# So What the heck you gonna do for TP?



## PrairieBelle22 (Nov 17, 2006)

When your stock piles of 24 packs of toilet paper run out. And you've exhausted all the old catalogs...

What next?


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

bidet. Already good.


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

Forage or grow bum moss to press into sheets as was used by the Vikings and Medieval folks of course.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Many have decided to make flannel or baby diaper material, or other soft material bottom wipes that will be put in a container of disinfectant water until they are washed. Then used again.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

And maybe if no bidet is handy, a dishwashing soap bottle that is cleaned and warm water put in and used then dried with a cloth or two.


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## AR Transplant (Mar 20, 2004)

I think the bidet is the most logical, assuming you have plenty of water available. If water is precious, and it may well be, then I will resort to old end of the line clothes and such. 
As a matter of fact, I have begun stuffing old pillow cases with our old clothing that is too far gone to even donate. It's no big deal.
And if you want to know my humble opinion, I don't heavily stock up on toliet paper. I will buy food medicine and tools way before I would stock up on tp. I would hate to be starving with a room full of tp that you can't trade for love nor money.


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2014)

Here I sit in fumes & vapors
Someone else used all the paper
Now I'm late & cannot linger
Look out blankety blank 
Here comes my finger


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

Third times a charm, eh?

rtsp://r7---sn-jc47eu7k.googlevideo.com/CjYLENy73wIaLQnBwhOA-Nx84RMYJCAkFEIJbXYtZ29vZ2xlSARSBXdhdGNoYP2Fx7Xh_86UUgw=/0/0/0/video.3gp


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## 3ravens (Mar 16, 2006)

cfuhrer said:


> Third times a charm, eh?
> 
> rtsp://r7---sn-jc47eu7k.googlevideo.com/CjYLENy73wIaLQnBwhOA-Nx84RMYJCAkFEIJbXYtZ29vZ2xlSARSBXdhdGNoYP2Fx7Xh_86UUgw=/0/0/0/video.3gp


Nope, still didn't work. Try again when you're on a PC.... :grin:

I already use "family cloth" for urine, If TSHTF I'll just use it for everything.


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## Astrid (Nov 13, 2010)

I bought a bunch of cheap washcloths at Wally World and will have a diaper pail with soapy water just like I had when my kids were in diapers. I figure I will have to boil water to wash them in and use plenty of bleach. I have so many of these washcloths that even if the bleach disintegrates them eventually, I will replace them. I found these washcloths about 2 years ago in pack of 12 for a couple dollars.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

You're assuming I'm going to run out. For that to happen, 3 different locations would have to burn down.


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## Tarheel (Jan 24, 2010)

Yep ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^what he said ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^somethings are just that important to stock up on.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

We have been using "family cloths" for urine, like 3ravens, for years now. I have even gone so far as making some nice dark colored ones for #2 in the event we have to go that route. Not much different then cloth diapers, just as easy to take care of.


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## homstdr74 (Jul 4, 2011)

During the summer the soft side of sycamore leaves work best. During the winter, I'd say that what the indigenous peoples of India do would be best: they have a can of water in which they dip their hand and then.......

But in India there are rules about this:

http://ayearinindia.wordpress.com/2008/05/28/right-hand-left-hand/

From the article: "I am a westerner. There are no cultural issues related to the use of the right or left hand. You have two hands, why not use them both? India is like the Middle East, with its right hand/left hand rules. The left hand is the one that you clean yourself with after a bowel movement, so you use the right hand for everything else."


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## bowdonkey (Oct 6, 2007)

AngieM2 said:


> And maybe if no bidet is handy, a dishwashing soap bottle that is cleaned and warm water put in and used then dried with a cloth or two.


What will power the bidet if things really go bad? Just asking. Up here if your out in the bush in -40 weather and you're out of TP, you can get pretty creative.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

93% of the humans on this planet don't use toilet paper NOW. 

We have cloth to use if we decide, but if we can't acquire more toilet paper then we also probably can't acquire gasoline for the generator or detergent and washing those by hand is going to be pretty disgusting.

So at worst we'll use moss, leaves, or our hands. _Just like the rest of the world._


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Also, most primitive peoples don't hardly wipe _at all_.

