc. That kind of thinking is easy, just practice visualizing it in your head. Make yourself do it often until it becomes a habit and you will find that you rapidly improve with practice. With something such as peeing you can even do a simulation of ALL the body movements required from taking it out of the place you store it, its use for the primary function, the cleaning and putting it back into storage.

Visualization is an acquired skill that anyone can improve upon at any age. It is also an essential habit for increasing your creativity so that is a bonus reason to do it. The third area that practice improves is your mechanical ability because your brain is then used to rapidly thinking through all the steps needed for a task. You can go from "I am not very mechanically inclined" to being far more mechanically inclined with a little practice with this self taught visualization thinking.

 

[GypsyJan]

Being able to pee into a container in your car is another step toward freedom. Leaving the safety of your vehicle in the dark or bad weather is not prudent. Once you get a system down pat, you will be more confident solving the next problem that you face. As we age, we pee more frequently at night, so be proactive and be prepared.

 

[maki2]

Needing to pee more frequently and having to do it right away is definitely a problem for many older women.
That kind of thing can keep a lot of women from having a lot more fun in their lives.

 

[Kaylee]

+1 Thanks to maki2's suggestion of a wide mouth Nalgene!
I've been using a laundry detergent bottle, but it's neither discrete, nor has a mouth as pouring-into-friendly as the Nalgene. It's weird that that the laundry bottle is the most commonly recommended storage vessel.
This has been nagging at me, so problem now solved.

I too had problems with the various cups that are most often suggested.
Purely thru Dumb Luck, I stumbled upon an alternative.
Someone at CRVL mentioned using a Dollar Tree funnel, so I checked them out, found the automotive one too small, found the cooking 3-funnel-pack... and immediately beside them, a mixing bowl.
It's about the size of a bedpan, has a stable base, a handle, and a pouring spout.

Worked wonderfully the very first time.

After I poured the urine into my laundry bottle, I added some water to the bowl, swished about, and poured that in, too.

Then another hack occurred to me... cinnamon!
Gentleman Jim had mentioned it in response to a question I posted elsewhere about masking noxious smells (in a TBI context).
I had a fresh bottle of Walmart cinnamon, so sprinkled some into the bowl, swished a bit more water & then into the laundry bottle.
The bowl smelled nice, and when I went to dump the bottle the next day, it smelt nice (IMO).

+1 on GypsyJan's Freedom to Pee comment!
My fast food soda cups were a major stressor, until I stumbled upon the one buck bowl. Once I've added a Nalgene, it'll drop further.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

Yeah, I've felt uncomfortable carrying pee bottles inside to dump. But, no one ever questions liquid that is blue or green or Hawaiian Punch red. Food coloring-a little drop will do ya.
Ted

 

[rosiemartinez1211]

Great ideas Ladies

I already had the funnel from dollar store but never thought about a mixing bowl!

And this: no one ever questions liquid that is blue or green or Hawaiian Punch red. Food coloring-a little drop will do ya -.Brilliant

Was already starting to think "OH NO I NEED A NALGENE BOTTLE!!!" cuz that's how I do, unfortunately haha

But every suggestion opens up a world of possibilities

Thanks!

 

[maki2]

if you are traveling with food coloring and some vinegar you can make Easter eggs for this coming Sunday

You need a recipe:
Mix 1/2 cup boiling water, 1 teaspoon vinegar and 10 to 20 drops food color in a cup to achieve desired colors. Repeat for each color. Dip hard-cooked eggs in dye for about 5 minutes.

 

[Stardust]

Hi Dee, what has worked wonderfully for me is a “freshette” female urinary device and an orange widemouth nalgene bottle. For me, the freshette is much easier to use than a bottle or jar by itself. After using the funnel, i squirt it with a little liquid cleanser and place in a small plastic bag. Then when a restroom is available, I can slip the bag in pocket or purse to bring along with the “stealth water bottle.” When washing my hands after dumping the contents of bottle in the toilet, I wash bottle and funnel, too. 

As for seeing trees, have you been up to the mountains outside of greater LA? The San Gabriels and San Bernardinos, maybe the Santa Susannas? All are gorgeous.

 

[eknhok]

That unit is a very bad choice because of the corrugations in the tube.

EXCELLENT advice!!!

 

[Element Gypsy]

Glad I didnt bother with at urinal thing.
I found a great hard plastic giant cup with screw lid at the 99¢ store. . It has a big handle.the mouth is huge, like a wide mouth mason jar.

Yes, I visualized it when comparing to others at good will.
Works great!

Now my only problem is I have too much stuff an I have to fold part of my tri fold mattress to use the back seat area, but it works!

Yes, I got a new mattress. So happy with my choice. Zinus, cot size. It is 25 inches wide and 72 long. Really really comfy. I got the 5 inch and sleep super.

Getting in a routine. I do instacart so I plan my shift to start later so I can chill in the morning and make coffee and have cereal or, oatmeal at a park. When I need a shower, I plan my shift to start by near planet fitness.

I have used some of the equipment and now eating crow as my son told me years ago to join.
The hydro massage bed and the massage chair is a wonderful thing for my chronic pain.

Definitely in the honnymoon stage.
Would like a cheap place, room to rent as a home base eventually.
Getting on housing lists again.
I looked at a place I applied for years ago. Finally my number came up and it sucked! I know of a few that are really nice but by the time one is offered to me, could bevyears, I may be in a different head space and nor want it.
Taking ir easy and not wigged out about being houseless. I take it as an eventure and going slow on my daily stuff and enjoying life rather than getting frustrated with the system and red tape.
Thanks ladies.