As you all know, Mrs Inor and I have spent the last year building a house. (We actually broke ground on it a year ago last Sunday.) We did not do the whole thing ourselves like Pastor Dwight did with his. We paid a builder to take it through the sheetrock and taping. We have done almost everything else since. If you have been following our blog, you know it has been one crazy adventure after another.
The build is far enough along that we were finally able to get the plumber back today to hook up the propane and get the hot water heater installed. (Yes, I know how to install a hot water heater but I absolutely loathe plumbing work, so I am more than happy to fix that one with my checkbook.) We still have a BUNCH of work to do until it is complete, but as of today the house is functionally complete, with all of the modern conveniences through about 1970.
We started our part of the build about 8 months ago. At that time, the house had no electricity, no running water (although the well was working), no toilets, nothing. Since we took over the build, we have spent every free moment out there working on it. I have scheduled at least 1 week per month away from my work to work on the house. While we are working on it, we just stay at the house (I.E. We do not commute back to the rental house every day.) So until today, we have basically been living how we would live if SHTF while we are working on the house.
Here are a few things I have noticed:
1 - Washing clothes: It takes about 2 hours to wash 3 days of clothes for two people by hand. We used 2, #3 wash tubs. One was filled with water and soap, the other with rinse water. We used a new toilet plunger to scrub them which seemed to work fine. Then hang them to dry them. The problem we ran into at first was once they dried, the cloth was EXTREMELY stiff; to the point they were uncomfortable to wear. The solution was to add a second rinse with some liquid fabric softener. I need to stock more liquid fabric softener.
2 - Cooking is much less of a hassle than I thought it would be. Until today, we had to cook all of our meals over charcoal or using a propane camp stove. The charcoal was actually easier and also allowed us to do some baking. The propane was faster. But either way, it was pretty much a non-issue.
3 - Grooming: When we were just working on the house for 2-3 days, we did not worry too much about bathing. Yes we stunk, but beyond that it was not a big deal. But going more than 2-3 days without a proper shower in this climate, the salt from the sweat built up on our skin and started to cause a rash. It was like Monkey Butt, except all over our bodies. We have a solar shower that we used and it worked well, but I am definitely going to buy at least 4 spares so we can shower every day. That rash was more debilitating to our ability to work than even the injuries we encountered.
4 - Injuries: Fortunately, neither of us has had any injury serious enough to require medical attention. (Knock wood) But both of us have had a LOT of soft tissue injuries through this process. Pretty much, since the second week that we started our part of the build, one or both of us has been nursing some kind of injury. Yes, that part sucks. But once we took the mindset that a gnawing pain was part of the deal, it did not bother us as much. In SHTF, it seems to be a given that something is always going to hurt. Deal with it buttercup.
So these are the things I have noticed, living without modern conveniences for the last several months.
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