The reason YOUR butt is such a mess and needs three pounds of toilet paper to be cleaned is because the food you eat is loaded up with binding agents, glues, syrups, and other goos that hold it together and make it palatable to your western diet but yet don't digest and turn your excrement into a gooey mess.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Soap- water- wash cloth.............


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

I just love it when people talk about the end of the world as we know it and say they're just going to wash things. How many people live on city water, use city electricity? Or have a deep well that runs on electricity? (I'm included in on this too.) When the world ends as we know it, there isn't going to be electricity (unless you can make/store it) and/or a lot of available water.

I think we need to rethink some things. :huh:


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Solar and wind generate my electric. . . . .to power my deep well

any more questions . ???


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Jim-mi said:


> Solar and wind generate my electric. . . . .to power my deep well
> 
> any more questions . ???


Forever? 

Pumps don't wear out, circuits don't break, wires don't get chewed, panels don't get cracked?

What then? You're going to hold it in for the next 40 years of your life?

I love it when people get off the grid and think, "whew, now I'm set".

The reality of being off-grid means that you're actually MORE fragile than the rest of the world, not less. When my stuff breaks, there's not a repairman on the way to fix it. There's no media outrage if I have to go without electricity for the next 3 weeks. There's no board of directors to hold someone accountable for the failure and make promises that it won't happen again.

I am insulated from the failure of someone else's grid, but I am not insulated from the failures of my own.

In our lives, we did not simply substitute our own electricity for that pumped in by the electric company. _We learned how to make electricity a luxury in our life, not a need._


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

I tend to see things after SHTF as a gradual decrease in comfort and ease as we use up the things we've stored and have to adapt. We'll go from TP, batteried flashlights and barrels of clean water to wiping cloths, lanterns and using a filter for creek water. Then eventually we'll go to leaves, solar lanterns and candles, and a well bucket. 

I think this mindset will help with the learning curve because it will take some time to get used to cooking over a fire, growing an even bigger garden, no heating or A/C, and no daily shower. Having some TP during that time will be a comfort, just like the chocolate and coffee I have stored.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

Ernie said:


> Also, most primitive peoples don't hardly wipe _at all_.
> 
> The reason YOUR butt is such a mess and needs three pounds of toilet paper to be cleaned is because the food you eat is loaded up with binding agents, glues, syrups, and other goos that hold it together and make it palatable to your western diet but yet don't digest and turn your excrement into a gooey mess.


that and I have read that most countries squat- we don't squat in the US
here on campus at psu- there are literally signs on the inside of bathrooms in the dorms that show not to put your feet on the toilet seat - and squat- for the foreign students- to sit- the signs are quite humorous- but - when you squat- you don't need as much TP-


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## Ohio Rusty (Jan 18, 2008)

I hope you have alot of extra clothes and scissors .....

Ohio Rusty ><>

"If you run away, you just die tired ........."


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Becka03 said:


> that and I have read that most countries squat- we don't squat in the US
> here on campus at psu- there are literally signs on the inside of bathrooms in the dorms that show not to put your feet on the toilet seat - and squat- for the foreign students- to sit- the signs are quite humorous- but - when you squat- you don't need as much TP-


Yep! The human digestive system is basically a long tube. What happens when you crimp a tube in the middle?

Go outside and test this with your garden hose.

It wasn't difficult for me to rig up an "outdoor toilet" here where I can squat instead of sit. Basically I took our normal "sitting" buckets and put one of them down in a little hole. 

Problem is that it's hard on my knees. I have "civilized" knees that can handle squatting for a short period of time, but not a long period. And my diet and digestion still ain't quite up to the proper primitive standards yet.

But I'm working on it!


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

Use my cat.. .they're soft, self cleaning and will be ready for the next use..


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

PrairieBelle22 said:


> When your stock piles of 24 packs of toilet paper run out. And you've exhausted all the old catalogs...
> 
> What next?


Scoot your butt on the grass like a dog! :hysterical:


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## unregistered41671 (Dec 29, 2009)

Jim-mi said:


> Solar and wind generate my electric. . . . .to power my deep well
> 
> any more questions . ???





Ernie said:


> Forever?
> 
> Pumps don't wear out, circuits don't break, wires don't get chewed, panels don't get cracked?
> 
> ...


