3-Step Minimalist Shower: Conserve Water!

[Sands]

As I sit here and gaze out at a tropical jungle where we have received over 100" of rain in the last 3 months it seems silly to think about conserving water. It is, however, a very real problem for millions of people in the U.S., and is (and has been) always on the minds of serious boondockers. Since I was born and raised in the desert SW, where water has always been somewhat scarce, I thought I'd share the '3-Step Minialmist Shower' for those interested in the ultimate in water conservation:

1) Dampen a tissue with your saliva
2)wipe down
3)eat tissue (this returns salts/other minerals and the moisture of the tissue to your body and helps give you that 'full' feeling, cutting down on food consumption, a win-win!)

[honda03842]

The average rainfall for the USA is 31 inches.

Canada averages 537mm (21 inches) of rain per year, less than California's 22 inches.

Nevada is the driest at 9.5", followed by Utah with 12.2 inches.

[theresa p]

Sands----you are too funny.

[kirkman]

Originally Posted by Sands

As I sit here and gaze out at a tropical jungle where we have received over 100" of rain in the last 3 months it seems silly to think about conserving water. It is, however, a very real problem for millions of people in the U.S., and is (and has been) always on the minds of serious boondockers. Since I was born and raised in the desert SW, where water has always been somewhat scarce, I thought I'd share the '3-Step Minialmist Shower' for those interested in the ultimate in water conservation:



1) Dampen a tissue with your saliva

2)wipe down

3)eat tissue (this returns salts/other minerals and the moisture of the tissue to your body and helps give you that 'full' feeling, cutting down on food consumption, a win-win!)

Very good and funny!......LOL


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[Mike Magee]

Plus, the tissue is a good source of fiber, which we all need more of...

I might try this technique, if I can watch you demonstrate it a few times first!

[EllPea in CA]

Argh. I just threw up in my mouth a little bit!

(Waste of precious moisture AND loss of sustenance!)

[Sands]

Where I am in Costa Rica we average about 200" per year, but this year has been particularly wet so far! Too bad we can't send a few feet of water north for CA to use!

[gordon2]

You folks in California need to wear this. Its so amazing that Frank Herbert saw the water crisis coming in his vision of the future.

[honda03842]

Dry?

Approximately 7,000,000 gallons of water per year fall on United States soil each year for each citizen, 20,000 gallons per day for every US citizen.

Approximately 48,000,000 gallons of water per year rain on Canadian soil for each citizen or about 138,000 gallons per day for every Canadian citizen.

There's an amazing amount of precipitation each year.

In an average year CA receives 7,000 gallons of precipitation each day for each citizen. In 2014 rainfall averaged 3,500 gallons per person per day.

[Sands]

That's a lot of water Norm! Does that mean I DON'T have to eat the tissue?

[George in New Mex]

So.......if your numbers are accurate, Norm, here in Southern New Mexico we average 10 inches of rain per year, about half of California's amount, or about 3,500 gallons per day for each person. Crazy. Two people died (presumably from dehydration, but the investigation continues, as cops and news people always say) a few days ago at White Sands National Monument. So you can have all kinds of water, but if it's underground or otherwise out of reach, people and plant life can still be in trouble. I'm pretty sure the situation around here is not typical.

[Ev in Oregon]

I've lived in southwestern Oregon for 30 years, 25 of those on the coast. Years ago a normal winter brought us close to 100" of moisture. The past 10 years or so, it's been more like 60-ish. I miss my web feet; they sure made me stand out in a crowd, plus I had built-in fins in case of flood or tsunami.

[honda03842]

Sands,
Interestingly the average rainfall in Costa Rica for the whole country is 100 inches/year. This amounts to 20,000 gallons of water per Costa Rican citizen per day, about the same as the United States.

[Sands]

Norm;
Parts of Costa Rica (the Pacific NW) have a very dry season, leaves turn brown and fall off, grass turns brown, creeks dry up. Parts get rain practically all year long. Lots of micro-climates created by mountains and oceans too.

The figures for gallons/person are impressive, but consider that a mature tree can pull 100 or more gallons of water out of the soil every day (https://www.americanforests.org/disc...ts/tree-facts/) and then count how many trees there are! Not that I begrudge the trees their water; I agree with Ogden Nash: "I think that I shall never see, a billboard as lovely as a tree".

Anyway, if anyone wants to grow (or regrow) webbed feet, come visit us!

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by George in New Mex

So.......if your numbers are accurate, Norm, here in Southern New Mexico we average 10 inches of rain per year, about half of California's amount, or about 3,500 gallons per day for each person. Crazy. Two people died (presumably from dehydration, but the investigation continues, as cops and news people always say) a few days ago at White Sands National Monument. So you can have all kinds of water, but if it's underground or otherwise out of reach, people and plant life can still be in trouble. I'm pretty sure the situation around here is not typical.

The two French citizens that passed away at White Sands National Monument may have done so because they set out on a long hike across the desert with as little as 1 liter bottle of water each. All the water in the world won't help out if you don't have it where you can hydrate with it.

Other issues may have exacerbated the situation.

T was a very sad and unfortunate situation.