Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Refill

I started my van dwelling life with a 7-gallon water jug. It was too unwieldy, so I gave it away and changed over to several 1-gallon jugs. First six of them, then five, then four. Now I only keep two jugs around. There are two reasons for this decline in jug population.

The first was that I don’t go far from sources of potable water for long periods. So I don’t need to stockpile it.

The other reason is I consume less water than I used to. I’ve never been a coffee drinker and I’m rarely boiling foods. When I do dishes I use only enough water to get the sponge wet or to spritz water on the dishes. I clean myself with a wet washcloth. (I also use public showers of one type or another, and I use laundromats, but that’s not water I need to carry with me.)

This all came to mind today when I refilled one of my jugs. The last time I got water was, oh, six weeks ago. That’s about a third of a cup a day. (The other jug was still full.) That doesn’t mean you need to do the same. It just works for me.

7 comments:

  1. Barney, The Old Fat ManJanuary 31, 2018 at 8:27 PM

    I find that when boondocking without being especially conservative I use about two and a half gallons a day. But when I cut back I comfortably use one gallon a day. Since my trailer has a 40 gallon fresh water tank the two week stay limits at a lot of places is easy. My biggest water use when in real minimum mode is my drinking of at least 2 quarts a day of water. I have been known to carry a one gallon jug for drinking water in the truck and fill it at faucets of opportunity.

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2018 at 10:16 PM

    I remember when you gave away that big water jug. Bob was surprised but I wasn't. Too heavy to move when full.

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  3. Gary GowerFebruary 1, 2018 at 5:03 PM

    Hi Bob,
    To keep our kidneys in good shape, we need to "flush" them with about 2 quarts of water a day... prevents kidney stones. Well, thats wat I was told all my life, I am used to it.

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    Replies
    1. Al ChristensenFebruary 1, 2018 at 5:45 PM

      https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/25/upshot/no-you-do-not-have-to-drink-8-glasses-of-water-a-day.html

      Delete
  4. UnknownFebruary 3, 2018 at 8:55 AM

    Hey just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The words in your post seem to be running off the screen in Opera. I'm not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I thought I'd post to let you know. The style and design look great though! Hope you get the problem solved soon. ThanksRolling Door

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Al ChristensenFebruary 3, 2018 at 9:17 AM

      I'm just using one of Blogger's formats. So I'm guessing it's a thing with Opera. At any rate, the solution is beyond my abilities and control. Sorry.

      Delete
  5. folding gateFebruary 27, 2021 at 5:43 AM

    water is very important for survival,Yes i am totally agreed with this article

    ReplyDelete

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