I am on county water even though I rarely use it but have a deep well also. Have a hand pump on my deep well in addition to the electric pump. Have a deep well bucket if all else fails. Also have a Berkey if needed.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Possum Belly said:


> I am on county water even though I rarely use it but have a deep well also. Have a hand pump on my deep well in addition to the electric pump. Have a deep well bucket if all else fails. Also have a Berkey if needed.


Heh. Same applies.

There's rubber (or leather) valves in that hand pump. Rubber degrades over time. So does leather. I can go through antique store after antique store down here and buy any number of old-style pumps _that don't function_.

Project far enough into the future after the collapse and there will be two types of human habitations ...

Those which rely on surface water, and those which dip buckets out of shallow wells.

Deep wells are going to be simply mysterious holes in the ground where they have clusters of ruined structures that were dissembled for easy building material.


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## unregistered41671 (Dec 29, 2009)

Agreed Ernie but I made a bucket for my deep well, for after the hand pump goes kerput.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Angie, please go ahead and delete


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## unregistered41671 (Dec 29, 2009)

Possum Belly said:


> Agreed Ernie but I made a bucket for my deep well, for after the hand pump goes kerput.


Here is a link showing how to make a deep well bucket. 


http://www.alpharubicon.com/primitive/wellbucketspitfire.htm


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Possum Belly said:


> Agreed Ernie but I made a bucket for my deep well, for after the hand pump goes kerput.


How do you lower that bucket down? 

By rope? By chain?

If it's by rope, it'll decay. Chain would probably last you the rest of your lifetime, but you'd better bring it inside with you at night and sleep with it under your pillow. 

Most deep wells I see are deeper than 180'. I wouldn't want to try to braid tree bark into rope to last that long.

Plus, consider the well casing. Even now you have deep wells collapse or the casing rupture. That ground that seems so solid under your feet has its own motion and tides and it will eventually break the casings. 

I have my own water problems here ... my pond isn't quite deep enough. In a prolonged drought, it could go dry. No problem if my neighbors have died or joined forces with me because I'll just use the 4-5 other ponds within eyesight of my cabin, but if it's a prolonged drought that takes out ALL of those other ponds then we're in trouble. We'd have to pack up and go off in search of water, driving our herds before us like the ancient Hebrews. West of here is a deep creek that the old timers have said never runs dry, and south of here is the Colorado river, but moving people and animals is never easy or safe, and I suspect in that situation there'd be a lot of competition for homestead sites along the waterway already.


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## unregistered41671 (Dec 29, 2009)

Ernie said:


> How do you lower that bucket down?
> 
> By rope? By chain?
> 
> ...


I would hate to have to sleep with either rope or chain but I reckon I would do just as you would in order to survive and protect my home and family. My well is 92 ft deep with a static water level at 38 ft year round. I have enough chain and rope to haul water for a while. I even have parts to build a second bucket if needed.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Possum Belly said:


> I would hate to have to sleep with either rope or chain but I reckon I would do just as you would in order to survive and protect my home and family. My well is 92 ft deep with a static water level at 38 ft year round. I have enough chain and rope to haul water for a while. I even have parts to build a second bucket if needed.


Oh, 38' ! I wouldn't even consider that a deep well. In a pinch, you and some other strong backs could dig out that well deeper and go down 40-50' and brick in a bigger, wider well. And it might come to that someday.

Where I'm going with this thought process is not to be particularly contrary, but to try to illustrate my particular view of survival and prepping.

By far, from what I've seen, the vast majority of preppers just store goods to get them through X period and their belief is that outside society will stabilize at some point and the Walmart shelves will begin to magically refill. Sort of the "Cargo Cult" of prepping.

A smaller number of preppers stockpile goods and resources to get them through a rough period and ease a transition into what they see as "the new normal" ... which in their eyes can range from an idyllic Little House on the Prairie lifestyle, to something out of a Mad Max movie.

But I myself, and I don't think I'm entirely alone in this viewpoint, see myself as an "Abrahaimic prepper." Where we think in terms of how the next 7+ generations of our families are going to survive. Clearly the goods and machines I stockpile today will not be serviceable to my great-great-great-great grandchildren. And also planning for life in a specific location that will outlast my death by centuries is equally foolish. But I wish to ingrain in myself and my children a survival mindset which will give them a resilience to survive _millenium_. To think of themselves and those they gather unto them as a _tribe_ and to maintain their identity and resilience no matter what come, be it enslavement in a Chinese prison camp or living in the wastes of the Southern New Mexico desert.


