What We Learned

In past years’ challenges we have practiced full days with no water. It definitely takes a lot more water to cook, clean dishes, wash yourself, etc. then you would think. The 1 gallon per person per day is NOT enough for proper hygiene. This year we wanted to focus on the sanitation aspect of things because last year we wasted TONS of water flushing our precious stored water. We knew there had to be a better way. This year we hinted that people should put together a basic “Sanitation Kit” before the challenge

Julie highlights some of the contents from her kit here:

What YOU Learned

A few of our favorite tips from our Facebook discussions:

Milk Jug Shower/handwashing: Tie large nail to a string and tie it to the handle of a milk jug. Shove the nail into the side bottom (1/2 inch up) of the jug – it acts as a plug and string keeps it handy after you pull it out to get water. The lid tightness adjusts the water flow. —– Put heated water in it and hang from your shower head for regular shower. It doesn’t give good volume to wash hair but showers great. Put one on kitchen/bath sink side to keep hands clean.

I emptied the toilet bowl by shuting off the little faucet, took an 18 gal. plastic garbage bag set it in the bowl. (Had to use some paking tape to keep it in place.) Sprinkled a little cat litter then went to the restroom! Sprinkled a little more on top – closed the lid & it was ready for my next trip.

For in between shower days, instead of baby wipes they also have oversized ‘shower’ wipes. They use these in hospitals instead of the old fashioned sponge bath. They carry them at the pharmacies. They’re nice because it’s large and thicker than wet wipes and helps stretch the days between baths

I did go out and shut off the main water supply, so I can check that off my list. Unfortunately, I was gone for a walk when hubby got up and he called the water company, then had to call them back when I got home and explained what we were doing for the week. Yes, he called and explained to them that there had been an error and his wife had intentionally shut off the water because she was spending the day being a pioneer.

Read more about how people “survived” this day’s challenge

Follow-Up Questions

Where were the instructions on how to put together a Sanitation Kit?
We hinted about this on the blog a few weeks ago. Click here to see the post.

Where can I buy the “SuperSorb” mentioned in the Sanitation Kit list?
We found it online at Amazon.com. Click here to go straight to that product.

Where can I just buy a ready-made sanitation kit?
The kit from the video above is from Shelf Reliance. It is a deluxe 4 person, 1 week kit and costs $135. It’s not available online but we can take phone orders for it. (Email fsmethrive@gmail.com if you are interested in buying a kit).

You can also buy a less deluxe kit from Emergency Essentials for about $50 at this link. Individual items for homemade kits can be purchased at Shelf Reliance, Emergency Essentials, and Amazon.com

Our To-Do’s For This Year

To Do: Research water purifiers in depth, add to our first aid kits
To Learn: Learn more about safe first aid practices
To Buy: A water purifier system and add to first aid kits

We recently asked for people to submit ideas of emergency situations to use for our upcoming 7 Day Challenge (you can still submit ideas and enter for a chance to win one of our binders!). Several of the submissions touched on some basic sanitation issues and we thought this would be a great time to touch on this topic in a little more detail. (YES THAT IS A HINT THAT THIS MAY COME UP IN THE CHALLENGE THIS YEAR!)

One of our readers sent us an awesome sanitation kit handout that we have converted to match the other handouts included in our Food Storage Made Easy Binder so you can print it off, add it to your binder, and have it ready to go in an emergency situation. We highly recommend putting together a kit of this sort as part of your emergency preparedness plans.

We previously posted instructions on how to make an emergency chemical toilet but this new handout contains much more detail.

p.s. We know a lot of our readers are currently experiencing different emergency situations in light of Hurricane Irene. Check back later this week (when hopefully everyone has power back!) as we go over a Natural Disaster Crash Course to remind everyone of the important things they should know in situations like this.

Emergency Chemical Toilet Contents

• 5 gallon plastic bucket (with tight fitting lid)
• 2 large boxes of garbage can liners (8-10 gallon size)
• 1 gallon of liquid chlorine bleach
• Pinesol
• 6-8 rolls of toilet paper
• Feminine hygiene products
• 2 boxes of baking soda
• Paper towels
• Wet wipes
• 1 bar of hand soap

Emergency Chemical Toilet Instructions

To use the toilet, simply remove the contents from the bucket, insert a plastic garbage can liner into the bucket and fold the edges over the rim of the bucket. Mix one cup of liquid chlorine bleach to one half gallon of water (one to ten ratio) and pour this solution into the bucket. This will kill germs and ensure adequate coverage. Though the bucket may be uncomfortable to sit on it certainly beat the alternative. For greater comfort you can remove the seat from a toilet and secure it to the top of the bucket. You could also consider including a child’s potty training seat in the toilet kit.

Every time someone uses the emergency toilet, he should pour or sprinkle into it a small amount of Pinesol, chlorine bleach, or baking soda to keep down odors and germs. The lid should then be replaced securely to keep insects out and the smell contained.

When the bucket is one third to one half full, tie the garbage bag liner shut and dispose of it appropriately (i.e. burying it or placing it inside a large covered metal garbage can for later disposal). Then simply replace with a new liner and a new mix of bleach water.

Image from http://www.endtimesreport.com

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