"Don't wish me happiness I don't expect to be happy all the time....It's gotten beyond that somehow. Wish me courage and strength and a sense of humor. I will need them all." Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Sunday 9 July 2017

Making a potty

After 17 years of using the same outhouse it began to fill up and I began to consider options. On the Internet I learned of a more helpful and gentler way of managing human waste. (google humanmanure handbook as a starting point) Composting. I have been composting kitchen waste for years and in the last year I began composting kitchen waste with worms. Now I am about to begin to compost human waste. I will keep my worm box for kitchen waste and I will build a new composting bin for human waste. After learning about this I believe it is truly a better, gentler, more helpful approach to managing human waste than using an outhouse. I explained the concept to my five year old - "with this potty," I said, "we are helping plants." I have learned through observation in nature that a fulfilling path is found when the motivation in one's life is to help and I believe that in doing this I will find a deep satisfaction. I found plans online on how to build this simple potty. I had the right lumber scraps on hand. The lid is made of 3/4" plywood. There are four 2x4 pieces on the inside and 1/4" plywood is nailed to them on the outside. I built it with a hammer, drill, handsaw and a jigsaw. There is a five gallon bucket on the inside. Carbon is added to the bucket after each use which eliminates the smell aspect. The buckets are changed out and emptied onto a compost pile. There are quite a few things to learn about this process so that it is done correctly and I recommend that if you want to learn more to google it. In the future I will be posting more on this experience.
Sent from my iPhone

8 comments:

  1. Your talents never cease to amaze me, Ronda. You are the original can do girl! I read your post to my husband. He can do anything DIY also and he was super impressed with your construction and research. I, the decorator, was of course impressed with your photo composition. EVERYTHING looks better with flowers! ;)

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    1. Kim, your comment made me laugh! Thank you for that. Just to clarify I did not make the toilet seat - it is bamboo and came from a local building supply store. If you look close you may notice that there are a pair of hinges missing on the top between the two pieces of plywood. This enables the lid to be opened to empty the bucket inside. The only hinges I had on hand were mismatched so I will pick up a pair next trip out to town. The daisy's in my yard are in bloom and yes everything does look better with flowers. Ronda

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  2. What a moving experience! (Sorry, couldn't resist the bad joke.) You are so resourceful, Ronda. Hugs, Nancy

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  3. This is a good idea. You will get better plants in the future. Hope Summer has been good so far!

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  4. I have heard of doing this Rhonda, and it does sound like a better alternative for you. I have friends who are trying this method as well, and it certainly seems like a feasible alternative for you! Your potty looks very pretty with the daisies all around it!

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  5. PS... what are you using for carbon? Our friends are using sawdust, as they said that seems to deal with the smell the best. If you are using sawdust, where are you sourcing it? We are considering building an outhouse on our property, and this is probably the kind of toilet I would want to have.

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    1. Hi Marilyn I am going to be experimenting with a variety of carbons. Ronda

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  6. This is a great idea, and fits right in with your homesteading ethic. I'll look forward to hearing how the project goes. God bless you!

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