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## unregistered41671 (Dec 29, 2009)

Ernie said:


> Oh, 38' ! I wouldn't even consider that a deep well. In a pinch, you and some other strong backs could dig out that well deeper and go down 40-50' and brick in a bigger, wider well. And it might come to that someday.


The well is *92* ft deep with a water level of *38* ft. 

You are right about next generations. We are doing our best to prepare for that.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Possum Belly said:


> The well is *92* ft deep with a water level of *38* ft.
> 
> You are right about next generations. We are doing our best to prepare for that.


Only reason that well is 92 feet deep with a static water level of 38 feet is someone had a machine to do it for them. 

If you had to dig it by hand, you'd have stopped at 40-45 feet and if it ever went dry you'd go down to the bottom and dig out another 10 feet or so until you hit more water.


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## unregistered41671 (Dec 29, 2009)

Ernie said:


> Only reason that well is 92 feet deep with a static water level of 38 feet is someone had a machine to do it for them.
> 
> If you had to dig it by hand, you'd have stopped at 40-45 feet and if it ever went dry you'd go down to the bottom and dig out another 10 feet or so until you hit more water.


I ain't no dummy!!!


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Possum Belly said:


> I ain't no dummy!!!


Course not! You're not the average possum. 

But you're ALREADY blessed by having water only 38' below you. I'd dig SEVERAL wide wells there if I were you and you can hold that land for a very long time.

Unlike myself. I have to rely only on surface runoff. There ain't no water here and 8' down is a near impenetrable layer of solid rock.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

My spring gravity feeds to my house. Unless gravity fails, I guess it will keep working......it has for the last 30 years.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

TnAndy said:


> My spring gravity feeds to my house. Unless gravity fails, I guess it will keep working......it has for the last 30 years.


If it does, you could probably find water uphill somewhere else. Might have to dig up some pipes and move them is all.

I've always envied people who live somewhere that water just bubbles to the surface.


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## Vash (Jan 19, 2014)

Duct tape, duh.


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

Ernie said:


> Oh, 38' ! I wouldn't even consider that a deep well. In a pinch, you and some other strong backs could dig out that well deeper and go down 40-50' and brick in a bigger, wider well. And it might come to that someday.
> 
> Where I'm going with this thought process is not to be particularly contrary, but to try to illustrate my particular view of survival and prepping.
> 
> ...




Hey! I already live there! It's gonna empty out quick when "normal" water sources quit working. You'd probably have your pick of property but if you want water here your gonna be digging for quite a while. Our well is 260ft with a static water level is around 80ft.


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## Strange Bear (May 13, 2002)

Winter, snow, when available
Summer Air?


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## bowdonkey (Oct 6, 2007)

My place came with a 140' drilled well and a dug well, only 16'-18' to water here. Surface water is polluted with lots of organic and bactetial junk. I'm lucky the drilled well has little radon. Water around here is a real crap shoot. There's always iron involved, but some wells will have your shower looking like the inside of a pumpkin inside a couple weeks. On our farm back in WI, our well was a shallow one, 440'!


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## EDDIE BUCK (Jul 17, 2005)

Plant red cob corn .It goes farther than white. :whistlin:ound:


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

bowdonkey said:


> My place came with a 140' drilled well and a dug well, only 16'-18' to water here. Surface water is polluted with lots of organic and bactetial junk. I'm lucky the drilled well has little radon. Water around here is a real crap shoot. There's always iron involved, but some wells will have your shower looking like the inside of a pumpkin inside a couple weeks. On our farm back in WI, our well was a shallow one, 440'!


Shower, You should see what it does to Blond Hair. :sob:


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2014)

simi-steading said:


> Use my cat.. .they're soft, self cleaning and will be ready for the next use..


If I went that route I'd dang sure declaw that booger & hold it by the head while in use .


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

Great thread! My first thought reading it was, most people in this world don't have TP and they squat. And they are thinner than many of us Americans, which we will be too by the time we run out of toilet paper. Since this thread is already gross I'll continue - skinny butt cheeks don't touch and there is much more room around the evacuation hole. 

