So, I have a confession.I have been experimenting. I have been showering only once a week ( plz note showering,) I have been doing this for almost 3 months now. I have however been bathing almost daily. I fill the sink with hot water, add several squirts of Dr Bronner's peppermint or tea tree soap and wash myself that way. I keep my hair pretty short so its not a maintenance issue. What I have noticed is that there is a HUGE water savings and I am still clean with no FUNK! I have also used bath wipes as well testing them out to see how well they really work, and guess what,, they work really really well! No B.O. issues at all. Would well be worth adding to your B.O.B. as a way to keep the funk off and to help feel fresh ( which can be good for morale) . Remember when water becomes scarce or you have a limited supply bathing becomes a critical issue. figure a 50-100 gallon shower x3 people and your 2500 gallon supply is gone in no time flat! Now,, take that at 1-2 gallons per person a few times a week and you are doing a lot better. Remember also to use Castile soaps, they are very mild on the skin, but very effective at cleaning! Dr. Bronners makes many varieties that will appeal to even the picky person.
No Rinse bath wipes and no rinse shampoo are also things you should consider to have on hand. When I was stationed in Egypt, my mom had gave me a big bottle of No Rinse shampoo. She said it might come in handy because she knew water was a premium there in the desert. Well we had great super hot showers and I had access to everything to stay clean, until time for us to leave. We were one of the last units to leave so when everything was packed up we spent 2 weeks without shower facilities. We bucket bathed and my shampoo made me several friends. we bathed every couple of days and also did our laundry in buckets as well.. It wasn't the greatest situation but we put a system in place and it worked.We created a bath station, put up some privacy walls and used good old cold water! Being it was 110f nobody cared. So, be sure to factor in some way to keep yourself clean or at least the family, it will improve morale, reduce chances of skin infections and parasite issues and keep everyone healthy!
