I was recently asked for tips from someone who was going to be trying out the dry cabin lifestyle. It is a big change to go from the option of having streams of hot water flowing with the twist of a wrist to hauling every ounce of water you will use to your home under your own power.
Dry cabin living is not for everyone, this was my first tip. I think most people have a gut feeling if it is something they feel capable of tackling. It requires, by sheer demand of exerted energy, that you form a much stronger understanding of your relationship with water. When I first started living dry in 2009, I don’t think I realized how much it would change the way I think about water.
Tip 2: Each person pick a plate, cup, bowl, spoon, fork, & knife that are uniquely identifiable and stick to those items. See 170121: Dry Cabin Minimalism Marriage This really keeps you accountable for your own mess and in the rhythm of washing things before eating again, to prevent the “dish mountain”. (We do have 2 cups each, but just because one may wander upstairs or stay bedside and then we still have an option without tracking through the house. One is a french press thermos so we can drink hot things, and the other just a glass of our choice)
Tip 3: Do your dishes right after/ during cooking/ eating. When the food is still moist on the plate or pan, it takes much less water to clean (also takes less time because you aren’t attacking stubborn food crusties.)
Tip 4: Most people will have a sink, and use Aquatainers, https://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Products-Aqua-Tainer-Gallon-Container/dp/B001QC31G6 because you can lay them on their side to be a faucet just by opening the valve. The underside plumbing of the sink gets cut off so it will drain into a 5 gal. bucket. (if you live in a warm climate you can set up a more complex drainage system, but here in an Alaska winter water would freeze if you try to divert it out of the house, and just form a gigantic ice mound… can you tell I tried it? ;))
Tip 5: CHECK THE BUCKET OFTEN. You need to make sure you are emptying the catch bucket once it gets around half way full. When you are new to dry living it’s best to add an extra catch tray to set the bucket in, until you get used to internalizing that check as part of your water habit. The Aqua tainers hold 6-7 gal and the bucket only 5… you see the dilemma.
Tip 6: Stay Aware of your remaining water. I keep about 5-6 Aquatainers at my other place. (I will talk more about the water system in my current cabin in a follow up post) When I’m down to my last jug full, I take the others all at one time to go refill. We are fortunate here in northern AK to have such good water. I can fill from a friend’s outdoor tap and get great fresh drinking water. In Fairbanks there are actual water stations to fill, and my boyfriend can put 6, six gal containers upright in his hatchback and the hose has a stop valve so he can fill them all without even taking them out of the car. More amazing is that we can get 36 gallons that way for 50 cents. Yeah, sorry, you won’t find that deal just anywhere. People in Fairbanks who have such good water set ups that you can barely tell it’s a dry cabin have 400-500 gal tanks in the bed of their pick up trucks to fill and just pump it out at home… luxury dry cabin living :). Those places often have gravity fed water and full water heaters and showers.
Tip 7: Get a teapot. This is the water heater for a simple dry cabin. Better than a pot because you have better control for pouring. I mix boiling and regular water in a dish pan with my dish soap and usually put some more on to boil while I wash in case I need a second round. It’s also good to have a drain catch as the less food breaking down in the bucket the less smelly it will be.
Tip 8: Paper Towels are a good friend. If you cook with cast iron, and even some other, a good pass or two with a paper towel will be effective in cleaning out a freshly used greasy pan. Lots of plates and things I swipe first with a paper towel to save on work that would otherwise require a lot of water. Also if you have a pan with things stuck on, much better to add a little water and put it back on the stove to soak off than to apply more and more water trying to scrub it.
Tip 9: Outhouse. These are surprisingly simple. Make sure your pit is deeply dug, and the housing over the top is well built, I can’t give advice on that as mine was in place when I got my place, but it’s lovely. I set up a small cupboard outside to set up an aquatainer, soap dish and hanging towel.. (I will have to take pics and post them on here some day). If you don’t want another water station, always easy to wash hands back at the kitchen sink. I like to have an extra one outside just for the ease. Best not to put toilet paper down the outhouse pit, as this just wastes unnecessary space. I keep a bin for used tp and incinerate it in the wood stove every now and again.
Tip 10: Catch water. I have some buckets to catch rain water off the gutter, just for using on plants etc. There are much more advanced systems for this, but you get the basic idea, utilize your available water if possible.
Tip: 11: Friends/ Solar Shower/ Colander/ Mug/ Tea pot. I would like to eventually make a heated shower system. But for now in terms of showering in winter I either go to a friend’s house, or just wash my hair etc with a mix of hot/cold water poured through a colander over my hair over the sink for a few rounds to wet, sham, rinse, cond, rinse. Again I keep the kettle going in case I need more. In summer time I use my solar shower It’s surprising how little water it actually takes, and I have shoulder length hair. I have a nice spot outside on the land out of sight. I love being out in the sunshine for a shower.
Dry cabin living can be done in many places, but it is not always simple to source water affordably if you don’t live near friends or a metropolitan location.
If you have any questions feel free to write me. Since I’ve been living dry since 2009 it’s hard to think of all things one may wonder.
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