DH always digs a hole, either squats or hangs over a log and uses leaves when camping. And he's not a prepper :shrug:


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

"DH always digs a hole, either squats or hangs over a log and uses leaves when camping. And he's not a prepper"

You do realize that you set yourself up for about a dozen jokes there?


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Vosey said:


> Since this thread is already gross I'll continue -


Vosey, I can tell you from my personal experiences in the military ...

Not shooting nor being shot at, nor hiding, nor bad food, nor fear, nor anger, nor sleep deprivation, nor pain ...

NOTHING will reduce a grown man to tears faster than the inability to take a comfortable dump.


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## Vash (Jan 19, 2014)

Ernie said:


> Vosey, I can tell you from my personal experiences in the military ...
> 
> Not shooting nor being shot at, nor hiding, nor bad food, nor fear, nor anger, nor sleep deprivation, nor pain ...
> 
> NOTHING will reduce a grown man to tears faster than the inability to take a comfortable dump.


Quoted for Truth!


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## PrairieBelle22 (Nov 17, 2006)

Okaaayyyy, I know have more information on this subject than I ever thought possible! And laughed harder than I thought possible! 

Belle


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

I think a comfortable place to take a dump is the first thing a grown man of 35 or older looks for when settling in to any new location 


luckily water is only 17 feet down here and i have a well into it even though i live in town , I can do with just warmed water maybe a touch of soap rag is optional a hand will do just fine , I often take a dump and hop strait in the shower why waste the paper , i have kids who waste more than enough of it.


that said I can easily admit we are not prepared for any long term total collapse, it has not been financially possible for us in some ways and in time other ways , I guess you could say we do our best to be ready for 30-60 days , and want to get out to 90+ 

I in no way think it will be easy or that much of any plans i have now will not need changing 

if we were the only people still eating in 60 days , well I am not sure what would be happening and I think it is short sighted to think most any of us have it all figured out , confidence can be a great killer.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

here in the mtns theres always water to be found....even in droughts.my section of mtn has all kinds of piping going on underground..i was digging a post hole with digger on tractor and hit a void and digger went in to the gear box....lol...i about pooped myself as i was sitting backwards on a very steep slope and was afraid if the hole started to collapse over we would go....lol

theres a place i know in droughts where people get water out of a hole.it drys up and you cant get water....but if you have a water filter pump with a long hose you can get water because under a pile of boulders with 5 and 6ft diameters you can hear the water a few feet below you and theres no way to move those boulders....course ya gotta be brave enough to lay down in a rockpile in timber rattler country to fish the hose through the boulders....that right there weans most of the crowd out of that secret drinking hole....lol....plus its over a mile from a road so thats culls most out.

p.s. my drilled well is 510ft deep and has 300ft of standing water in it.....its just out of reach of a simple pump.but i have a pond and several springs.oh and a seasonal creek that runs 6ft wide and 2ft deep part of year.


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## Awnry Abe (Mar 21, 2012)

I'll do like they do in the Oval Office executive suite and use photo copies of the US Constitution....

Seriously, when I run out, I'll probably just go without.


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

Possum Belly said:


> My well is 92 ft deep with a static water level at 38 ft year round. I have enough chain and rope to haul water for a while. I even have parts to build a second bucket if needed.


ound::hysterical:ound: 

I have 2 wells - the older is 350 feet deep - the newer is 450 ft deep. 
Somehow I don't think ya' got what would be called a deep well. Ya' wanna come haul chain for me??

Erine - thank you for your posts as you proved my point.


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## unregistered41671 (Dec 29, 2009)

Wolf mom said:


> ound::hysterical:ound:
> 
> I have 2 wells - the older is 350 feet deep - the newer is 450 ft deep.
> Somehow I don't think ya' got what would be called a deep well. Ya' wanna come haul chain for me??
> ...


Nope, I don't. I had some 12" wells in S FLA that were 1100ft+ deep. The pumps were right at 1000' down. Had a pump go bad on one and we were pulling it with a "Bantam Dragline" and just as we got the pump within the last 100 ft or so, someone did not get the collar on the shaft good enough and the pump went to the bottom. Could hear it slide all the way. Had to put a new pump and shaft above the old. Those were deep wells.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

An 1100 foot deep well? Holy cow. Why?


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

And how big ( HP ) motor to pump with that kind of head . . .???

The potato field irrigation systems around here use Big 3 phase motors . . but they are only down a couple hundred feet........


