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In her “Are you ready to look at new ways to build?” (3-18-2023), Arvis Thompson suggested that we rethink what we consider as essential in a home. She especially focused on water usage. This is a great thing to be thinking about not only to help our community’s housing concerns, but also in terms of energy use and our environment.
Unlike our big city friends, people in Cook County are no stranger to life without plumbing. Some have chosen this way of life to reduce their carbon footprint. Some have gone this way out of necessity. I fall in the last category. After a cancer adventure decimated my income, I had to move out of town and away from the comforts of running water. My partner and I have a well with a hand pump and an outhouse. In summer, we collect rain water for the garden. Our home water usage (for two people and a dog) is about ten gallons a week.
This arrangement is not for the faint of heart, literally. Pumping and hauling water is hard work. It requires strong muscles, bones, and cardiovascular support. Grey water (from washing) has to be carried out of the house. Add firewood splitting, stacking and hauling, and you have a system that will either keep you young or take you out early! We’re banking on the youthful side of things, and happy to be hands-on with the resources we use.
Going to the outhouse for Nature’s Call seems distasteful to many, but a well-cared for biffy has few odors and doesn’t require throwing away gallons of water every time you use it. You can’t just dig a pit and call it a toilet, though, or drain your sink water anywhere you want. To protect the water we all use, grey water and outhouses are strictly regulated by the County. Other septic systems have to be done right and this is no different.
Outhouses, composting toilets and incinolets all have up-front expenses that are a fraction of the cost of a mound system, and also cost very little to run once in place. Outhouses don’t need electricity––they even work during power outages! (So does our hand pump.) Next time there’s a storm, come on over and enjoy the fruits of low-to-the-ground living! Or, as Arvis suggests, build your own.
Jennifer Schulz, Zahir Orest, & Jackie, Good Harbor Hill
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