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## unregistered41671 (Dec 29, 2009)

Ernie said:


> An 1100 foot deep well? Holy cow. Why?


We were in the cattle business in S FLA for many years. In S FLA winter is *usually* the dry months. We developed many pastures with what is called "seepage irrigation". Water would seep right at 150ft in each direction feed by a small 'V ditch'. About 4ft wide at the top and about a 1 1/2ft deep shaped that they could be driven across at an angle. These ditches were no more than 300 ft apart because water could seep 150 ft in each direction. They were fed by much larger ditches. The terrain was FLAT and water could be controlled and divereted by "risers" on a culvert. These systems were fed by deep wells, some 10", most 12". All wells 900 to 1100 ft deep to get lots of water. All of this was to irrigate grass and mostly planted clover. The pumps were powered by 40hp Westinghouse electric motors or either diesel powerheads where 3 phase or no power was accessible. Had to have the lg diameter deep wells for the volume. When you go deep in S FLA, you will most certainly hit sulfur. The vegetation in the large ditches were bright yellow!


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Heh. I had no idea. I always considered Florida to just be awash in fresh water.


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## unregistered41671 (Dec 29, 2009)

Ernie said:


> Heh. I had no idea. I always considered Florida to just be awash in fresh water.


It is or was. But not in winter. Now days you can only run these big deep wells by permit. When they say, and how much they say.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

A very good article in Home Power magazine way back was about a small community in the desert southwest that had -one- community well that is 900' deep. Pictures showed a monster PV system to get enough power to work that pump. Water was pumped into a big tank. Then a 2-300 gallon trailer was used to deliver water to each "home"--storage tank.

Those folks are enjoying all their **sunshine** etc. etc. . . . . But they sure are on a very very short stick when and if their water supply fails.


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## Twobottom (Sep 29, 2013)

AngieM2 said:


> And maybe if no bidet is handy, a dishwashing soap bottle that is cleaned and warm water put in and used then dried with a cloth or two.


...Wow, you've really thought this through, lol!


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

If you have a large stash of TP, you can always trade it for other stuff. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, paper money.


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## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

I figured whenever we ran out paper, we'd use the cloth squares and wash, reuse. That got me to thinking about ACTUALLY washing them, uh, yuck. So, will use a plunger with holes drilled in it to wash nasty stuff with, and will use my mobil washer to wash clothing with, as well as a washboard. As far as where the water will come from to do washing, we can catch 5,000 gals from our roof, as long as it doesn't stop raining for too long, and have a pond in the back yard, as well as a creek and a small lake within walking distance. If all that fails, we live in the woods, so there is never a shortage of moss or leaves.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Twobottom said:


> ...Wow, you've really thought this through, lol!


I've been mod on this forum since 2005 and the subject has come up a few times over the years. But, this time it seems more likely in a nearer future than in the earlier times. More people are thinking of these things much more seriously and we are not being laughed at for having on Tin Foil Hats and stuff we use to see only in this forum, so now we are seeing "our" topics being discussed in Families and H.Questions and in general conversation.


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## gweny (Feb 10, 2014)

Kudzu- The survivors one stop shop

You can eat, make rope, or wipe w/it! And good luck trying to kill it! Lol


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

What Angie says . . . 
And hopefully more than a few reading this will stop and think about more options to a very real item in life . . ..

And many of these options are far more reasonable than what the cost of "Charmin" could / will get to . . . .. .


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## badlander (Jun 7, 2009)

Our homestead came with an outhouse. I remember using it once and noting that there was a catalog hanging within reach with many pages missing. I thought, what a good idea, then noted that the pages were slick....hmmm. Maybe newspapers would be better...more traction or whatever,:hysterical:

As for using a cat....wouldn't do with our half feral kitty. The thought makes me cringe.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

It will make you more than cringe . . . .
When you have to answer the people in the emergency room question . ."What happened to you" . . . LOL


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

I've got a stack of old phone books in the attic. When you consider that we are landlords and each rental seems to get about 4 new books each year (I don't know why so many are delivered!), I think we've got it covered.I do store a lot of tp, so I hope that I wouldn't have to resort to phone books, mullein or cloth anytime soon.The time spent washing toileting rags would be better spent growing/gathering food.


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

AngieM2 said:


> And maybe if no bidet is handy, a dishwashing soap bottle that is cleaned and warm water put in and used then dried with a cloth or two.


That reminds me of back in the 1980s when a Japanese firm offered a travel bidet for about $70 for use in public restrooms with no TP and it was about the size of a paperback book.

I told the guys with the Japanese firms selling points in mind if I traveled I would buy a $5 paperback to use as a mini sears catalog if needed and crumple soften pages to wipe with as I read into the book to achieve a solution to a no TP during travel incident, having something to read while tending to nature's call and keeping $65 in my pocket.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

So now we know what to do with the "trash" novels that can be picked up here and there for little to nothing in cost.


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## PrairieBelle22 (Nov 17, 2006)

AngieM2 said:


> So now we know what to do with the "trash" novels that can be picked up here and there for little to nothing in cost.


The pages are not glossy so they should work better than today's catalogs. May be on to something here...


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

A clean weed sprayer makes an equally good shower or bidet - hand pumped for pressure, so no electricity involved, and really doesn't use a lot of water. Eventually the seals in the sprayer may need replaced, but rubber stores a long, long time if protected from weather and air. 

Squares ripped from an old towel and zigzagged along the edges to prevent raveling work well as TP. Even an electric sewing machine can be turned by hand to do the zigzag stitching. 

A combo of bidet and cloth make clean up easy and no more messy than washing your undies. A few gallons of water with a little soap and bleach and a plunger will do for soaking and agitating the cloth clean. An old toothbrush works on any "spots". Minimal "ick factor" involved, a quick wringing out and dunking in a few gallons of clean water to rinse, wring again and hang to dry. Takes very little time, little water, and you're ready to go again. 

I live in a climate that is normally rainy 9 months out of the year, so with storing of water, there is water available year-round. Dumping the wash water onto non-root crops will fertilize as it waters, so there is no water waste to speak of. There's also a river right around the corner and a sand filter so I can use river water if rain water is scarce. Right now, I use rain water. Your mileage may very with your site, but for me, it is a workable solution for a very long time, at least through the end of my natural lifetime.


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

Crumpling the pages several times will make them softer as well!


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

those super cheap trash novels make good fire starter stuff........


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## Sanza (Sep 8, 2008)

So how many people have outhouses? Have the rest of you thought about where you'll be doing your deeds?
I can just picture yards littered with used paper...blowing in the wind....


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## homstdr74 (Jul 4, 2011)

Sanza said:


> *So how many people have outhouses?* Have the rest of you thought about where you'll be doing your deeds?
> I can just picture yards littered with used paper...blowing in the wind....


Altho' the house I began building in the late seventies now has plumbing and an "indoor toilet", one of the first small outbuildings I built was a backhouse. It's a "two-holer", but the backhouse differs from the traditional pit outhouse insofar as it is built up a couple or three feet off the ground and there is a separate chamber under each seat so that one side can dry out while the other side is in use. There is a door in the back that can be lifted up so that the night soil can be removed after drying for 6-8 months....by that time it is just dirt, but is a good manure that can be used on trees or other vining plants, just not on root vegetables or anything that touches ground.

Since we have a deep well for water use, when the electricity goes out due to a lightning storm or other reason we still have the backhouse to use, tho' I'm hopin' that the electric don't go out anytime soon (temp here is minus three).


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Sanza said:


> So how many people have outhouses? Have the rest of you thought about where you'll be doing your deeds?
> I can just picture yards littered with used paper...blowing in the wind....


I plan on 'doing my deeds' in the same place I do now....the bathroom.


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## unregistered41671 (Dec 29, 2009)

TnAndy said:


> I plan on 'doing my deeds' in the same place I do now....the bathroom.


Me too!!


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## Guest (Mar 3, 2014)

A septic tank will still work. Even if you had neglected to prepare a running water system, you'd just need to pour water in the commode to flush. The water will be a lot more important that toilet paper.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

. ."blowing in the wind"
.Well Sanza . . shame on those peoples who don't know what a shovel is for.


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

If things get seriously bad TP won't even be on the list of needed things.


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

We could all wipe for a long time with copies of the affordable HealthCare act....then it might actually be useful

And a bag for the paper to be burnt in the stove is better than paper flowers blowing in the wind.


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## KIT.S (Oct 8, 2008)

_gallons of water with a little soap and bleach _

OK, as an extension of this discussion, where are people planning on getting bleach? I can make vinegar, and do, but I can't imagine how I'd come across bleach once the stash gets used.
Soap is animal fat and water-through-ashes, and that can be nearly as caustic as bleach...
Kit


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## bigjon (Oct 2, 2013)

well-well-well,sorry couldn't resist.when our 70' drilledwell went south,i had one dug.30' deep 3'concrete tile and pail ready.


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

mpillow said:


> We could all wipe for a long time with copies of the affordable HealthCare act....then it might actually be useful
> .


I'm not for sure one would feel clean after using that piece of garbage.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

You would have 3000 wipes . . . .
But due to the contents I would think it would be very abrasive on the tush . . . and shortly cause a very inflamed tush......


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## swamp man (Dec 25, 2005)

WV Hillbilly said:


> Here I sit in fumes & vapors
> Someone else used all the paper
> Now I'm late & cannot linger
> Look out blankety blank
> Here comes my finger


When I get up to wipe my grits*,
I like to pass a little gas.
I clear my hole,
I wipe the bowl,
amd shows I got a lotta' class.

When the apocalypse happens, we're all gonna' be too busy fightin' zombies to sweat the details.


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## PrairieBelle22 (Nov 17, 2006)

KIT.S said:


> _gallons of water with a little soap and bleach _
> 
> OK, as an extension of this discussion, where are people planning on getting bleach? I can make vinegar, and do, but I can't imagine how I'd come across bleach once the stash gets used.
> Soap is animal fat and water-through-ashes, and that can be nearly as caustic as bleach...
> Kit


Pool shock. I guess we can't really "make" it ourselves, or if we can I haven't found information on that one. However, it appears that for being prepared, storing pool shock may be the best solution. Not because it is a less expensive option but because of its extended shelf life (10 years as opposed to 6 months for bottled bleach). Secondly, storage space for the bags of powdered is much smaller and much more feasible.

I have not tried it out yet, but I will as soon as the local stores stock up on pool products.

Here is a link for additional information:
http://livingprepared.blogspot.com/2013/05/make-you-own-full-strength-bleach-from.html

Belle


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

A "poo house" in Delhi. How about it, tiny house folks?


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## homstdr74 (Jul 4, 2011)

Hey, Ernie, that place gives a whole new meaning to the phrase: "Those folks live in a dump".


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

poo heat
http://www.equinecompare.co.uk/docs/BurnHorseManure/


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## tentance (Aug 16, 2012)

There is always the option of bathing right after pooing. That being said, there will be a mass migration to all fresh water sources as soon as the taps turn off. this will, for sure, pollute downriver waters.


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## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

wait now! is that a house built of poo or what they use to do it in? those disks look a lot like buffalo chips. the people on the wagon trains would gather the dried ones and use for fuel didn't they? I wonder would humanure be any good for that once it had dried enough? guess not. it's a thought though. I'm rambling again! ~Georgia.


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## swamp man (Dec 25, 2005)

Angie, I'd launch the biggest internet fit you ever saw about your editing that post if I didn't adore you.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

swamp man said:


> Angie, I'd launch the biggest internet fit you ever saw about your editing that post if I didn't adore you.


Thanks for the adoration, I need it today!


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

PrairieBelle22 said:


> Pool shock. I guess we can't really "make" it ourselves, or if we can I haven't found information on that one. However, it appears that for being prepared, storing pool shock may be the best solution. Not because it is a less expensive option but because of its extended shelf life (10 years as opposed to 6 months for bottled bleach). Secondly, storage space for the bags of powdered is much smaller and much more feasible.
> 
> I have not tried it out yet, but I will as soon as the local stores stock up on pool products.
> 
> ...


When we had a pool, we used to drop the big pool tablets (like are used in a floating chlorination device) in our toilet tanks. Powdered shock would really be no different. Also, I could see looters going for the liquid bleach and totally bypassing the pool stores/sections so there should be plenty of it left.

Also, in the summers when we had no pump on the potable well we would use the irrigation water to fill the pool and keep it chlorinated and balanced so if we needed to use it for washing it was ready to use.


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

Okay. We are gonna try this again.

[YOUTUBE]4Xzc-IATwsE[/YOUTUBE]​


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